Max Baucus: “I must say, however, that this is a very bad amendment. It is a profoundly bad amendment. It is a sound bite amendment.…”

“I must say, however, that this is a very bad amendment. It is a profoundly bad amendment. It is a sound bite amendment. It is a feel good amendment, and if it were passed, I guarantee it would have profound adverse consequences upon our Nation. Why do I say that? I say it because there is a reason why the Tax Code is the way it is. We have to raise revenue somehow, obviously, to pay our bills. But the reason the tax code has gotten so complicated is because the American people over the years have come to Congress--to Members of the House and the Senate--and have said ``here are some tax provisions we would like.'' Members of Congress, by and large, don't lead. That may be news to some of us, but by and large, Members of the Senate don't lead. We tend to follow the American people. I'm not saying this is bad. We should follow our employers, the people we work for--the people who elect us. And it is the American people who, by and large, ask us to do the various things we have in our Tax Code.”