Charles W. Stenholm: “tonight we Blue Dogs are going to take a few minutes to discuss tomorrow's vote regarding the so-called Economic Growth…”

“tonight we Blue Dogs are going to take a few minutes to discuss tomorrow's vote regarding the so-called Economic Growth and Tax Relief Act, and we are going to do our best to explain to all who are listening and to our colleagues and to others why we believe that it is a terrible mistake to bring a tax bill to the floor of the House before we first pass a budget. Last week, President Bush submitted a budget blueprint outlining how he proposes to fit his tax and spending priorities in an overall budget framework. We welcomed this proposal as the first step in the budget process. Unfortunately, this House tomorrow is being asked to short circuit the budget process by bringing legislation to the House floor implementing the tax cuts before Congress has had an opportunity to consider the entire budget. Now, a careful reading of the 1974 Budget Act will find that we cannot do that. It is against the rules of the House to bring a major spending bill or a major tax cutting bill to the floor of the House before we get a budget.”