[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 163 (Wednesday, October 11, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H7961-H7965]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REPUBLICAN STUDY COMMITTEE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Taylor). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 3, 2017, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 
Walker) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority 
leader.
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, we are here today because, almost 11 months 
ago, the American people voted to give Republicans control of unified 
government. They were tired of being crushed by rising healthcare costs 
due to ObamaCare. They wanted America's economy to prosper again. They 
wanted a secure border.
  During the months that followed, Congress worked with President Trump 
to sign over 50 bills into law. On top of that, the House passed over 
270 laws that now sit in the Senate awaiting action.
  Despite this legislation, there is a unified voice that is loud and 
clear arriving daily from our base, saying, ``Get something done.'' The 
reason for that call is because Americans continue to be crushed by 
government policies, something that is very evident. These are the same 
policies that drove them to vote for us in the first place.
  Americans are scarred by the broken promises of the former 
administration. They could not keep their doctor, even though they were 
told by the former President they could. Their premiums did not go down 
$2,500, and their exchanges did not work.
  ObamaCare resulted in fewer options and increased costs for many 
Americans. Out-of-pocket costs continue to soar, with overage 
deductibles for bronze plans topping $6,000 in 2017.
  Some States, like Arizona, faced premium increases of 116 percent; 
Oklahoma, 69 percent. Tennessee faced a 63 percent increase. And one-
third of counties have only one insurer offering coverage on the 
exchange. Some entire States like Wyoming, right below me, South 
Carolina, Oklahoma, and Alaska only have one insurer.
  Think about that. This trend is predicted to worsen, with half of 
American counties only having one insurer in 2018.
  As we have come to almost 8 years with the ACA, or ObamaCare, we run 
a risk of thinking that it is normal. Our healthcare system was not 
perfect before. We are not making that case. But ObamaCare made what 
was already bad even worse.
  We cannot think of these stats as mere numbers. Americans are really 
suffering under this law. Just because Senate Majority Leader McConnell 
gave up on repealing ObamaCare in the Senate does not mean Americans 
will give Congress and Republicans a pass. We cannot and we must not 
give up on this important promise.
  The burden of ObamaCare is only made worse by the lackluster growth 
of the economy in recent years. During the Obama administration years, 
the economy failed to grow even once at the historic goal of 3 percent 
a year, something we just saw in our last quarter.
  Americans are as industrious and innovative as ever. Americans' work 
ethic is not the problem. It is our antiquated tax system that has been 
bogged down over the years by regulators and lobbyists.
  Since our last major rewrite of the Tax Code 31 years ago, the same 
year that ``Top Gun'' was number one in the box office, 1986, our Tax 
Code has added over 35,000 pages. Think about that--35,000 pages. That 
is about three changes per day. Each page is another carve-out or a 
loophole for the well connected, leaving the rest of the economy 
behind.
  Our companies are at a disadvantage internationally, as our tax rate 
stands at 35 percent, the highest, as we know now, in the 
industrialized world.
  Families continue to be punished with a marriage penalty.
  Our Tax Code should be a competitive advantage for our companies 
competing with the world. It should encourage innovators to push the 
boundaries and find success.
  The call to get something done that we hear loud and clear from 
Americans is also coupled with a call to make sure that we are doing 
our very best to secure the border. Perhaps there is no more vocal call 
from the past year than to build that wall.
  In 2016, the United States saw a surge in illegal border crossings, 
with 46,000 illegals apprehended in that October alone. This is both a 
fiscal and a security issue.
  Border security is more than just the border, though. Visa overstays 
are responsible for up to 40 percent of illegal immigration. We need a 
solution, and we need an action to this problem if we are truly to 
secure the border.
  To add to these problems, more than 100 sanctuary jurisdictions have 
enacted policies which restrict cooperation with ICE, allowing 
potentially dangerous illegal immigrant criminals to remain in our 
country.
  I am confident that the American people will deliver their final 
grade on Republicans over the next 3 months simply based on the three 
issues, the three promises that I am speaking about today: number one, 
continuing to work and replace and repeal ObamaCare; number two, 
reforming the Tax Code; and, number three, securing the border. In 
short, repeal, reform, secure; repeal, reform, secure. We need to 
fulfill these promises in the next 3 months. The urgency and the time 
is now.
  As I said before, the status quo on these policies is literally 
crushing Americans, and this is why they elected Republicans. In fact, 
since 1913, when Republicans expanded, or when the House expanded the 
387 Members to 435, this is the only time in history when back-to-back 
Congresses, the Americans have elected 240 or more Republicans, and it 
is time we did our job. We need to keep our promises to the American 
people.
  I am pleased to be joined by members of the Republican Study 
Committee today to talk about the importance of keeping these promises. 
That is why it is my privilege to introduce one of our newer members 
from Kansas, Representative Ron Estes.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Estes).
  Mr. ESTES of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, after a decade of inadequate 
economic growth across America, there is new growing optimism that our 
economy is about to be set free again. Consumer confidence in the 
economy is the highest it has been since 2000. Why? I believe this is 
because the American people expect us to reform our broken Tax Code, 
and they are excited about it.
  Our outdated and overly complex Tax Code has held our economy down 
for the past decade. It is time we fix this and empower working 
families in America.
  Real tax reform will be the best way to help America climb up the 
economic ladder. A stronger economy will bring higher wages and better 
jobs. The goal is to make our Federal Code simple and to make it fair.

