Chris Van Hollen: “Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The chairman of the Budget Committee began his closing remarks by saying, ``Let's take a step…”

“Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The chairman of the Budget Committee began his closing remarks by saying, ``Let's take a step back.'' Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, that's exactly what this package of bills does for the country; it takes us many steps back. And the reason it takes us back is because the Speaker of this House has backed out of negotiations with the President for a balanced approach to dealing with our deficit and making sure that we accelerate economic growth and job creation in this country. The issue has never been whether or not to reduce our long-term deficit. The question has always been: How? And how you do it reflects your priorities. The President has made clear his priority is not to give higher income individuals another tax break relative to what would happen if we went over the fiscal cliff, and yet that's exactly what this package of proposals would do. {time} 1800 I've used this chart a couple of times, Mr. Speaker. I'm going to use it again, and with good reason, because no one has or can dispute the facts in this chart.…”