[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 188 (Thursday, November 16, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H9405-H9414]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TAX CUTS AND JOBS ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 1(c) of rule XIX, further 
consideration of the bill (H.R. 1) to provide for reconciliation 
pursuant to title II of the concurrent resolution on the budget for 
fiscal year 2018, will now resume.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. When proceedings were postponed earlier 
today, 29\1/2\ minutes of debate remained on the bill.
  The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady) has 17 minutes remaining and, 
without objection, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Neal) has 
12\1/2\ minutes remaining.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas.
  Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman 
from Alaska (Mr. Young).
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, Congress established Alaska Native 
Settlement Trusts in 1988 to provide permanent health, education, and 
welfare benefits to Alaska Natives, who are among the most economically 
disadvantaged populations in the United States.
  Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, the Tax Code has, in many cases, impeded 
the creation and funding of Alaska Native Settlement Trusts. As a 
result, Alaska Native Settlement Trusts have not been able to function 
in the manner Congress originally intended to provide benefits for 
Alaska Natives. To remedy some of these tax issues, I have sponsored 
H.R. 3524, which permits an Alaska Native corporation to deduct 
contributions to their settlement trust.
  The provisions of H.R. 3524 were not included in H.R. 1, and the tax 
bill also adversely increases Alaska Native Settlement Trust tax rates 
from 10 percent to 12 percent. This would make it more difficult for 
Alaska Native Settlement Trusts to provide long-term benefits to Alaska 
Natives.
  Mr. Speaker, I request that the provisions of H.R. 3524 be included 
in the final conference report that results from the conference 
committee.
  Mr. BRADY of Texas. Will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. I yield to the gentleman.
  Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to work with the 
gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young) on this important issue for the 
Alaska Native community. Under the tax bill, Alaska Native Settlement 
Trusts would be unintentionally subject to a higher tax rate.
  I thank him for bringing this to my intention. I assure him that I 
will focus on this in conference as we finalize individual rate 
structures between the House and the Senate. I also look forward to 
working with him to advance the provisions of his bill in this 
important area.
  Mr. YOUNG of Alaska. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for those 
remarks. He has been great to work with. His staff has been 
outstanding. I thank him for his commitment to working on the inclusion 
of H.R. 3524 and maintaining existing rates in law with regard to 
Alaska Native Settlement Trusts, and, more generally, for his support 
of the Alaska Native community.
  Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 4 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, as we wind down this debate on tax reform or, what we 
should really call it, tax cut, I think that we should tabulate this as 
a missed opportunity. This could have

[[Page H9406]]