                              {time}  1730

  The Tax Code, as it is, only benefits the rich and well-connected who 
can

[[Page H7962]]

hire an army of lawyers to protect their interests. This is why 
Republicans are looking to enact real reform for all Americans. The 
argument against tax reform is this: the plan is just a tax cut for the 
rich.
  The reality is, this tax reform framework is focused on helping 
middle class families. The tax system is laid out by Republicans that 
allows low- and middle-income workers to keep more of their hard-earned 
paychecks in order to save for their children's college, for their 
retirement, or any other things that they want.
  I implore my colleagues across the aisle to do what is right and help 
to fix our antiquated Tax Code.
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Estes. Perhaps no one 
knows more and has had more experience than the chairman of our 
Judiciary Committee, a former immigration attorney who has spent years 
working on resolving these issues.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to yield to the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte).
  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I very much appreciate the gentleman 
organizing this hour of Special Order remarks, and your leadership on 
these three important issues.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to discuss the importance of bolstering 
enforcement of existing immigration law and securing the border. The 
interior enforcement and border security are vital to enhancing public 
safety, keeping the door open to law-abiding immigrants, protecting our 
borders, and restoring the rule of law.
  Under President Obama, interior enforcement deteriorated dramatically 
as his administration refused to enforce immigration laws, rewrote the 
law through executive action, and implemented policies that enabled 
millions of unlawful and criminal aliens to remain in the United States 
free from any possibility of removal.
  The Obama administration's policies had--and continue to have--
disturbing consequences. The rule of law was undermined as hundreds of 
thousands of Central American unaccompanied minors and families arrived 
at the southwest border during the Obama years and were released into 
the U.S. Too many Americans were killed or seriously harmed at the 
hands of aliens who joined gangs or committed crimes.
  Fortunately, the Trump administration has begun to reverse the Obama 
administration's disastrous policies and is enforcing the law as 
written by Congress. President Trump has issued executive orders to 
strengthen interior enforcement and implement strong border security 
measures. The Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland 
Security are already executing these executive orders, and there have 
been quick results.
  Illegal border crossings at the Southwest border dropped dramatically 
at the beginning of the Trump administration due, in large part, to 
consistent enforcement of the law and the strong message that the U.S. 
no longer tolerates illegal immigration.
  However, illegal border crossings are rising again despite the best 
efforts of the Trump administration, demonstrating that the President 
should be granted additional, long-needed legislative tools. The House 
Judiciary Committee has been hard at work to improve our Nation's 
immigration laws and has already approved bills that are crucial to 
enable our country to gain control of our immigration system.
  The Davis-Oliver Act is the keystone of our interior enforcement 
efforts and is named after Placer County Detective Michael Davis, Jr., 
and Sacramento County Deputy Sheriff Danny Oliver, two California law 
enforcement officers who were murdered by an unlawful immigrant in 
October 2014.
  The bill improves the enforcement of our Nation's immigration laws to 
enhance public safety. Specifically, the Davis-Oliver Act provides 
tools to crack down on dangerous sanctuary city policies and contains 
much-needed changes to protect American communities from unlawful 
immigrants who commit crimes in the United States, or are gang members.
  The Davis-Oliver Act also enhances national security by improving our 
Nation's first line of defense, the visa issuance process. It provides 
thorough screening of foreign nationals seeking to enter the United 
States in order to prevent terrorists from entering our country. The 
bill also ensures the rule of law and removes the ability of any 
President to unilaterally shut down immigration enforcement by granting 
States and localities the authority to voluntarily assist in the 
enforcement of Federal immigration law and to enforce their own 
immigration laws consistent with Federal practices.
  The House Judiciary Committee has also approved several bills to 
reform the asylum and refugee programs to curtail rampant fraud, while 
ensuring that our Nation continues to be a safe haven for those 
persecuted around the world. The surge of Central American 
unaccompanied alien minors and family units seeking to enter the U.S. 
illegally at our southern border put a strain on manpower and 
resources. It also exposed loopholes in our Nation's immigration laws 
that are being exploited by smugglers and others seeking to game the 
system.
  The Asylum Reform and Border Patrol Act makes a number of 
improvements to our Nation's laws to prevent fraud and abuse in the 
system and assure that asylum is reserved for those truly fleeing 
persecution in their home country.
  Further, the Protection of Children Act makes sure that unaccompanied 
alien minors who make the dangerous journey to the United States are 
swiftly and safely returned home. For those who stay with a sponsor in 
the United States while awaiting their immigration hearing, the bill 
provides for greater transparency and safety to these minors to ensure 
that they are not inadvertently delivered into the hands of criminals 
or abusers.
  The Refugee Program Integrity Restoration Act reforms the refugee 
program by curbing fraud and strengthening public safety and national 
security. It also provides State and local governments the power to 
decide if refugees are to be resettled within their communities and 
gives Congress, not the President, the authority to set the overall 
refugee ceiling for each year.

