Alan B. Mollohan: “Not very many months ago, Mr. Chairman, this Congress passed a $1.6 trillion tax cut. That simply means that $1.6…”

“Not very many months ago, Mr. Chairman, this Congress passed a $1.6 trillion tax cut. That simply means that $1.6 trillion over the next 9 or 10 years has been taken out of general revenues for this country. This amendment looks at that reality and it looks at what section of our population most benefited from that tax cut. In fact, the top 1 percent of income earners receive about 37.6 percent of that tax cut. It is that top 1 percent that was the greatest beneficiary of that $1.6 trillion tax cut--those people who make an average of $1.1 million a year. The Obey amendment looks at that reality and then looks at the underfunding in this bill and says that this would be a fair way to correct this underfunding. It seems proportional to calibrate that tax cut to that top 1 percent a little bit. That generates enough revenues to fund some of these terribly underfunded accounts in this bill and leaves a little bit left over for some other bills.”