Political Quotes

“I thank Mr. Neal, the ranking member of the Ways and Means Committee, for all his work. I want to talk tonight from the perspective of Blue Dog Democrats. Now, clearly, we all know--and Mr. Welch very eloquently talked about the needs of the middle class and people who are struggling--it is far past time that we reform the Tax Code by making it simpler, closing loopholes, and lowering rates. However, this bill that we are going to be voting on tomorrow is certainly not the answer for the middle class. Now, it didn't have to be this way. Throughout the year, I heard from Republican lawmakers and from the White House about the benefits of creating a bipartisan tax reform plan. As the policy co-chair of the Blue Dog Coalition representing modern Democrats, I coordinated the coalition's creation of key principles needed for a permanent, bipartisan tax reform bill. Our reform principles called for the following: First, tax reform must be passed with an open, bipartisan process and through regular order. Second, tax reform must be credibly revenue neutral and should not use unrealistic economic growth projections to offset the costs of tax reform or tax relief. Third, American companies need a more competitive corporate tax rate and structure in order to maintain their ability to compete globally. Congress must also account for the needs of small businesses when it comes to setting tax rates.…”