  The House Judiciary Committee also plans to bring up a bill that 
protects jobs for citizens and legal workers, the Legal Workforce Act. 
This bill requires all U.S. employers to check the work eligibility of 
all future hires through the tried and tested E-Verify system. E-Verify 
quickly confirms 99 percent of work-eligible employees and takes less 
than 2 minutes to use.
  Over 740,000 American employers currently use E-Verify, and 83 
percent of America's employers support a mandatory electronic 
verification system. While many aspects of our Nation's immigration 
system need to be improved, including our guest worker program for 
American agriculture, we must strengthen the enforcement of our 
immigration laws. Immigration enforcement is crucial to maintain our 
sovereignty, to protect national security, and to restore the rule of 
law.
  Mr. Speaker, I call on Congress to take up the House Judiciary 
Committee's immigration enforcement bills soon.
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Goodlatte and appreciate 
those powerful words.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. DeSantis), a 
colleague and one of the sharpest, most intellectual Members of 
Congress.
  Mr. DeSANTIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from North Carolina for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, if you were trying to do damage to the United States and 
you wanted to design a Tax Code that hindered economic growth, that 
diverted a lot of productive energy, that basically kept America from 
reaching its economic potential, you probably couldn't do much worse 
than designing the code that we have.
  It is enormously complex--70,000 plus pages. I confess, there is no 
way I can do my own taxes, and I think that is true for millions and 
millions of Americans. There is a frustration with that, but it also 
costs massive amounts of money and diverts energy. We are talking about 
hundreds of billions of dollars that get diverted to complying with the 
Tax Code, and that is not optimal for economic growth.
  It repels capital and incentivizes companies to relocate overseas and 
take jobs overseas. You see companies reincorporating in Ireland or 
Canada. That is because we have the highest corporate tax rate in the 
industrialized world. We are almost trying to send businesses overseas.

