Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I join my colleague from the State of Virginia, Senator Warner, in offering an amendment that will prevent tax reform from ballooning our deficits. The Republican budget, which we are currently considering, includes a troubling provision that would exempt a $1.5 trillion tax reform bill from the important requirement that legislation that adds costs to the U.S. Government must be paid for rather than merely added to our deficit. This rule, well known to our colleagues, is one by which I am troubled to see a number of my longtime friends choose to ignore this time around--a rule long known in the Senate as the pay-as-you-go rule, or pay-go. It is an important rule that forces Congress to be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars. It forces Congress to find ways to actually pay for new programs or find offsets for reductions in revenue rather than to add to our national debt. It is the right policy, and it has been in place for years. So it is, frankly, jarring that this budget document would include a provision that explicitly exempts a $1.5 trillion tax reform bill from the pay-go rule. Look, I agree that we need to work together toward a bipartisan tax reform bill, one that reduces taxes on the middle class and simplifies our overly complicated Tax Code, but we cannot simply pass a budget that allows Congress to put $1.5 trillion more on the government's credit card, on our credit card.…”