Chuck Grassley: “My first point deals with a conscious decision to use a partisan process for bipartisan issues. What I find surprising…”

“My first point deals with a conscious decision to use a partisan process for bipartisan issues. What I find surprising is that we are taking up a package that, like the HIRE Act jobs bill of a few weeks ago, absolutely belongs to the bicameral House and Senate Democratic leadership. It was negotiated between House and Senate Democratic leaders, with some input from their tax-writing committees and staff. These discussions occurred entirely behind closed doors. As far as I know, it was a Democrats-only discussion. It is not a conference agreement, where things are worked out in a sophisticated conference committee made up of people from the House and Senate. Then, in addition, at the very last minute, the compromise took on the properties of an amoeba.”