I was here when Democrats and Republicans came together to enact bipartisan tax reform in 1986. We paid for our tax overhaul and never once asked future generations to foot the bill. President Trump said in July that tax reform is, and I quote, ``going to be easy.'' I will admit that, to someone like him who is new to government and who may not understand fully how Congress works, what we achieved in 1986 may, in hindsight, appear to have been easy. It wasn't. It was difficult because it required compromise; it was difficult because it required trust; and it was difficult because it required both parties to make tough choices and share the burden of taking responsibility, along with the benefit of claiming victory. Somewhere along the way, Mr. Speaker, it seems that many in the Republican Party lost sight of this truth. First on healthcare, and now on taxes, they have decided that it would be easier not to work with Democrats at all, so they have chosen a partisan path, where the only ones with whom they have to compromise are themselves. It is ``going to be easy,'' they said. And the result: We now expect, on this floor, a bill so dangerous and so reprehensible to the taxpayers of this country that nearly every major organization representing taxpayers, small businesses, workers, farmers, seniors, home builders, realtors, teachers--and I could go on--oppose this bill.…
On the recordNovember 14, 2017
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