been done between the two parties. Instead, much of this was 
constructed without any Democratic input.
  Reminder: In 1986, the historic Tax Reform Act included President 
Reagan and Speaker O'Neill, Chairman Rostenkowski, Dick Gephardt, and 
Bill Bradley. In this instance here, 32 years later, not one hearing 
was held on this tax bill that is about to be voted on in the next 45 
minutes.
  The significance of that is that there was never any back-and-forth, 
and in 1986, expert testimony was sought from 450 witnesses. We had not 
one witness who commented on the legislation.
  It has been advertised as a middle class tax cut. Wait until you get 
the bill. How can you say that this is a middle class tax cut and 
compare that to repeal of the estate tax?
  How many middle class people in America pay the estate tax?
  That is how many people pay the estate tax. No middle class American 
pays the estate tax. There is no such thing as a death tax, in addition 
to which a middle class tax cut is described as doing away with the 
alternative minimum tax. 4.5 million families pay an alternative 
minimum tax in America. That is it.
  I fixed the problem years ago for the middle class, and 27 million 
people stopped paying AMT. So now we are down to people at the very 
top.
  So how are we paying for this? Or how are they paying for it, better, 
because they are not going to get much help on this side?
  Well, they decided that that teacher who used to have $250, that they 
could deduct on their income taxes, that is going to be abolished.
  So if you have Alzheimer's and you exceed the 10 percent number in 
terms of cost in your healthcare for caring for that loved one at home 
who is sick or has dementia, that is how they are going to pay for the 
tax cut. They are going to take that away.
  State and local property taxes, they are going to take that away--the 
deduction. They are going to pare back the mortgage interest tax 
deduction. All of this advertised on the basis of a middle class tax 
cut?
  People at the bottom end are not going to get much from this tax cut. 
I want to take you back again, as I have repeatedly, because I have 
cast three great votes in this House during my 29 years: against the 
Iraq war, and there weren't many of us; against the cuts in 2001; and 
against the tax system in 2003; all advertised as progrowth economics.
  There was no economic growth in the tax cuts of 2001, which totaled, 
by the way, $1.3 trillion. For people who said at the time, ``everybody 
gets a tax cut,'' they were correct. Then you looked at the 
distribution tables to see what people got at the top and then what 
people got at the bottom. Then we came back in 2003 and cut another 
trillion dollars in taxes--advertises progrowth economics--zippo growth 
occurred.
  Then, by the way, the granddaddy of them all: How about repatriation. 
Repatriation, bringing back those earnings to the United States for 
investment in job growth, at, by the way, 5\1/4\ was the tax burden 
they carried, all based on job growth. It was for stock buybacks, 
dividends, and layoffs.
  We had a chance here to do something historic. We had a chance here 
in this debate and discussion because there is a genuine affability on 
that committee. We had this opportunity to take the Tax Code and 
transform it for the gig economy in the modern age. We didn't do that, 
though. Four days we had to examine this tax proposal with no hearings. 
Not one chance for a Democratic amendment to proceed.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this historic legislation before us today represents a 
crucial step to fulfilling our tax reform promise to the American 
people, but it is not the final step. We are Republicans. We believe 
the Tax Code doesn't belong to Washington. It belongs to the American 
people. We will continue to work to make it better and improve at every 
step of the way.
  Before I make final remarks, I want to thank all of our Ways and 
Means Committee members who have done so much and worked so hard, as 
well as every Member of this House who helped make this opportunity 
real for the American people.
  I also want to say how grateful I am to everyone at the nonpartisan 
Joint Committee on Taxation and the House Office of the Legislative 
Counsel. Their careful analysis contributed so much to this bill.
  Finally, I want to give special recognition to Barbara Angus, the 
chief tax counsel on the Ways and Means Committee, and all of our staff 
on the committee, who put their hearts and their souls and many 
sleepiness nights in the development of this bill. I can't thank them 
enough for their hard work and dedication.
  Mr. Speaker, the House of Representatives is, by its very design, the 
Chamber of Congress closest to the American people. Today, this House--
the people's House--will pass historic legislation to improve the lives 
of Americans nationwide.
  For too long, this broken Tax Code has put the needs of the people 
second, propping up Washington's special interests at the expense of 
hardworking Americans.
  For too long, this broken Tax Code has rewarded companies for 
outsourcing American jobs instead of encouraging them to create jobs 
here at home.
  For too long, this broken Tax Code has eroded America's economic 
leadership around the world.
  This country used to be the standard-bearer worldwide for competitive 
tax systems. Not anymore. Now the United States is barely a spec in the 
rearview mirrors of so many of our international competitors.
  In our businesses, our workers, our Made in America products, which 
are the best in the world, are bearing the consequences of Washington's 
failure to act. That stops now, and it stops with the Tax Cuts and Jobs 
Act.
  With this historic bill, we will provide real simplicity for every 
taxpayer, we will deliver real fairness to every hardworking American, 
we will be more competitive than ever, we will win worldwide and here 
at home, and we will see better jobs and bigger paychecks in every 
community of this great Nation so people can keep more of their hard-
earned dollars.
  With this bill, we will deliver a new Tax Code built for a new era of 
American prosperity.
  So to Washington's special interests, who are now being propped up by 
absurd carve-outs and loopholes, get ready to stand on your own. To our 
international competitors, who are now leading the pack, get ready to 
have some company. To the American people, who have waited years for 
tax reform, get ready for the tax relief you deserve.
  Today, this House--the people's House--is taking action on the most 
transformational tax overhaul in a generation, and we are taking action 
today. It is time for this old, broken Tax Code to go. It is time to 
put the American people first.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2\1/2\ minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, let me acknowledge the support of the Democratic staff 
that are here as well: Kara Getz, Karen McAfee, Aruna Kalyanam, Peg 
McGlinch, Deva Kyle, Ji Prichard, and Suzanne Walsh. They did a 
magnificent job as well, and we are much dependent on the good staff 
work, particularly, on the Ways and Means Committee.
  Mr. Speaker, I spoke earlier of the missed opportunity that we have 
here. We have a real problem in America with labor participation rates. 
Six million job go unanswered every day now in America, 18,000 
precision manufacturing jobs in New England, and 1 million tech jobs, 
because skill sets don't align with the job opportunities that are out 
there.

