Mike Thompson: “Let me just thank the gentleman for drawing attention to the terrible fires that did so much damage in my home State…”

“Let me just thank the gentleman for drawing attention to the terrible fires that did so much damage in my home State, and the fact that they took the deduction for these types of disasters away from the American people. But I don't want anybody to think it is just about fires, nor is it just about my State. They took away this provision in the Tax Code for anybody who has a disaster from now on. If it is a mudslide, an earthquake, a fire, any disaster, you will not be able to claim that deduction. And to add insult to injury, the chairman grandfathered in the hurricane victims in his own district. I will just say one more thing. If this isn't all bad enough, everybody should know that all of these costs that we have talked about are bad enough, but there is one cost in here that is crippling, and it is crippling to our children and our grandchildren, and that is the fact that this bill is not paid for, and it adds $2.3 trillion--that is trillion with a T--to our national debt, and that is going to be passed right along to our children, right along to our grandchildren, and that is going to hurt us in the years to come.”