Charles Rangel: “how historic it would be if we could get back to the idea that tax bills would come out of the tax-writing committee.…”

“how historic it would be if we could get back to the idea that tax bills would come out of the tax-writing committee. Every bill that has been coming to the floor has been without the benefit of Republicans and Democrats having an opportunity to evaluate the legislation, to improve on the legislation. At least at a time when our Nation has this polarized war on our hands, would that we could say in the tax-writing committee, we are working together to improve the economy and that we also support our troops, we support Social Security, we support Medicare. But this is not the case. There is no basic difference in the thrust of the Republican bill and the Democratic bill. They just would like to make certain that the benefits would go up to people making $329,000. There is no basic difference. They would drive us into debt some $228 billion, because they do not attempt to pay for it. There is no basic difference, because we are just more concerned with those in the lower income, while they have this fetish, this desire, that no matter how much it costs, they have to make these special appeals to those that have so much. It would have been that if we were working together, then we could find some equitable solution. Somewhere on the Republican side, somewhere there is somebody that believes that we should not go deeper into debt.”