  Two million Americans sit home with opioid addictions who should be 
in the workforce. This was a chance to invest in human capital as well, 
to invest in our community colleges, to invest in apprenticeship 
programs. Yes, the other challenge that we have in America is, clearly, 
to invest in vocational education for many of the jobs that are 
available.
  Instead, we pushed that off to the side and decided that, once again, 
if we just had tax cuts, all of these challenges and problems would go 
away.
  The idea of investing in the human side of American opportunity is 
then

[[Page H9407]]

people do what we would like them to do in terms of home buying, 
raising families, caring for neighborhoods, and practicing the art form 
of citizenship.
  Once again, what we are witnessing today--and we need to be alarmed 
about it--is the greater and greater conservation of wealth in America. 
Now, I understand it is complicated. It has to do much with technology 
and globalization, but it is also about the gig economy, and we, today, 
reward capital more than we reward labor.
  When we get done, if they are successful on the other side, we are 
going to further concentrate wealth amongst those few families in 
America. We serve here in the House of Representatives, not in the 
House of Lords. This is not about peerage, where you are entitled to a 
seat in this House of Representatives. That is what is wrong. That is 
what Jefferson and Madison envisioned when they signed those bonds of 
the Declaration of Independence and the American Constitution to break 
with Europe. We don't practice divine right here.
  I wish the outcome here today, Mr. Speaker, would have been more 
genuine and it would have been different.
  Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman 
from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), our majority whip and a tremendous leader 
on tax reform.

                              {time}  1245

  Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague 
from Texas. Chairman Brady has done an incredible job at bringing this 
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to the House floor.


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  November 16, 2017, on page H9407, the following appeared: Mr. 
Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague from Texas.
  
  The online version has been corrected to read: Mr. SCALISE. Mr. 
Speaker, I want to thank my friend and colleague from Texas.


