Political Quotes

“Let me say at this point, too, it is easy to come before this body and to propose new tax benefits. We know the difficult part, the offsets--how do you pay for them? I have come up with a means of paying for this which I think you can detect has some controversy attached to it, but I think it is reasonable. It would impose an additional 11-cent-per-package tax on cigarettes sold in America and a parallel percentage increase on spit tobacco and snuff. Now, the bill proposed by the Senate Finance Committee already raised the Federal tax on tobacco and cigarettes, for example, from 24 cents to 44 cents. This bill would add an additional 11 cents. Make no mistake, it is a tax. For those who have told me, as I have spoken to them, 'Oh, I never vote to increase the tax,' I remind you if you are voting for the Senate Finance Committee bill, you are voting for an increase in this very same tax. I ask you to consider whether or not it is worth 11 cents on a package of cigarettes to extend this kind of protection to over 20 million Americans. I think it is. I hope you will agree with me. If we do not make this move this evening, if we do not finally grasp this opportunity, seize this opportunity and increase the deductibility of this health insurance for self-employed, they will languish for 8, 9, or 10 years before ever approximating or reaching parity. That is not fair. It is not fair to the self-employed.”