Political Quotes

“I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. We do need tax reform. We need tax reform that we all described in the beginning as something that would help the middle class, that would simplify taxes, and would be revenue neutral. This bill, sometimes described by its authors as doing those things, accomplishes none of those things. Now, first of all, for the middle class, wages have been stagnant. The jobs people are getting aren't paying the bills. We know the biggest challenge we face is increasing investment, increasing wages, and increasing security. There are some benefits in this bill for the middle class, but let's get real. Those benefits are tiny and they are temporary. If you are a Vermont family, if you are lucky--we get hit with the SALT deduction loss--you might make a couple hundred bucks. But at what price? Once these benefits expire, 83 percent of the benefits of the individual tax rate goes to the top 1 percent. At what price? $2 trillion added to the deficit. Let me tell you this: Vermont families, hard-earning families, working families, they would like a tax cut, but not one that their children and grandchildren are going to have to pay. That is unconscionable. What about these corporate tax cuts? We want simplification, so we are competitive. There is a 40 percent reduction for multinational corporations. But, in this bill, is there any corresponding requirement that they start reinvesting in America? Exactly the opposite.…”