Zoe Lofgren: “Mr. Speaker, I am not planning to object to this legislation, but I do think it is important to note that this bill is…”

“Mr. Speaker, I am not planning to object to this legislation, but I do think it is important to note that this bill is being brought up under a most unusual process and under procedures that do not allow for the appropriate degree of consideration by Members. First, this bill is being brought to the House floor on less than 24 hours' notice. There is no reason for taking action in this manner. The bill was in the Judiciary Committee for more than 6 months without any action being taken whatsoever. Second, we have absolutely no legislative record or background on the legislation before us. We do not know how many taxpayers will be affected, although it appears that it may affect only some 79 taxpayers. We do not know the current practice by the State of Oregon for taxing these individuals and do not know how much money this will cost the State of Oregon. It is ironic that a Congress that began the session solemnly declaring its opposition to unfunded Federal mandates on the States would end the session by passing an unfunded mandate on the State of Oregon. Because of this unusual expedited process, we have no CBO scoring letter, so we are completely in the dark about the degree of the mandate. Congress should be very careful in adopting special laws that limit State taxation prerogatives. At a time when we are sending more and more responsibility to the States, we need to preserve maximum flexibility for them.”