Elijah Lewis: “Mr. Speaker, I rise in outrage at this irresponsible bill we are voting on today. This bill is so reckless that the…”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in outrage at this irresponsible bill we are voting on today. This bill is so reckless that the majority refused to allow us to vote on a substitute for fear that the debate would show the bill for what it really is. This bill is an overloaded Christmas tree with Christmas gifts for all sorts of special interests, from Chinese ceiling fans, to tackle boxes. Mr. Speaker, instead of replacing the FSC incentive with much-needed help for United States manufacturers, as the Rangel substitute would have done, this bill provides $5 billion in new tax breaks that actually encourages companies to move their operations offshore. We are bleeding manufacturing jobs, and this bill encourages outsourcing. It is outrageous. It is a disgrace and a shame. To add insult to injury, this bill will increase our deficit by a minimum of $34 billion over 10 years. But because the gimmicks are designed to hide the true costs, the actual price tag will be much higher. Perhaps the most outrageous provisions of the bill, though, are the blatant sweeteners and special interest tax breaks designed to buy votes. Not one of them has anything to do with FSC.”