[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 74 (Monday, May 1, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2645-S2646]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Tax Reform

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, last Wednesday, the Trump administration 
unveiled the outlines of a tax reform plan, and, predictably, the plan 
has met with both praise and scorn from the usual sectors. Regardless 
of where the people might come down on the specifics of the President's 
plan, those who have been proponents of tax reform--hopefully those 
from both parties--should be pleased to see the President of the United 
States fully engaged in this effort.
  For 6 years now, I have been beating the drum on tax reform. I have 
sought to make the case for reform here on the floor, in public forums 
and events, and in private conversations, and I haven't been alone. 
Indeed, Members from both parties have acknowledged the need to fix our 
broken tax system and have sought to move the ball forward on reform.
  One thing I have said throughout this endeavor is that tax reform, if 
it is going to be successful, will require Presidential leadership, and 
that was not a political statement on my part. With those statements, I 
wasn't simply calling for the election of a Republican President; on 
the contrary, I repeatedly implored President Obama to engage with 
Congress on tax reform but really to no avail.
  As of now, we finally have a President who is willing to lead in this 
effort. Once again, regardless of where anyone stands with regard to 
this President or the specifics of his tax plan, the fact that he is 
willing to meaningfully engage with Congress and the public on these 
issues should be viewed as a welcome sign for all tax reform advocates, 
regardless of their party affiliation.
  With regard to the specifics of the outline, I believe the President 
has laid out a set of critical core principles that should hopefully 
serve as guideposts as the effort moves forward. Most importantly, the 
plan is designed, first and foremost, to grow the economy, and it would 
certainly do that.
  In addition, the plan would greatly simplify the Tax Code to make it 
fairer, particularly for individuals and families, which has been a 
shared goal of tax reformers from both parties and from both sides of 
the aisle. For instance, over two-thirds of taxpayers take the standard 
deduction. Those taxpayers tend to be concentrated in the middle and 
lower income brackets. Under the President's plan, married couples 
would see the standard deduction doubled, so that they would not pay 
taxes on the first $24,000 of income. It would reduce rates for both 
large and small businesses and job creators, which is also something 
both Republicans and Democrats have sought to accomplish in tax reform.
  Overall, the President's tax plan would make our country more 
competitive in the international marketplace and reduce the tax burden 
on millions of middle-class families.
  Clearly, as the effort moves forward, Congress and the administration 
will have to fill in the specifics. We will need to see how the numbers 
work out and where the votes are for any particular reform proposal. 
This is going to take some time, but, as the chairman of the Senate's 
tax-writing committee, I believe we can be ready to move in relatively 
short order. I intend to work closely with my colleagues on the Finance 
Committee, our leadership here in the Senate, leaders in the House, 
and, of course, the administration to finalize a reform package and get 
it across the finish line. The last major tax overhaul in the United 
States was more than 30 years ago, so we have a once-in-a-lifetime or 
once-in-a-generation opportunity in front of us, and I intend to do all 
I can to ensure that we make the most of it.
  When I say ``we,'' I am not simply referring to Republicans in 
Congress and the White House; I am referring to anyone who recognizes 
the problems in our current tax system and is willing to do the 
necessary work to fix those problems. My hope is that this will be a 
bipartisan exercise. By and large, Republicans appear ready and willing 
to work with the President to get tax reform done, and I am working to 
find some willing partners among my friends on the other side of the 
aisle.
  I have said many times that tax reform should not have to be a 
partisan exercise. Our current tax system imposes undue burdens and 
undue hardships on Republican and Democratic voters alike. Therefore, 
both Republicans and Democrats in Congress should be willing to relieve 
these hardships, and, as I have stated here on the floor on numerous 
occasions, I am willing to work with anyone, Republican or Democrat, to 
make this effort successful.
  That said, I haven't been all that encouraged by the rhetoric we are 
hearing from our friends on the other side of the aisle on these 
issues. Setting aside statements we have heard about the policies in 
the President's plan or

[[Page S2646]]

elsewhere, the Senate Democratic leadership at times seems bound and 
determined to ensure that no Member of their party engages on these 
issues.
  Most recently, the Senate minority leader has insisted on two 
conditions before he will agree to work with Republicans on tax reform.
  The first condition is that Republicans commit to not moving tax 
reform through the budget reconciliation process. This is an odd 
demand, one that is, quite frankly, unprecedented in the modern history 
of tax policy. Certainly, the reconciliation process makes it easier to 
move reform through Congress on a partisan basis, but, historically 
speaking, most major tax bills that have moved through reconciliation 
have had bipartisan support. There is no reason, if agreements are 
reached on policy, that Democrats could not agree to support a tax 
reform package moved through reconciliation, so taking it categorically 
off the table before discussions even begin seems, at best, 
counterintuitive.

