Ron Kind: “I thank my friend from Massachusetts for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this rule because I…”

“I thank my friend from Massachusetts for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this rule because I rise in opposition to the underlying budget--a budget which is really a budget buster that could be before the full House for consideration tomorrow. It calls for an additional $1.5 trillion worth of debt accumulated over the next 10 years. They call for that, I fear, in order to clear the path for unpaid-for tax cuts. There is a bipartisan path to move forward on tax reform. It has been 31 years since we have taken a serious run at the Federal code. It is long overdue. It is one that would simplify the code, that would broaden the base and lower the rates and make us more competitive at home, but especially abroad, in light of what the rest of the world has done. That can also help promote economic growth, but I fear that that is not the direction that the opposing party is taking with their tax reform proposal. I say fear because we haven't seen the details yet. So we can't say with certainty just what exactly will be offered over the next couple of weeks. But if history is any guide, there is a proclivity to pass large tax cuts that are not paid for. If history is a guide, we have been down this road before, in the 1981 tax cuts, the 2001, the 2003, that promised to bring a boon of economic growth that would offset and pay for the lost revenue. It didn't materialize. Instead, we had huge budget deficits.…”