Bill Pascrell: “Thank you. I am not finished yet, but I want to say to Mr. Camp, you have been a civil voice that will be missed in this…”

“Thank you. I am not finished yet, but I want to say to Mr. Camp, you have been a civil voice that will be missed in this hallowed Hall. And I mean that sincerely from my heart, because civil discussion is necessary in the House of Representatives. Many times, in other places, it has not been civil. It will do nothing to encourage this legislation, this new development in renewable energy. I want to be clear. I strongly support, my record will show, many of these tax provisions. I want to work with colleagues on the other side and my own side to make many of them permanent. While this approach may help taxpayers and businesses who made decisions assuming Congress would act responsibly, it is not in the country's long-term interest, Mr. Speaker. At a bare minimum, Congress should be extending these provisions until the end of 2015 in a fiscally responsible way. Mr. Speaker, I unfortunately must oppose this legislation, the so called ``Tax Increase Prevention Act.'' For the past four years, the Ways and Means Committee has debated comprehensive tax reform. Sadly, the fruit of that discussion before us is a one-year, retroactive extension of temporary tax provisions, completely unpaid for, and that gives no certainty to businesses or individuals because it expires one month from today. It didn't have to be this way. Earlier this year, Chairman Camp released an ambitious proposal for a comprehensive reform of our tax code.…”