Max Baucus: “I thank all Senators for their patience and for their goodwill. This has not been easy. This has been a debate that has…”

“I thank all Senators for their patience and for their goodwill. This has not been easy. This has been a debate that has been conducted under difficult circumstances. I thank Senators. I commend them. Some were justifiably frustrated, as I was, at the short time constraints of this process. But I think, by and large, we have conducted this debate in a dignified way, and I deeply appreciate that. I most especially thank our chairman, Senator Grassley. He has reached out with me to craft a very fair, bipartisan compromise. He has made all the difference in the world. I especially thank the assistant Democratic leader, Senator Reid. He has been at his post throughout the debate, keeping us on track. I deeply appreciate his fairness, his ability. We were able to pass this bill fairly expeditiously in large part because of the efforts of the Senator from Nevada. Let me turn to the bill and make the case one more time. Some Senators might say--and they have said--that the tax cut is too large. With deepest respect, I say to those Senators that that issue has been decided in the budget resolution. I also note that we have added a ``circuit breaker'' to this bill. This provision allows us to make changes to the tax cut if our budget targets are not met. Some will say the tax cut is unfair. I disagree. This tax cut is very fair. I take issue with many of the statements made on the floor. Some are not entirely accurate.”