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 

  Today is an historic day, Mr. Speaker. For families who for so long 
have been calling out saying that they want to pay less in taxes, we 
answer that call today, Mr. Speaker.
  When you have heard the complaints, as I and so many others have 
every time we see a company move more jobs overseas, good, high-paying 
jobs overseas because America has the highest tax rate in the 
industrialized world, we finally do something about that today, Mr. 
Speaker, by cutting the corporate rate so that we can be competitive 
again and so that we can bring those jobs back home.
  Let's talk about something else that is going to be a benefit to 
hardworking families in this bill, Mr. Speaker. We finally simplify the 
Tax Code in a way that over 90 percent of American families will 
actually be able to do their taxes on a postcard. Just think of how 
much that is going to save for people who have to pay to have their 
taxes done because the Code is so complicated and has become so massive 
that nobody can figure it out. We simplify the Code.
  Let's go through those things.
  We lower tax rates. Everybody is going to see lower tax rates at 
every income level.
  We double the standard deduction from $12,000 to $24,000 that every 
family can take advantage of now. That doubled standard deduction is 
going to be a big win for hardworking families that are struggling.
  We eliminate special interest loopholes, Mr. Speaker. You might hear 
a lot of complaints out there from people who have been able to get 
their little piece of the Tax Code. The problem is, every time somebody 
gets a special interest loophole, it costs the rest of us. Now we get 
rid of those loopholes so that everybody can pay less in taxes. That is 
a big win for hardworking families.
  Mr. Speaker, in our bill, we completely repeal the death tax, 
probably one of the most immoral parts of our Code, where small 
businesses, family farms, if their loved one dies, the first thing they 
are thinking is grieving for their loved one, but immediately after, 
they get a big tax bill from the Federal Government that, in many 
cases, forces them to sell their small business instead of passing it 
on to their family. That is part of the American Dream. They pay taxes 
on it. We repeal the death tax.
  We deliver a much fairer Code, Mr. Speaker. Again, what this bill is 
about is finally putting more money in the pockets of hardworking 
families. It is about getting our economy moving again and creating 
jobs.
  Families recognize when they see the highest corporate tax rate in 
the industrialized world, tens of thousands of jobs going to countries 
like Ireland and Canada. I love Ireland and I love Canada. I just don't 
want them to have tens of thousands of our good jobs. Let's bring those 
jobs back. In our bill, we do that, Mr. Speaker.
  This bill is a win for hardworking families. This puts money back in 
the pockets of people who have been struggling so long, and it allows 
the economic growth that is going to see wages finally increase. After 
10 years of a stagnant economy, it is about time we finally answer the 
call that millions of Americans have been asking us to do for so long, 
Mr. Speaker.
  Let's pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and get our economy moving 
again.
  Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), a very capable legislator, the Democratic whip.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  This is the most irresponsible bill that I will have been confronted 
with in the 37 years that I have been in the Congress of the United 
States.
  This bill, Mr. Speaker, is both reckless and feckless. It is reckless 
because it would add more than $1.7 trillion--the chairman says over $2 
trillion--to the debt over a decade in a shameful act of hypocrisy for 
its supporters who, for years, have called for fiscal responsibility. 
It is feckless because its authors write it with an eye toward 
politics, not policy.
  There is no courage in voting for this bill. It is easy to vote for a 
tax cut. What is hard to do is paying for what we buy. Neither side 
does that particularly well.
  There is no courage in voting for this bill, only a suspension of 
common sense and their now abandoned commitment to fiscal 
sustainability.
  Furthermore, my Republican friends call this bill a tax cut. The 
gentleman who just spoke, the whip, said it is a reduction in rates, 
but 36 million working Americans will receive a tax increase under this 
bill. It was a very careful articulation of reduction of rates, but 
taxes for 36 million Americans, working Americans, will go up.
  Furthermore, they call this bill a tax cut. It is not a stretch of 
the imagination to presume that, given Republicans' urgency to reject 
bipartisan compromise and deflect public input, the Members of this 
House will be asked to accept whatever version of the tax bill can pass 
the United States Senate.
  Yesterday, the Senate Finance Committee rejected this bill 36-0. The 
Senate Finance Committee, headed by Republicans, rejected this bill 36-
0.
  I am reminded of what Representative Matt Gaetz, a Republican, said 
last month about the budget resolution that teed up this tax plan. He 
said that we were being ``asked to vote for a budget that nobody 
believes in so that we have the chance to vote for a tax bill that 
nobody's read.''
  Mr. Speaker, I won't ask anyone to raise their hand if they have read 
this bill.
  One hand.
  Those who take this vote will have to live with it and just hope that 
whatever mystery tax package their Senate colleagues send over here 
won't gut whatever concessions they have extracted
  I heard the whip say no special provisions in this bill. I don't have 
the time to go through every special provision that has been used to 
get people to vote for this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, this isn't the tax reform the American people were 
promised or the tax reform the American people want.
  Mr. Speaker, let's sit down together. Let's sit down together, the 
chairman and Mr. Neal, two responsible, good Americans, sit down 
together not in a partisan way, but in a bipartisan way. That is the 
way we did the 1986 bill. That is why it was such a responsible piece 
of legislation.
  Let's enact tax reform that focuses on the working class, the middle 
class, the people who need the money, not give over half of it to the 
richest people in America. I don't have any beef with them, we would 
all like to be rich, but they don't need a tax cut, and the middle 
class does. Why give 50 percent of the revenue to them?
  Let's enact tax reform that focuses on the middle class. Let's enact 
tax reform that doesn't give half the benefit to those making more than 
$900,000 a year.

