On the recordAugust 2, 2012
Thank you for your leadership. You have done more to advance the cause for comprehensive tax reform and stopping tax increases on Americans than anyone in America, and we certainly appreciate your leadership. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Illinois reminded us that after the election in 2010, the President of the United States said, in this economy, we cannot let tax rates go up for any American because the economy was too weak. Well, today, ladies and gentlemen, the economy is weaker than it was in December of 2010. In fact, it's been weaker the last 4 months than it was, with little hope that it will get better soon. Ladies and gentlemen, Americans are long overdue in having comprehensive tax reform. They want it, 9 out of 10 Americans. Nine out of 10 Americans now use a tax preparer. My father, a retired steelworker, my mother, a retired seamstress, use a tax preparer. And ironically, Mr. Speaker, my father came to America, my mother came to America for a better life. And when I got my first job, my first job at McDonald's, when I was 16 years old, my dad said, Son, we have a really crazy Tax Code that doesn't encourage you to save, that doesn't encourage you to invest. And you know what? You're going to save a little bit of that paycheck because it's the right thing to do, even though we have a crazy Tax Code. Well, my immigrant dad today thinks we have even a crazier Tax Code than we did back in the early 1980s, and it's time that we change that.…
