Mark Udall: “this resolution is not real legislation intended to meet a national need or resolve a national problem. Instead, it is a…”

“this resolution is not real legislation intended to meet a national need or resolve a national problem. Instead, it is a political game. Everyone in this Chamber knows that--and by bringing it forward under this extraordinary procedure, the Republican leadership is doing us the favor of making it clear to everyone in the country. In simplest terms, the point of this resolution is to try to make the House again express support for last year's tax bill--a bill based on economic projections that were very doubtful then and that now have been shown to have been wildly over-optimistic. When the bill was passed, the economic weather seemed bright--we did not yet know that we already were in recession--and sponsors of the bill claimed that we could rely on that to continue not just for a matter of months but for a full decade. And now, despite the dramatic change in economic conditions, despite the need for increased resources to fight terrorism and for homeland defense, the sponsors of this resolution are calling on us to say that nothing has changed. With storm clouds looming and the wind shifting sharply, they are saying that instead of considering whether to shorten sail we should act as if the sun was still shining and the seas were calm--instead of considering adjustments, we should swear allegiance to stay the course--even if it was plotted in error.”