Chellie Pingree: “This amendment is one more controversial poison pill rider that sadly shows that the extreme Republicans are not…”

“This amendment is one more controversial poison pill rider that sadly shows that the extreme Republicans are not interested in bills that can gain bipartisan support and become law. In 2012, before the Bush tax cuts, the Congressional Budget Office showed revenues exceeding primary spending for the next 65 years and that debt as a percent of GDP would decline indefinitely. Since then, tax cut extensions and the Trump tax cuts have added $10 trillion to the debt to date, and their cost will increase enough over time to account for the entire long-term growth in debt ratio. Remember, those benefits are disproportionately enjoyed by the wealthy. If we want to truly protect the American taxpayer, we should be marking up bills at the levels agreed to between the President and Speaker McCarthy and signed into law in the Fiscal Responsibility Act rather than bringing the government to the verge of a shutdown and now marking up bills that just don't just break the deal but obliterate it and cut crucial domestic investments. Let's get serious about passing bills that can gain bipartisan support and become law. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote against this harmful amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.”