Tax Loophole Quotes
Sherman was a member of the House Finance Committee that would have to initiate any tax bill. Most of the Republicans of that time had signed a pledge to have no new taxes and that was interpreted as no closing of tax loopholes. So they blocked all attempts at closing tax loopholes when they controlled the house or had a filibuster minority of the Senate. However in the few years that they did not, the Democrats had “more important” legislation like health care reform that they wanted to use their majority position for. The result was no closure of tax loopholes—even the egregious ones that a majority of Congress wanted closed and almost all the people did. The particular Congress when Sherman made this statement was the worst Congress in American History in terms of the few laws that the polarized Congress could pass.
At the time Rangel was the Chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee which had jurisdiction over tax matters.