[[Page H7963]]

  It doesn't allow middle class families to keep enough of the money 
they earn. If you look over the past decade or so, family income really 
hasn't risen by that much, yet the cost of living has gone up. So by 
taking more and more from taxes, it makes it harder for middle class 
families to make ends meet.
  So reforming the Tax Code, doing a nice, big tax cut, I think is long 
overdue. It would be a boon to our economy. You would have a simple 
system--no more 70,000 pages. Fill out your taxes on a postcard. That 
not only is more economically efficient, it gives people a lot of peace 
of mind to know they can do their taxes themselves. It is going to 
incentivize us to bring all of the trillions of dollars in overseas 
profits, and bring it back to the United States so that we can invest 
it here through our companies and create more jobs here.
  It will make our American businesses more competitive. Our business 
tax system is outdated. It is uncompetitive. This, I think, will change 
a lot of that by having a competitive business tax rate, and I think 
that that will mean more economic growth.
  So I think all that is pretty obvious to most people who look at this 
in a fair way. The question for us now is, we have to produce this 
bill. We have been talking about tax reform for a long time this year, 
and I think that is great, but it is time right now for us to produce 
this bill, debate it here in the House, pass it, and send it over to 
the United States Senate.
  I am not encouraged when, given the urgency of this, we are going on 
a recess next week. The House is not going to be here. You are not 
going to have a tax bill marked up in the Ways and Means Committee or 
unveiled to the public. Members are not going to be debating that. I 
think it is time that we do that, and I think there should be a sense 
of urgency with that.
  We have got to get our job done. I think the bill should have been 
passed by now, but let's get it done. Send it to the Senate. I don't 
think you would probably have very smart money to bet that the Senate 
is going to come through in the clutch. They haven't shown they can do 
that yet. But this is going to be a big question for them: Can you get 
anything done in the U.S. Senate? This is something that we know we 
need to do. It will be good for our economy.
  All of the Republicans have said that our Tax Code is a disaster. So 
if we send them a good bill, this is going to be a major test. Can you 
apply the majority that the voters gave us? Can you honor your promises 
and do something good for taxpayers? I hope the answer is yes. But I 
think in this body we have got to be focusing on, let's put the Senate 
to the test. Let's draft, debate, and pass a strong, bold, tax cut and 
tax reform.
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments. I 
always appreciate the contribution that the gentleman makes to the 
House and to the American people.
  I could not agree more. For those who may be listening or watching, 
you may have seen, in the last few months, a heightened energy, or an 
urgency when it comes to calling out our partners in the Senate to 
begin to move and to begin to act--not just on things like repealing 
the healthcare, ObamaCare, but also moving, getting ready to move, 
hopefully, on tax reform.
  I know there has been some agreement on the framework, but, as the 
details continue to be more and more clear, we hope our colleagues on 
the Senate are ready to move quickly and swiftly for the American 
people.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. 
Norman), a brand-new Member who came in from a special election to 
replace OMB Director Mick Mulvaney when he took the position with 
President Trump's administration. He has gotten up to speed quickly and 
is a huge asset to the Republican Study Committee and to the House 
Republicans as a whole.

  Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the Republican Study 
Committee's three promises in 3 months' pledge to repeal ObamaCare, 
secure the border, and enable comprehensive tax reform.
  I applaud RSC's Chairman Mike Walker for his leadership on this and 
on this initiative. On the promises to repeal and secure, the House has 
begun to deliver by passing the American Health Care Act and providing 
$1.6 billion in border wall funding.
  Tonight, I want to focus on the third promise: passing comprehensive 
tax reform. Our Nation's Tax Code affects every family, business, and 
worker and is a key driver behind America's economic competitiveness. 
Congress has not passed comprehensive tax reform since 1986. That is 31 
years.
  The average cost of a new house then in the United States was 
$89,430. For a new Ford F-150 pickup truck, the average price was 
$8,350. Mr. Speaker, it has been way too long before we have taken 
comprehensive tax reform into consideration.
  Since then, the number of pages in the IRS code has increased by 
nearly 50,000 pages. The corporate tax rate is at 35 percent, which is 
the highest in the industrialized world. Ireland's, to give you an 
example, is 12 percent. This is inexcusable.
  Congress took an important step forward last week through passing a 
budget resolution, and now it is time for the Senate to do their job on 
the budget so that we can deliver comprehensive tax reform for the 
American people.
  Mr. Speaker, our tax reform plan is both profamily, and proworker. 
The typical American family will receive a $4,000 pay raise under our 
plan and will turbocharge the economy through enabling gross domestic 
product growth to reach 3.2 percent minimum for the next 5 years.
  Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working with the House leadership, 
Chairman Brady, and all of the congressional Members to pass this fair 
and simple tax reform package to make this country as great as it can 
be.
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments. As 
you see, three promises, 3 months; October, November, December, three 
promises, 3 months: repeal, reform, and secure. That is the promise 
from the Republican Study Committee, making up 157 members, 17 of the 
20 chairmen.