[[Page H9408]]

  Let's enact tax reform that improves our long-term fiscal position 
rather than adding the $1.7 trillion to our debt that the CBO projects 
that this bill would add.
  As former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin pointed out in an op-ed in 
today's Washington Post--and, by the way, he was the Secretary of the 
Treasury during the only 4 years of balanced budgets that we have 
experienced in the last 50 years.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. HOYER. Vote ``no'' on this bill. Look to your souls, not your 
polls or your political accounts.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. HOYER. Reject this sellout of America's future.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  The gentleman is no longer recognized.
  Mr. HOYER. * * *.
  Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman 
from California (Mr. McCarthy), our majority leader and a champion for 
tax reform.
  Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I want to thank the gentleman. I want to 
thank him for all those Americans out there who have waited decades for 
this, for the hours that he has listened, for the numerous hearings he 
has gone through to get us to this day.
  Mr. Speaker, I stand before this body, but I want to speak to the 
people watching us at home right now and who will hear us in the hours 
and days to come. I want to speak to the people who stretch their 
budgets to get to the next paycheck. I want to speak to the people who 
are starting to wonder if the American promise no longer applies to 
them.
  You need a comeback. America needs a comeback.
  If we are successful today and in the weeks to come, you will keep 
more of the money that you earned. You will have more in your paycheck. 
Your life will improve. If we succeed, you will succeed, but if the 
leaders and obstructionists on the other side of the aisle win, you 
will lose. You see, they want Washington insiders and bureaucrats to 
keep more of your hard-earned income. They think it is theirs to spend. 
We think it is yours.
  Now, I have tried my best to understand their opposition, and I have 
listened to the pessimistic leaders of a party that once upon a time 
claimed they stood for the common man.
  Without a shred of evidence, they are certain our plan won't work. 
They drum up a stale argument from 30 years ago, saying all this bill 
does is help the rich. They call it a middle class tax hike.
  That same paper our colleague just held also has fact checkers, but 
the fact checkers gave them not one, not two, not even three, but the 
most Pinocchios you can give, four, for that lie.
  Every honest person sees this as a tax cut for hardworking Americans. 
This bill increases the child tax credit, increases the standard 
deduction, increases wages, and is already bringing back jobs to 
America.
  The fact is the first $55,000 an average family of four earns will 
not face a single penny of income tax, not a single penny.
  So what are these party leaders defending by their opposition?
  It is not the people. After all, there is not a single person I have 
ever met in this Nation who wants higher rates, lower wages, fewer 
jobs, and a more complicated Tax Code. No, they aren't defending the 
people.
  They are defending loopholes for the special interests, corporate 
welfare, and carve-outs for lobbyists. They are defending the abusive 
tactics of the status quo at the IRS.
  You know what I find most absurd? They are defending the reckless 
tax-and-spend policies of broken States across this country. They have 
made it their mission to increase taxes on our fellow citizens. My 
friends on the other side of the aisle have the audacity to call this a 
tax increase. In the end, they are defending a broken status quo.
  You know what I think, Mr. Speaker? I think that voting ``no'' on a 
plan with lower taxes, higher wages, more jobs, and a simpler system, 
that isn't about Republicans and Democrats. Voting ``no'' is telling 
the American people you do not have faith in them to rise if they are 
given a fair shot.
  Mr. Speaker, I have a simple question for this House and for everyone 
who is watching at home: Do you want higher taxes and less money in 
your pockets or do you want lower taxes and more money?
  I think we have sent a message to the doubters and the critics. The 
American people do not want hard work to be punished. We do not accept 
decline. We do not accept that Washington knows how to spend our money 
better than we do.
  I have a different message for the American people: To those trying 
to find a job, that long search is coming to an end. This is your 
comeback.
  To those sick of just getting by and fighting for a raise, this is 
your comeback.
  To those struggling to keep your small business afloat, to pay your 
employees, to help your neighborhood, this is your comeback.

