Debbie Dingell: “I rise to support the repeal of the telephone excise tax, to thank the dear gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter)…”

“I rise to support the repeal of the telephone excise tax, to thank the dear gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter), but to oppose the rule. I do not quite understand why my Republican colleagues, who profess to wish to give the consumers a tax cut, have denied us an opportunity to offer an amendment which would give consumers an even bigger tax cut than the bill reported by the Committee on Ways and Means in the amendment which would have been offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Towns), the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters), and myself. The interesting thing is the leadership on the majority side seriously miscalculated if they believed that this is a tax reform that most Americans want. I know constituents care about tax cuts, but they want them to put money in the pockets of the citizenry, rather than making Republican Congressmen look good. The Towns-Waters-Dingell amendment, which is widely supported on this side, would save consumers about $1.5 billion more than the committee bill over the next 2 rac{1}{2} years. During the phase-out period, our amendment also puts revenues from the excise tax into a trust fund to pay for programs that create digital opportunity for Americans who live in underserved rural and urban areas. Why are my colleagues on the other side of the aisle afraid? Why do they not desire our approach?”