Chuck Grassley: “now that this bill has finally passed the Senate, I take the opportunity to thank several people. First and foremost, I…”

“now that this bill has finally passed the Senate, I take the opportunity to thank several people. First and foremost, I thank Senator Baucus. I am very certain we would not be here without his good work and his cooperation. In fact, as I have said so many times in speeches, this whole effort started when Senator Baucus was chairman of the committee in the last Congress. He held hearings and started this process going. He has not only cooperated and put in good work during this Congress, but it all started under his leadership. I also need to thank all the other members of the Finance Committee for their time and energy in making this bill a reality. I thank my staff on the Finance Committee: Mark Prater, chief tax counsel, and the other tax counsels, Ed McClellan, Elizabeth Paris, Dean Zerbe, Christy Mistr, and John O'Neill as well as John's predecessor, Diann Howland. These individuals, along with Adam Freed, the staff assistant for the tax team, have been real workhorses for the committee, keeping the lights burning long into the night to make this bill possible.”