                              {time}  1300

  To every American who ever dreamed of being an entrepreneur and 
owning a small business, this is your comeback.
  To every mother and father starting a family, raising your kids, and 
trying to give them more of an opportunity than you ever had, this is 
your comeback.
  Now, I put hope in the American people. This bill puts hope in our 
American people because we trust the people. That is the start of 
America's comeback.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair reminds all Members to address 
their remarks to the Chair and not to a perceived viewing audience.
  Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Pelosi), the very capable Democratic leader.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and thank 
him for his superb leadership as the top Democrat on the Ways and Means 
Committee. I commend him, and all of our fellow Democrats on the 
committee, for standing up for the middle class in our country and 
fighting for the truth and what is in this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, this vote today is a defining moment for our country. 
Our votes today will decide the future of the American middle class and 
those who aspire to it, the future of our children and our 
grandchildren, and the future of the United States of America as the 
land of opportunity.
  Today, Republicans have brought forth a bill that is pillaging the 
middle class to pad the pockets of the wealthiest and hand tax breaks 
to corporations shipping jobs out of America and drastically increasing 
the national debt.
  The bill Republicans have brought to the floor today is not tax 
reform. It is not even a tax cut. It is a tax scam. So many people have 
written in about it who are affected by it, and I will submit all of 
that for the Record, but I do want to say that this is not only a 
defining moment, it is a moment of truth.
  With straight faces and with the speed of light--I have to give them 
credit; they raced this thing through in the dark of night--they are 
trying to sell a bill of goods to the middle class that this is in 
their interest, that this is a middle-income tax cut.
  According to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, Republicans are 
raising taxes on 36 million middle class families.
  I associate myself with the very wonderful comments of our 
distinguished House Democratic whip, Mr. Hoyer, especially at the end 
when he said: ``Look to your souls, not to your polls.''
  I want to speak to Pope Benedict, his encyclical, God is love. It was 
his first encyclical as pope, and in that encyclical, Pope Benedict 
quoted the wisdom of St. Augustine.
  Seventeen centuries ago, St. Augustine said: ``A state which is not 
governed according to justice would be just a bunch of thieves.''
  Benedict went on to say: ``The state must inevitably face the 
question of how justice can be achieved here and now.'' And he 
cautioned against the ``danger of certain ethical blindness caused by 
the dazzling effect of power and special interests.''
  Interesting, in light of the fact that when this bill is brought 
forward, the

[[Page H9409]]

