Wendy Sherman: “I rise to use these 5 minutes to rebut some of the recent comments of the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas)…”

“I rise to use these 5 minutes to rebut some of the recent comments of the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas), chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means. He stood here and he urged that the House not vote for the motion to instruct put forward by the Democratic side. His argument was that that motion committed this House to provide for alternative minimum tax relief, marriage penalty relief, R&D credit extension, and that the Democratic tax alternative had not provided for each of those items. Let me put it into context. The Democrats came here with an alternative that provided only $750 billion. It sounds odd, only $750 billion, but that is a much smaller sum than the $1.35 trillion that the Republican tax bill provides. My colleagues can be certain that if we Democrats had thought the country could afford a $1.35 trillion tax cut, that we would not have left out AMT relief, and we would never come to this floor and give with the right hand income tax relief and then take it back with the alternative minimum tax, the portions of the Internal Revenue Code that do not apply to many Americans today, but will apply under the tax bill brought forward by the majority. We Democrats would not come with a $1.35 trillion tax cut that left out pension reform or left out the R&D tax credit.”