Charlie Rangel

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Turner).

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. There have been some concerns with people getting emotional because our side said that it is nearly a $1 trillion tax cut. I do not want my colleagues to get upset. It is not a $1 trillion tax cut. It is a Christmas tree. It is decorated with every cut that you can think of for Republican supporters. Ninety percent of the tax cut goes to the wealthiest Americans. But it is not as irresponsible as some people are saying. Why? Because you know the bill is not going anywhere. What you want is a veto from President Clinton. He becomes the scrooge, he becomes the person that has snatched away this beautiful Christmas present that you have outlined. The only thing the President and the Democrats want are to protect Social Security, to protect Medicare, to make certain that prescription drugs are protected and to bring down the Federal debt. And when you do those things, which we try to do in the substitute, which we try to do in the motion to recommit, that is the biggest tax cut of all. Bringing down interest on car purchases, on electric appliances, on the mortgage. That is what America wants. But when you tell me and get excited about it, that if you do not give the nearly $1 trillion to the taxpayers, then the politicians in Washington, I assume you mean the Congress, are going to spend it. Well, who is in charge of the spending committees? Who is in charge of the Congress? I know you have a question answering that yourself, but most people believe it is the Republican Party. So if you are saying, ``For God's sake, let's get rid of the Clinton surplus before the Republican Congress just spends it,'' then say it, but I know you are not saying that. The reason you are not saying it is because your bill is, what we call in Harlem, a trip to nowhere. And what you intend to do is to have little pamphlets with all of the tax cuts on it to pass out at the polls and say what a mean person the President was because he vetoed it. If you want a tax cut, the only way to have one is to realize that there are Democrats in this House. I know it is rough keeping up with how many of us because we keep a-coming. But still what you should do is to recognize that and get together with the Democrats on the committee and get together with the President of the United States. Do not do what the President told you to do, but for God's sake do not try to do what the right wing of your party wants you to do. Learn how to do something which is very difficult for some of the Members on the other side even to say: Learn how to compromise. Learn how to be bipartisan. Learn how to work together. That is what the American people want. They do not want a fight. They do not want a food fight. And they do not want you to get this bill decorated and send it over to the White House so that we have got to have another fight when there is a veto. Let us start now to see what we can do to work together. And, yes, it is nearly $1 trillion. And if you are going to challenge that, I challenge you, bring a bill to the floor. God knows what else you have in the Committee on Rules. Bring something out so people can see really what you are doing. It changes from day to day. The last rumor was it was close to $1 trillion. I know you lost $72 billion on the way to the House floor, but we do not know where you are today. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Ms. McCarthy). (Ms. McCARTHY of Missouri asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Becerra) a member of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Spratt). (Mr. SPRATT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Frost).

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bentsen). (Mr. BENTSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. McNulty), a member of the committee.

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Baltimore, Maryland (Mr. Cardin), a member of the committee.

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal), a distinguished member of the Committee on Ways and Means. (Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Brown).

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin). (Mr. LEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey).

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis), a member of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Matsui), a senior member of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. RANGEL

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, we are here at 1:20 in the morning talking about a bill that no one has seen in its final form. The last time I saw this bill it was a $864 billion tax cut. But that was two days ago. I can see why the Republicans really do not trust the politicians, because just overnight they lost $72 billion. And from what they have in the rules change, they may lose the whole 10-percent tax cut depending on how Alan Greenspan feels. But since this thing is not just smoke and mirrors but cartoons and photographs but no bill, then I guess all we are doing is just saying what is it that the Republican party really stands for? Now, I do not know how many people you can afford to lose, I do not know how many we want to take. But the truth of the matter is that if the chairman of the committee truly believes that what makes America great is how much trickle down to the people on the bottom that they may not have income tax and they cannot get a cut, but you know something? The people who work hard every day and take home less than their gross pay because they have payroll taxes, they feel that. I know you do not have time to really get down and talk about them, because the air is different when you are dealing with the top 1 percent of those that have high incomes, or those that cut coupons. But one thing is clear. Even though it is 1:20 in the morning, the reporters are gone and you really think you got away with something, take my word for it. The Joint Committee on Taxation will still have these reports tomorrow morning. We will still distribute the reports. And figures do not lie. We know how much you are giving away, we know who you are giving it away to, and you can try to change the formulas all you want to get some votes to pass the rule, but I would not go to sleep this morning thinking that you have enough to pass this bill. And there is one thing that I can guarantee, that you certainly will not have enough votes to override the President's veto. What I would suggest is this: Why do we not come together as Republicans and Democrats and put together a bill that the President of the United States can really sign?

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the remaining time.

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman).

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee). (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind). (Mr. KIND asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Taylor).

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Taylor).

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Thurman).

Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Meek). (Mrs. MEEK of Florida asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)