[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 182 (Wednesday, November 8, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H8608]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        GOP TAX PLAN KILLS HOUSING AND INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT

  (Mr. PRICE of North Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, it is increasingly obvious 
what a sham of a tax plan the Republicans have proposed, slashing taxes 
on the superrich and large corporations at the expense of the middle 
class.
  What is less well known, and what the Republicans don't want to talk 
about, is their proposal to repeal tax-exempt private activity bonds 
and, therefore, to kill the same public-private partnerships that they 
profess to support.
  States, local governments, and private partners around the country 
use private activity bonds to finance a wide array of infrastructure 
projects, like highways, airports, hospitals, water treatment 
facilities, and affordable housing.
  In North Carolina, for example, private activity bonds financed and 
upgraded the terminal at Raleigh-Durham International Airport and are 
being used by our State housing agency to attract investors for new 
multifamily housing developments worth more than $700 million.
  If Republicans get their way, these projects would die on the vine, 
and more than 6,200 units of affordable housing would simply disappear.
  How does that help working families realize the American Dream?
  At a time when funding for housing and infrastructure is continually 
squeezed, the last thing we should do is push through a plan that would 
hamstring our State and local governments and destroy our ability to 
leverage private investment.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose the Republican tax plan.

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