Barney Frank: “the majority party spokesman for the Committee on Rules was somewhat inaccurate in describing our position. The effort…”

“the majority party spokesman for the Committee on Rules was somewhat inaccurate in describing our position. The effort that we are engaged in to provide some financial relief to some of the poorest and hardest-working people in this country and their children would not cost the government revenues anymore. It would be balanced. We find, unlike him, a number of unfairnesses in the Tax Code; and I was struck by, in his conversation, the complete absence of any defense of the decision to deny this benefit to these people. I came down here today as the ranking member of the Committee on Financial Services to talk about check truncation, but I would agree with my colleagues that fairness truncation is a far more important issue; and that is what we are talking about. The gentleman who spoke said this is a Republican Party and he is proud of it. I think there is too good of appreciation in the country today of the real differences that exist between the parties. Partisanship is not always a bad thing. There is a legitimate aspect in a democratic society to recognizing differences. The gentleman from Texas is proud that they passed a tax bill that excluded the poorest working people in America. He said he was proud of it, and I think we are proud on our side to be appalled by it.”