Voices

Samples from the debate over the budget bill:

FOR THE BILL

“It is now time for us in America, all of us, including the wealthy, to join in this effort of (tax) fairness.”

--Rep. Mel Reynolds (D-Ill.)

*

“No one is suggesting the plan is a panacea. . . . Too many of our friends, too many of our colleagues on the other side, have given up. . . . They are not prepared to vote for anything. They are prepared to continue to vote for gridlock. They are prepared to ‘just say no.’ ”

--Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.)

*

“It’s very difficult to do a rate change in the middle of a calendar year. . . . So many times we will use a retroactive provision to conform to a tax year, and that’s what’s been done in this bill.”

--Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin

(D-Md.)

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“It’s unfortunate that our Republican friends have said in advance of the bill that they were going to vote against it. . . . But the people I have the most sympathy for are the Republicans who do want to participate, who do want to make a difference, but because of party line, are unable to even come forward.”

--Rep. Charles B. Rangel

(D-N.Y.) *

“This package represents the opportunity of a lifetime to turn this country around. It will get harder, not easier, if we put it off.”

--Rep. Martin Olav Sabo

(D-Minn.)

AGAINST THE BILL

“We have to put the spending cuts first. . . . If you do that, you will have my support. . . . And if you do that, you will have bipartisan support for this bill, which right now is a backroom deal.”

--Rep. Fred Grandy (R-Iowa)

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“Even the new Russian constitution prohibits retroactive taxation, but retroactivity is the centerpiece of the Clinton Administration bill. This bill is a disaster in the making.”

--Rep. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.)

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“If you’ve ever been in business, you know that if your customers are in trouble, you don’t give them a price increase. You wait. Yes, we need to get the economy fixed. But let’s do it right.”

--Rep. Amo Houghton

(R-N.Y.)

*

“This bill really doesn’t cut government spending. It doesn’t cut deficit spending. But it does cut one thing. It cuts jobs. If we enact this tax package, we will lose 1.3 million American jobs.”

--Rep. David Camp (R-Mich.)

*

“The master of illusion, the Great Houdini, must be smiling down on us today. This is killing poison for the economy.”

--Rep. Bill Archer

(R-Tex.)