Max Baucus

On the substance, I might add, however, that there are no capital gains provisions in the President's proposed tax cut bill. This would be adding a whole new subject, which, frankly, is difficult for us in the committee to incorporate…

As this chart behind me shows, for taxpayers with incomes of $25,000 or less, $50,000 or less, $75,000 or less, or $100,000 or less, this bill, which is the red, shows that a greater proportion of tax reductions apply to those taxpayers…

I would like to address two arguments that have been made against the distributional benefits of this bill. First, opponents of the bill have made the argument that it does little to alleviate the payroll tax burden, which is the largest…

If I may respond, by far most of the cost of the estate tax provisions in the bill, in the current 10 years which the bill covers, results from raising the unified credit. Only a very small portion results from repeal of the estate tax. It…

I rise to address the underlying amendment. It is a good idea. There is no reason for the exclusion of certain income under survivor benefits with respect to persons who died before 1996. Sometimes those benefits are distributed after…

I do not know any Member of the Senate who has more respect and regard for the Senator from West Virginia than myself. He is a Senator's Senator. He knows more about and defends this institution far more than any other Senator. He really…

Personally, I do not support full repeal of the estate tax. I support reforming the tax so it protects our family farms, ranches and other businesses. I understand the Senator is going to offer an amendment later today that will eliminate…

I have such reactions when I hear my friends from Connecticut speak. There is no greater champion for kids than the Senator. I am surprised he doesn't have a kids tie on because often he does wear one. A couple points. Connecticut is one…

The American people, we all know, have many wonderful qualities but one of them, unfortunately, is not personal savings. People in other countries save more personally than do Americans. It is a concern many Members have. A lot of Members…

this is not an easy matter, of course. We want every child to have the opportunity to attend college, to get a higher education. That is a given. It is particularly important in these days, as the economy gets more and more complex, the…

I will make some general comments to help put this debate in context. First of all, under this bill, who are the winners and who don't win quite so much? Under this bill, the big winners are married couples with kids. By far, they receive…

I am sure teachers agree with that. Another point, Mr. President, is that teachers can, today, deduct unreimbursed expenses. It is in the law today. Just as any employee, they can deduct unreimbursed expenses. They can deduct them. If it…

I do still think the amendment is not a good one, but not because it is not well intended. It is very well intended. The authors have worked very long and hard to try to figure out a way to make it work. But I think it is too complicated…

I did say, though, that I don't think we should start going down this road, which basically implies that, whether the provision you mentioned is meritorious or not, I don't know if it is wise to keep going down that road. I want to share a…

I urge the Senate to heed the wise words of the chairman of the committee. They were important. That is, in the final analysis, this will come down to whether there are 51 votes to adopt the conference report. This is an evenly divided…

there are parts of this job that are not fun, and one of them is standing up and saying: I cannot agree with my good friend from West Virginia. Believe me, he is a good friend. There is no stronger advocate for seniors and prescription…

with all due respect to my very good friends, this is an uncertainty layered upon an uncertainty. The uncertainty is whether the surplus target will be met. The uncertainty layered on top of the uncertainty is whether the trigger will be…

two weeks ago, the World Trade Organization's Appellate Body issued a decision affirming a Dispute Settlement Panel opinion from last December that ruled that the United States' imposition in July 1999 of restrictions on imports of lamb…

these past few weeks have been eventful ones in our relationship with China. President Bush announced a robust arms sale package for Taiwan. It included several major weapons systems and, of greater long-term significance, it provides for…

I think the WTO has attacked import quotas as things that need to be converted into tariffs over time.

I said, 'You know, we think that that is trade-related, not health-related.'

I think we gave up the store a few years ago when we agreed to proportionate reductions of export enhancements.

I believe that no country, altruistically, out of the goodness of its heart, is going to lower a trade barrier.

I just think that the EU is by far the biggest offender with respect to agricultural trade barriers.

We have got to find it--that is our job.