On the recordDecember 16, 2014
as I indicated earlier, what is especially troubling to me is that we are talking about $418 billion, in effect, that is supposed to provide incentives. But it cannot change anything taxpayers did 6, 8 or 10 months ago. The decisions have been made. This is a 2-week bill. I would just say, from my own standpoint, having worked with our colleague Senator Coats to present a bipartisan alternative, that the lesson out of this debate is that this cannot happen again. Senator Hatch and I put together a bipartisan bill, the EXPIRE Act. We thought that was the way to go. I continue to believe that had we had the opportunity, without an alternative process coming out in the home stretch, we could have built on that. That is not going to be possible tonight. I hope that Senators will say, however they vote tonight, that the real lesson out of this is when you have an opportunity to provide certainty and predictability for the American economy, take it. Do not walk away from it. Unfortunately, because this bill is only 2 weeks long, that is what we are doing. We are walking away from the chance to provide some certainty and predictability. Instead, our citizens are going to be in the dark come January 1 with respect to taxes. Let's make sure that next time on a bipartisan basis we do better. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Utah.
