Rich Neal: “I am opposed to this bill in its current form, and I want to remind colleagues that this amendment to the bill will not…”

“I am opposed to this bill in its current form, and I want to remind colleagues that this amendment to the bill will not kill the bill, nor will it send it back to committee, and, in fact, if adopted, we will immediately proceed to final passage. Mr. Speaker, we are here today debating this faulty effort for one reason and one reason only: the failure fundamentally to change the Tax Code. Now, let me say to my friends, the praise delivered on behalf of Mr. Camp is well-earned. But I also want to say something today. We all love to say, ``I hate to say I told you so,'' but we really like to say, ``I told you so.'' I told you so. The staff would be rich if they took that bet that I offered not long ago on the very floor of this House. Now, Mr. Camp, the wily sorcerer of tax policies that he is, he employed every bit of magic at his disposal to bring forth tax reform. He put together a great model and, for 3 years, without the glare of publicity, we actually had an adult conversation between the parties, principals and the stakeholders, who listened carefully to what everyone had to say. Unfortunately, the Republican leadership was not spellbound by the sorcerer's good deeds. When he was pleased to release his tax proposal, the leadership of the Republican side said, Blah, blah, blah.…”