Political Quotes

“I thank my friend from Maryland. Mr. Speaker, we have heard some words here on the floor describing this bill as simply actually a bill to protect Federal workers who are in compliance from that small percentage who aren't. We had a hearing today in the Subcommittee on Government Operations of the committee of which Mr. Chaffetz is full committee chair, and I asked the question of the tax advocate of the IRS: How would you characterize 97 percent compliance when the broad public compliance with tax compliance is 83 to 86 percent? So how would you characterize 97 percent? The answer was: Extraordinary. This is a solution in search of a problem, and the protestations to the contrary notwithstanding, this is another way--albeit cloaked in respectability and sanctimony--of whacking Federal employees again. We just heard it: scratch the surface, and suddenly they are all watching pornography; they are all sitting around not doing work; they are all, in fact, not filing taxes, and they ought to be fired--let me go through the list of firing offenses--allowing the impression that this actually characterizes the Federal workforce. My friend, the minority whip, said that if you were a CEO and managed your company this way, you would be fired or your company would go out of business. My friend from Utah took exception to that.…”