  History tells us that reconciliation need not be partisan. In fact, 
when Republicans have had control of both Houses of Congress and the 
White House, we have enacted tax reconciliation bills that have enjoyed 
some Senate Democratic support.
  It is also worth noting that at various points in the recent past, 
Republicans have stayed at the negotiating table, participating in 
formal and informal discussions on major policy matters with 
reconciliation instructions in place and without any assurances that 
reconciliation would not be used. Are Democrats going to be more 
amenable to compromising on policy if reconciliation is not on the 
table? It is hard to see why that would be the case. Taking 
reconciliation off the table would really only make it easier for 
Democrats to prevent any kind of tax reform from passing.
  So, essentially, what some of my Democratic colleagues are saying is 
that before they will even enter into talks on tax reform, they want us 
to ensure upfront that they will have the ability to block the bill 
once it is brought up. As I said, that is an odd demand, and not one 
you would expect to hear from someone who is willing to negotiate in 
good faith.
  My colleagues' second precondition for working with us on tax reform 
is that President Trump release his tax returns. Like their first 
demand, this one makes me doubt whether the Senate Democratic 
leadership really wants to be constructive on tax reform. This is a 
political demand, pure and simple, likely poll-tested and focus-grouped 
to please the Democrats' base. I don't imagine this demand is really 
about uncovering conflicts of interest in tax reform. If it is, it is a 
horribly misguided strategy.
  After all, if tax reform were to succeed, the President is only one 
small part of the equation. There are 435 Members of the House of 
Representatives and 100 Senators, all of whom would be called upon to 
vote either for or against the tax reform bill, and whether a Member of 
Congress supports or opposes a particular bill, a conflict of interest 
could potentially influence that decision, just as one could 
theoretically influence a President's decision to sign or veto a bill. 
Yet I don't hear anyone from the other side of the aisle demanding the 
release of the tax returns of every Member of Congress before we can 
even start working on a bill. That has never been a prerequisite for 
working on tax legislation in the past, and it certainly should not be 
a prerequisite in the future.
  In any event, despite these unreasonable demands, I will once again 
state that I am more than willing to work with my Democratic colleagues 
on tax reform, and I sincerely hope at least some of them will be 
willing to do so. I have been in the Senate for a while now. I think I 
have more than sufficiently demonstrated my willingness to put partisan 
differences aside and to reach across the aisle.
  Make no mistake, I believe Republicans can move a tax reform package 
on a purely partisan basis. We have the procedural mechanism in place 
that would allow us to do that. But my strong preference would be to 
find a bipartisan pathway forward, and I hope that can be achieved.
  Speaking more broadly, whether we move forward on a partisan or 
bipartisan basis, being successful on tax reform is going to require 
that we practice the art of the doable. There are a lot of ideas out 
there on tax reform and no shortage of competing interests. I have my 
own ideas and proposals that I have been working on for a number of 
years that I would like to see included in the final package. However, 
no idea should be considered more important than the broader goals of 
tax reform. That goes for my ideas and those of anyone else in Congress 
or in the administration.
  There is a great deal of consensus among Republicans on the most 
important tax reform policies and principles. In fact, I would say we 
agree on roughly 80 percent of the key issues, which is a good starting 
point. I will not go into specifics today, but there are some high-
profile items in the remaining 20 percent, and there are some 
differences of opinion regarding most of those items.
  Bridging that gap and finding the path forward is going to take some 
serious negotiation and compromise. My hope is that people will be 
willing to adjust their expectations and bend on their preferences in 
order to achieve success in this very important endeavor. Speaking for 
myself, I can say that I would be willing to do so, and I have 
confidence that my colleagues who will also be playing leadership roles 
in this effort are similarly willing. Perhaps most importantly, I 
believe the President and his advisers in the administration are 
willing to make the necessary compromises to finally make tax reform a 
success.
  This is the closest we have been to success in tax reform in the past 
three decades. I hope both parties, both Chambers, both sides of 
Pennsylvania Avenue are up to that challenge.
  Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.