Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, my friend Mr. Brady spoke eloquently, as always, about the notion of fundamental tax reform. I mean, a reasonable mind in this Chamber might ask: When? The chairman is not even here this morning. He sends out as the starting pitcher his ace reliever, Mr. Brady, to defend what we all know in the end is going to be a 1-year extension of this tax provision. Friends, this is a messaging amendment. By the way, after they get done today with repealing the estate tax, perhaps we could move in this Chamber to call this now the ``House of Lords,'' where it might be peerage and peer review that brings us here. Mr. Speaker, it is April. The birds are chirping; the flowers are blooming; the days are getting longer; and the nights are getting warmer. Spring has sprung. The onset of spring brings with it a new baseball season--that time of year when hope springs eternal and every fan thinks his team has a fair shot of claiming baseball glory and immortality. However, for the fans of bipartisan tax reform, the Republicans are saying here in April: wait until next year. Yesterday was the 100th day of the 114th Congress. It is 100 days up, 100 days down, and we are no closer to making tax reform a reality. Our Republican friends have wasted 4 months of valuable time and have nothing to show for it. They have whiffed on the 10 permanent tax extender bills that they have passed this year. Not one of these bills has become law nor will any become law.…”