Ensuring Tax Exempt Organizations the Right to Appeal Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. WELCH. I thank the gentleman.

Madam Speaker, there are a few reasons why this agreement deserves our support:

First, it is good public policy. This finally unleashes the shackles of the sequester that have prevented Congress from making decisions and, instead, just had across-the-board cuts. The gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers) is going to have an opportunity for his Appropriations Committee--Republicans and Democrats--to do its job.

Second, it averts enormous increases in Medicare part B premiums.

Third, it keeps Social Security disability funds solvent through 2022, and there are a number of other things.

The second major reason why this is so important is this: It is an agreement. We have finally come together, through the leadership of Speaker Boehner and Leader Pelosi, to legislate. We have been part of a legislative body that is on strike, that hasn't legislated. We cannot underestimate the power that is unleashed by the capacity of this Congress to give certainty to the American people and to our agencies as to what comes ahead and what they have to do.

Secondly, what Speaker Boehner did--and I am so indebted to him, as all of us should be--is that he took out of the hands of those of us in Congress two weapons which, when used, are very destructive, and those are: the threat of shutting the government down, and the threat of defaulting on America's full faith and credit. We can't do that.

And Speaker Boehner, to his credit, when there was the Planned Parenthood dispute about funding and he was in favor of cutting funding, he opposed shutting down government to achieve that goal.

We have suspended the debt ceiling through 2017, which means this body is going to have not just the opportunity, but the responsibility to do its job.

Finally, what we have seen here, when Speaker Boehner reached out to Leader Pelosi, is that he had in the minority leader a willing partner who was willing to sit down, work hard, and reach an agreement. That sets the foundation for progress ahead.

I wish the best success to Speaker-to-be Ryan. He has willing and able partners in the whole Caucus to make progress for America.

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