                              {time}  1745

  Now it is in our ability to make sure this gets through the Senate 
and passed into law by the President. We can't force all that, but what 
we are committed to is doing our part and doing our job to get these 
pieces of legislation through regular order to the House for a vote to 
fulfill the promises that most of us ran on over the last several 
elections.
  It is also a wonderful privilege tonight to introduce our House 
veterinarian--the gentleman can define that as he would need if we need 
a House veterinarian--but the great Representative from central Florida 
who does fine work in the House, Dr. Ted Yoho.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho).
  Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the chairman's leadership on 
this.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the three promises, 3-month 
initiative that you have outlined here, and I think it is so important 
that we follow through with this.
  I want to start with tax reform. Members can say: Why do we need tax 
reform? I think it is self-evident. Our Tax Code, as you heard, is the 
most burdensome in the world. It stifles economic growth, 
entrepreneurship, and it creates noncompliance. So we need to simplify 
it. We have told the American people we were going to do that if we get 
in charge.
  I think the repeal of ObamaCare--and some people get offended if we 
call it ObamaCare, so I will refer to it as the Affordable Care Act. It 
has disrupted over 20 percent of our economy, and I think it is not 
affordable. We can talk to so many different people. I know our 
premiums went up $11,000 since I have come to Congress. In fact, our 
policy got canceled when I came to Congress because of ObamaCare.
  Then I think the third part of that is we promised the American 
people that we would repeal this in its entirety and fix healthcare so 
that people have access to healthcare, it is affordable, and that it is 
quality care is the part that gets left out.
  Then I want to touch on border security. This is something that we 
have all run on. Any nation needs a secure border. A sovereign nation 
has to have a secure border, and they have to have control over their 
border. However, due to the failures of politicians past and present, 
the U.S. southern border, in particular, remains porous.

[[Page H7964]]

  I applaud President Trump for releasing a set of principles which I 
fully endorse and his priorities that are focused on making our borders 
more secure. President Trump's consistent message calling for better 
enforcement of our immigration laws and improving border security is 
one of the main reasons he won the Presidency.
  President Trump is sticking to his campaign promises, which is 
refreshing to see in Washington, D.C., these days, a town where too 
many times there is an aversion to making tough decisions in fear of 
how that will be viewed in the next election. So it is refreshing to 
see President Trump do what he said he was going to do.
  Protecting our borders, ending sanctuary cities, and facilitating 
State and local cooperation in immigration enforcement are commonsense 
ideas that will protect national security, promote public safety, and 
deter future illegal immigration. We are hard at work on solving these 
problems of illegal immigration in the House.
  Just three real quick facts:
  From November 2013 to July 2014, officials apprehended 143 
individuals listed on the U.S. terrorist watch list trying to cross the 
Mexican border and enter the U.S. illegally. So many times I hear 
people say that this is not true and that this does not happen, but we 
know better.
  As of 2014, illegal immigrants were convicted and sentenced for about 
13 percent of the crimes in the United States.
  Then, lastly, border security should also focus on maritime domain. 
Our Coast Guard, a hardworking branch of our military service, has set 
a new record for cocaine seizures at sea for the second consecutive 
year, seizing more than 455,000 pounds of cocaine in 2017 that was 
destined for the homeland.
  So I am proud to join the Republican Study Committee in recognizing 
the necessity of border security today.
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Yoho, and we 
appreciate the gentleman's work in the United States House.
  Mr. Speaker, one of the most accomplished men, sometimes a person 
whom we refer to as ``Governor'' around here when it comes to political 
minds, is the gentleman from South Carolina, Representative Mark 
Sanford. Week in and week out, he is a very diligent and great leader 
in this House.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to yield to the fine gentleman from 
South Carolina (Mr. Sanford).
  Mr. SANFORD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I would make two quick points on the importance of tax 
reform. One, I would refer to an editorial that appeared in yesterday's 
Wall Street Journal. What it talked about was the nexus between 
deficits and tax reform. Oddly enough, if you look at the numbers here 
of late and if you look at the 2017 CBO report, what it shows is that, 
in fact, deficits are creeping up again. Last year's number is $668 
billion.
  What they point to in this editorial was that a good part of the 
reason why deficits have escalated has been tied to anemic economic 
growth and that, unlike other recoveries that had been more robust in 
nature, the revenues had not come in as they have in past recoveries. 
As a consequence, deficits have exploded.
  So if you care about the deficits--and I do, and I know that the 
gentleman from North Carolina does, and I know that other members of 
the RSC do. If you care about deficits, then you have got to do 
something about tax reform this year was, in essence, the premise of 
the editorial.
  The other point I would make is this. In a capitalistic society, 
capital matters. In essence, it is a mathematical formula.

