Rich Neal: “what we have here is a continuation of the argument that began in 1993. Late in the evening hour, without one Republican…”

“what we have here is a continuation of the argument that began in 1993. Late in the evening hour, without one Republican vote, the Democratic Members of this House voted for a deficit reduction plan that worked. That is what has brought us here today to the position of where we can discuss tax cuts for the American people. I recall that evening because of the hand wringing that we heard from the other side. I remember the doomsday prophets who took on the well on the other side and predicted that the modern American economy would be wrecked because of what the President and the Democratic majority at that time were doing here in the House. What has been the result? Four years of unparalleled economic prosperity and economic growth where each quarter seems almost to get better than the previous quarter. It has almost defied modern imagination because the Democrats had the courage to take on the issue of deficit reduction in a real way. So today this is a continuation of that argument. This is not an argument about tax cuts. We all agree that this is the time for tax cuts. What we honestly bicker about today in this institution is simply this: Who is to get these tax cuts?”