Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted the chairman mentioned President Reagan. But he made it sound as though President Reagan did tax reform on his own. Tax reform in 1986 was done in a bipartisan manner. I guess we just leave out Speaker O'Neill and we just leave out Chairman Rostenkowski and we just leave out Senator Bradley or Congressman Gephardt. The reason that they are left out is because even though it was accomplished in 1986, it started in 1982 when Mr. Gephardt and Mr. Bradley introduced the first tax reform act. {time} 1700 What happened in those intervening years? The Ways and Means Committee took testimony from 50 witnesses. They held 30 markups and an untold number of hearings. Contrast that with what we did in the Ways and Means Committee: not one witness, not one hearing, not one opportunity to hear from renowned economists, labor leaders, or individuals who would have great knowledge not just of what happened in 1986, but what could happen in this Chamber. Instead, we are going forward with this ill-considered effort. This is a missed opportunity. This is a bad deal for millions of Americans in the middle class. The legislation puts the wealthy, the well-connected, and the strong, once again, at the top. Thirty-six million Americans are going to receive a tax increase. When they talk about tax simplification, take a look at the phase-ins and phase-outs of this measure. That is hardly simplification.…”