  Savings drives investment, which drives productivity gain, which 
ultimately impacts standards of living or wages, which we talk about. 
There are only two ways of increasing or improving human productivity. 
One is with gray matter: you can build a better mousetrap because you 
have been well educated and you can think of something different. The 
other is with physical capital. One person with a bulldozer can move a 
lot more dirt than one person with a shovel.
  Yet what we oftentimes forget in the debate on tax reform is how 
important it is that we encourage and, in essence, complement the 
efforts of those who are out there risking on a daily basis. So with 
that in mind, it is important that we have tax reform that includes 
people who are actually, again, building businesses.
  Think about this: the top 25 percent of the earners out there pay 90 
percent of the taxes; the top 10 percent pay 60 percent of the taxes.
  Now, let's define that for just a second. If you are in the top 25 
percent, that begins at $77,000. If you are in the top 10 percent, you 
are at $133,000.
  Now, tell me this: When I talk to a truck driver and a schoolteacher 
at home, their combined income could be around $100,000. Are they rich? 
I would say no. But they are out there making the kinds of risks that 
are necessary to the building of capital that was exactly what The Wall 
Street Journal talked about.
  If we want to do something about deficits, and if we want to do 
something about capital formation that is so necessary to raising 
wages, then we have got to do something about this equation. It is 
important that those earners and those small-business people not be 
left out, as is the case right now. That is yet another reason why tax 
reform is so important this year.
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Sanford; I appreciate 
the gentleman's good words, experience, and knowledge.
  Mr. Speaker, speaking of Congress as a whole, it is well past time to 
make sure that tax reform and tax relief gets across to the American 
people.
  A lot of times we talk about classes. The truth is it is probably 
better terminology to talk about income levels, lower, middle and 
higher income levels. That is one of the reasons that we are pushing 
forward the Charitable Giving Act, which is something that impacts both 
the lower and middle income levels.
  We believe that is something that needs to be connected to tax reform 
to make sure that those folks who come from a background of teachers 
and truck drivers as we just heard about, but also other areas of the 
middle class and maybe lower income levels, something that they have a 
way where they are able to make sure that every dollar and every 
sacrifice they give back to a charitable organization--whether it is a 
local church or whether it is to the United Way--to make sure that 
every dollar is counted.
  This is something that has been going on way too long. As we know, 
there are 75,000 pages right now of IRS Tax Code regulations. If the 
IRS wants to come after a private citizen, the private citizen doesn't 
have much of a resource ability to fight back whether it is in the 
legal or whether it is extended wealth. This is a machine that has been 
building, and the bureaucracy has been growing well past time.
  It is time to neuter the IRS. One of the ways we can do that is 
reducing it from seven tax brackets down to three. It was erroneously 
shared by somebody across the aisle recently that we are driving up the 
lowest bracket from 10 percent to 12 percent. The truth is this: we are 
condensing it right now to three tax brackets--35 percent, 25 percent, 
and 12 percent--and doubling the standard deduction from $12,000 to 
$24,000. This is something that we are looking forward to doing to 
benefit the American people.
  We talk much in these Halls about bipartisan support or bipartisan 
this or that. When did it become an issue, when did it become a 
problem, and when did it become a point of contention to allow the 
American people to keep more of the money from the hard work they put 
in day in and day out, week in and week out? That is something that we 
must do. That is something that should not even be a place of argument 
or a place of debate when it comes back allowing these folks to 
continue.
  For some, we can get past the tax credit language. We can move on 
beyond the charitable deductions and all the different political and 
accounting words. What about just the family of four that needs another 
car, that needs to be able to afford a car payment to get a mom or a 
dad back and forth to work, or maybe a teenager in the house? We have 
been through that twice now. We had more claims than we probably 
should, but we get it. But also, maybe it is a few more times out to 
eat or to the movies, the things that

