Political Quotes

“We have tax cuts built into this budget. We are in a global economy. We need to be competitive. There are a number of ways in which we need to be competitive. My friend from South Carolina and I are working together on the question of trade enforcement. That is a critical part of it--investing in education, a skilled workforce, innovation. That is a very big part of it. That is a big part of this budget, making education a top priority. Changing the way we fund health care, getting it off the back of businesses, addressing health care costs is a big part of being competitive and is addressed in this budget. We say every child in a family where the folks are working ought to have access to health insurance, and this budget finds a way to do that. We address other issues. Health information technology, that Senator Snowe and I and others are working on together, is addressed in this budget. So we address a number of items, including tax cuts. We address one of my biggest concerns, and I know my Democratic colleagues share this concern, of what is happening with the alternative minimum tax and how it is going to be shifted more and more to middle-income taxpayers and is becoming the alternative middle-class tax.”