[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17950]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              FISCAL CLIFF

  (Mr. PALAZZO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PALAZZO. Mr. Speaker, today, this body will take up legislation 
that will cut spending, replace the dangerous defense sequester, and 
protect millions from the biggest tax hike our country has ever seen. 
This is a good first step. The costs are simply too high to go over the 
fiscal cliff.
  Earlier this week, the CPA Caucus met with former Comptroller David 
Walker to discuss what we truly need for meaningful, long-term reform. 
Walker proposed six basic principles that I want to share with this 
body today:
  1. Pro-Growth. Truly pro-growth policies will empower our small 
businesses rather than strangle them with taxes and regulations at 
every turn.
  2. Socially equitable. We're in this together, and we cannot expect 
one income bracket to bear the burden of solving all of our problems.
  3. Culturally acceptable. We need the support and backing of the 
American people to enact good solutions.
  4. Mathematically possible. We cannot continue to ignore the bottom 
line. I'm a CPA. To me, it's obvious that we have to balance our books.
  5. Politically feasible. Our solutions won't always be perfect, but 
they have to be proposals both sides can agree on.
  6. Bipartisan support. We can agree to disagree on certain matters, 
but we must still work together.
  These six principles can be our bridge forward.

                          ____________________