Brad Carson: “I rise on this, my maiden speech in the House of Representatives, to protest the policy conceived in haste, offered…”

“I rise on this, my maiden speech in the House of Representatives, to protest the policy conceived in haste, offered without consultation, and prosecuted almost without discussion. The question before us is not whether a $2 trillion tax cut is a good idea or a bad one, nor is it whether a tax cut is consistent with our acknowledged duties to protect Social Security and Medicare and to invest more resources in an increasingly burdened military. The question, instead, is whether or not a budget, a budget, the master plan guiding spending and investments decisions of the Federal Government, should be agreed upon before we proceed to debate the merits of a tax cut. I support a tax cut, as do most of my colleagues. But a budget that sketches our spending needs against the backdrop of anticipated revenue will allow us to determine, and more importantly allow the people to determine, the magnitude of the appropriate tax cut. The sense of this approach is obvious, save to those people more interested in short-term political gain than the long-term solvency of our Federal Government.”