David Thomas: “we have been spending all of our time this week on taxes. I am delighted the tax bill has passed. Certainly there are…”

“we have been spending all of our time this week on taxes. I am delighted the tax bill has passed. Certainly there are different views on how to do it. There will always be different views when one raises the question of taxes or spending. There are different points of view. Much has to do with the priorities of people. Much has to do with the philosophy of what one thinks the appropriate role of the Federal Government is, what kinds of programs should be funded by the Federal Government. Those are the broad issues. I was very pleased when we did follow through, and the House, of course, passed tax relief in the amount of approximately $1.6 trillion, which is what the President requested. The bill that passed the Senate is something less than that. It is still a huge amount of money. Most of us cannot conceive what $1.3 trillion is, but nevertheless it is very close to the same amount and I think deals with the same principles that are so important. Taxes are one of the highest priorities for this Congress and, indeed, should be. Taxes are high priorities for this Congress because of the fairness question. It is a question of adequately funding appropriate programs. It is a high priority for the American people for much the same reason in that no one wants to pay more taxes than they have to, but most of us are willing to pay taxes. It is necessary to do that. Fairness is an issue. This is one of the President's first priorities.”