[[Page H7965]]

make you want to get up every day and continue to pursue that American 
Dream.
  But not only from the individual side of this--certainly very 
important--but what about this corporate tax rate, this business rate 
that we talk constantly about that almost has become Washington jargon 
talking points? Why is that so important?
  Over the years since the 1930s and 1940s, our corporate business rate 
has climbed to the highest in the industrial world.
  Why is that? Why would we make it tougher on our manufacturers and 
our companies to have a higher tax rate? What incentive is it to stay 
here? We could track company after company.
  I come from the State of North Carolina where textiles and furniture 
used to be two of our top three job providers. A lot of those companies 
now you will find in Vietnam or other places.
  That corporate tax rate that literally has gone through the roof, why 
wouldn't we want to reduce that business rate? Why wouldn't we want to 
incentivize companies to begin to bring those jobs back to the United 
States?
  I think it is crucial, and I think it is something that all of us 
should have the energy and the ability to be able to get behind and 
really push forward.
  We have been promising this for how long? Since 1986? I was a junior 
in high school. Thirty-one years this has been on the docket, and the 
moment is now for us to deliver. If it is not now, as Reagan used to 
say, then when? Then how?
  What should we be doing if it is not fulfilling the very promise that 
we have made to the American people, and that is that we are going to 
provide genuine--not some kind of phony legislation, not some kind of 
showboat, but genuine tax reform and tax relief for the American 
people?
  Now, you may hear sometimes that, hey, the Republican plan is only 
for the most wealthy. Let's look at the numbers. Let's put a little 
math equation up, if we could, please.
  Let's say that the most wealthy--if you are talking about somebody 
who makes $1 million, let's say we reduce their taxes by 1 percent. My 
math that I am doing here in my mind, that comes to about $10,000.
  Let's say, if you go to that middle-income family, two parents 
working as hard as they can, they are bringing about $50,000 a year 
annually, yet their tax break, their tax benefit is 10 percent. Now, 
math tells me that is only $5,000 compared to the $10,000.
  So you may hear the spin from time to time, well, the wealthier are 
getting the higher tax break, the wealthier are getting the higher tax 
credit. Listen, when it comes to dollar for dollar, the impact that 
that makes to the middle and lower income families is drastic. I will 
tell you this. Every time we turn around, every time that each Member 
goes back and forth to his district, he is hearing the same message: 
``Get something done.''
  Tax reform is one of those areas where, specifically, we are being 
compelled, we are being urged, and we are being called. My fellow 
Members in the House, please hear those urgent voices right now. Even 
if Members want to move past the tax relief and the humanitarian 
component, is it not politically strategic for us to do what we have 
promised to do on behalf of the American people?
  As I said in my opening, I am confident that the American people will 
deliver the final grade over the next 3 months. The 115th Congress, 
what kind of grade will we have over the next 3 months if we do not 
deliver on these three promises?
  I am hoping that that urgency is resonating. Repealing and replacing, 
continuing to fight to repeal and replace ObamaCare, to make sure that 
we are continuing to reform and do everything that we can to reform the 
Tax Code. Finally, the promise that we have been making year after year 
is to make sure that we are protecting the American people by securing 
our border.
  I understand that each of these items is a major legislative item in 
its own right. To be frank, we should have been delivering on them 
throughout the year. It is October, the 10th month of year. It is high 
past time. We only have such a busy agenda this late in the game 
because we haven't delivered on our promises.

                              {time}  1800

  I want to thank my colleagues and fellow Republican Study Committee 
members tonight for joining us this evening.
  I would ask the American people to continue to support and continue 
to urge their Members of Congress to deliver on these promises.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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