[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 70 (Friday, May 9, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E729]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


           AMERICAN RESEARCH AND COMPETITIVENESS ACT OF 2014

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                               speech of

                             HON. RUSH HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 8, 2014

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation, which 
is especially important to New Jersey, one of America's most research-
intensive states. Yet I must ask how my Republican colleagues can 
support this tax expenditure while opposing all other forms of 
government spending.
  Republicans say America can't afford to pass unemployment insurance 
for 2.5 million Americans struggling to find work. NIH is at the lowest 
funding in three years, distributing fewer and fewer grants, but we 
can't afford to fund scientific and health research. There is a $2 
trillion transportation backlog, but we can't afford to repair and 
upgrade our roads, bridges, tunnels, and dams. Yet somehow, they say we 
can afford special tax cuts?
  That's nonsense. To quote Martin Feldstein, the former chief economic 
advisor to Ronald Reagan, ``These tax rules . . . are equivalent to 
direct government expenditures.''
  The distinction between tax expenditures and direct spending is one 
that only Grover Norquist could love. If America can afford this tax 
cut--and indeed we can--then we can afford to do so much more.
  So I thank Republican leaders for correctly acknowledging the role of 
government investment in our economy. And I call on them to use this 
same logic to find more ways to invest in America. Let us pass a 
transportation bill that funds our roads and bridges. Let's meet the 
funding goals for scientific research that we set in the 2007 and 2010 
COMPETES Act. Let's help the millions of Americans looking for work 
with the support they need. We can do better. The American people 
deserve better.

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