Max Baucus: “I rise in support of the tax relief legislation before the Senate. This is a complex bill. Chairman Roth has done a…”

“I rise in support of the tax relief legislation before the Senate. This is a complex bill. Chairman Roth has done a superb job in working with a vast range of issues and many different groups of taxpayers to produce a generally good bill. And to explain why, I will start by putting numbers aside and reviewing the broad principles our tax policy should reflect. First, our tax policy should pay the bills. Second, it should be simple and predictable. Third, it should be fair. Fourth, it should promote growth. And fifth, it should be as low as possible. Let's begin with the first. We need to pay the bills. To take Alexander Hamilton's words from Federalist 30, government must: raise troops, build and equip fleets * * * [and pay] for support of the national civil list; for * * * debts contracted, or that may be contracted; and, in general, for all those matters which will call for disbursements out of the national treasury. These latter disbursements now include health insurance for seniors and the poor. Social Security checks. Highways, education, veterans benefits, scientific research, clean air, clean water, and more. Essential services the people want and should have. But we also need to pay for them. And in the past the government hasn't entirely paid for them. In 1992, our budget deficit stood at $290 billion. But in the past five years we've done much better. This year, the deficit will be under $65 billion--a fall of nearly 80 percent.”