Steny Hoyer: “This has got to be a frustrating debate for the American public, these tax bills. It is a frustrating debate for those…”

“This has got to be a frustrating debate for the American public, these tax bills. It is a frustrating debate for those of us who were for much of what is proposed. It is certainly a frustrating debate for future generations. Mr. Speaker, over the last 4 weeks, our Republican friends have worn their reckless tax cut hearts on their sleeves. That is a pretty harsh phrase. But for those of us who believe we ought to balance America's budget as we ought to balance family budgets, it is nevertheless, I think, accurate. Republicans have cynically put popular tax legislation on the floor and dared Democrats to oppose it knowing full well that the only reason that many Members on our side of the aisle would cast 'no' votes against such bills is because they were not paid for, and on the pretense somehow that cutting taxes, cutting revenues, cutting prices, if you will, for what we buy, whether it is defense, education, health care at NIH, CIA agents, FBI investigators, whatever we are buying, you will want to cut the cost and will not pay for it. You want to put it on our national credit card, and you want my kids and your kids and our grandchildren to pay for it.”