Rich Neal: “Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To my friends on the other side, I do think it's instructive to have the discussion about Bill…”

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. To my friends on the other side, I do think it's instructive to have the discussion about Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. I think it's very helpful to America because we tried the Bush years, and the argument now is to return to the Bush years. Now, let me point out in this legislation, that Mr. Rangel and I worked to develop Build America Bonds. More than 800 cities and States have taken advantage of those bonds. In Massachusetts alone, we have issued $1 billion worth of Build America Bonds, and we saved $170 million in interest costs, which means that you can invest in education, health, and public safety. Mr. Frank and I worked to allow small banks to hold more municipal bonds by expanding the small issuer exception, thereby lowering the costs of these bonds. Now, to show you the success of bipartisanship, in the development of this legislation, Mr. Ryan and I worked to exempt private activity bonds from AMT, a pretty good piece of initiative. With that, 38 airports around the country, including Cleveland, Milwaukee and Houston, have taken advantage of that opportunity. Thousands of jobs have been created nationwide when the country really needs it. These bonds are also used for student loans, and protection from alternative minimum tax means lower rates on borrowers. In Massachusetts alone, 26,000 students will benefit. Now, Mr. Tiberi, a Republican, and I worked on the New Markets Tax Credit exemption from the alternative minimum tax.”