Max Baucus: “I might say this blank slate is not, of course, the end of the discussion. You do not clear the decks and stop. Some of…”

“I might say this blank slate is not, of course, the end of the discussion. You do not clear the decks and stop. Some of the provisions in the code obviously serve very important objectives. That is why they made it there in the first place. Some we will need to keep, clearly. Why? To make sure the Tax Code is at least as progressive after tax reform as it is today. I want to emphasize this approach is just a starting point. It is not a proposal. This is a good, fair, balanced way, a good-faith way, of including all Members of the Senate to get started. We believe it is going to lead to a solution, kind of the way Bertrand Russell suggested: You have to state the problem the way that it is going to lead to a solution. We think this is a good way to get to that solution.”