Director of the National Economic Council, Gary Cohn, said: ``The most 
excited group out there are the big CEOs, about our tax plan.''
  Is that about justice?
  Congressman Chris Collins said: ``My donors are basically saying, get 
it done or don't ever call me again.''
  Senator Lindsey Graham said: ``The financial contributions will 
stop'' if this tax scam fails.
  Well, he didn't say scam. I am saying scam. That is my word.
  Back to the Pope and the Catholic bishops. The U.S. Conference of 
Catholic Bishops wrote: `` . . . this proposal appears to be the first 
Federal income tax modification in American history that will raise 
income taxes on the working poor while simultaneously providing a large 
tax cut to the wealthy.''
  The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops went on to say: ``This is 
simply unconscionable.''
  We always begin our session with prayer, and many of us attend mass 
on the weekend, on Sundays. But we cannot pray and think that that 
gives us a lesson to prey on people the rest of the week; and that is 
what this bill does. It preys on the middle class and those aspiring to 
it. It pillages and loots the middle class. It is a shameful piece of 
legislation, and the Republicans should know better.
  They say it is going to get better in the Senate. Oh my gosh. In the 
Senate, as Mr. Hoyer pointed out, unanimously, the Senate Finance 
Committee rejected this proposal already. Was it 26-0? Whatever the 
number was, the zero loomed large.
  But getting back to values, because that is what we are here to do, 
and what we do in our budget, which the tax bill is a part of. It is 
supposed to be a statement of values.
  In his study of civilization, the great British historian, Arnold 
Toynbee, found that, at the beginning of a hopeful country, the 
political leadership formed a creative minority that inspired and led 
the flowering of civilization. But in some nations, leaders became a 
dominant minority of ``exploiters, focused on their own wealth and 
power.
  Arnold Toynbee, welcome to the Republican side of the aisle and 
Congress.
  These competing mindsets, he went on, between the dominant minority 
of exploiters versus the creative minority that inspired and led the 
flowering of civilization, these competing mindsets and motivations 
create schisms in the body social and schisms in the soul of the body 
politic.
  And lo and behold, the Republican Party has written a bill, nearly 
half of the benefits go to the top 1 percent--top 1 percent in our 
country--and 80 percent of the benefits go to the top 2 percent. This 
is a defining moment, but it is also a moment of truth
  How can the Republicans, with a straight face, say to the middle 
class: Well, we are doubling this or doubling that? Give with one hand, 
take with another.
  And to hear them cheer, hear them cheer for the provision in here 
about the estate tax?
  Listen to this. You tell me if you think this is fair.
  1,800 families in America--not your family farmer. Everybody is taken 
care of in what we have done already with the estate tax.
  In this bill, 1,800 of the wealthiest families, the filers in our 
country, will, in the life of the bill, get the break of $172 billion; 
1,800 families. This is for 1,800 families.
  And you know what? The Republicans cheered that; 1,800 families are 
going to get $172 billion.
  They cheer the fact that up to $1.5 trillion in tax cuts goes to 
corporate America, while, at the same time, giving them another tax 
break to send jobs overseas; at the same time, absolving them of any 
responsibility when it comes to State and local taxes; while insisting 
that individuals lose the State and local tax deduction, but 
corporations do not.
  And listen to all of it. Were they cheering when they are saying to a 
teacher--hear their cheering when they say to a teacher: You may bring 
supplies to your school because your school and classes need that? God 
bless you for that. But we are taking away the tax deduction that goes 
with that.
  What? Is that something to cheer about?
  They are saying to students who get a $2,500 tax deduction on 
interest on student loans: Forget about that. Even though it may make 
the difference between your attending college or not, forget about 
that. We are too busy giving a tax cut to the 1,800 wealthiest families 
in America so they can get $172 billion in tax breaks over the next 10 
years.
  They are saying to families, whether they have a child with a 
disability, a senior with Alzheimer's, and everything in between: If 
you have extraordinary medical expenses, and, since 1944, you have been 
able to deduct them, no more. No more, because we have got to give it 
to the high end. So take that away.
  Do you have any idea what that means to America's working families, 
and what it means for them if they have Alzheimer's?
  We had one person come to our event in San Francisco last week from 
Barbara Lee's district. She said there was over $170,000 in costs for 
her because her husband has Alzheimer's. The tax deduction enabled them 
to survive. She said: I can't even imagine the cruelty that decided 
that this should happen in this tax bill.
  So understand what this means in people's lives, and tell the truth 
about it. Tell the truth about it.
  Republicans want you to believe that their trickle-down tax break for 
the rich will pay for itself. Never has happened.
  As Bruce Bartlett, architect of Jack Kemp's supply-side economics 
said, ``It is not true,'' that this trickle-down economics pays for 
itself. ``It is not true. It is nonsense.'' And he went on to say it 
was ``BS,'' in the full extent of those words.
  This tax scam won't create jobs. It won't raise wages. It will only 
fill the coffers of the donors and the fat cats. The GOP tax scam will 
add trillions to the debt and stick our children with a bill that you 
cannot pay off.
  And none of us will probably be around by the time the full impact of 
the hemorrhaging of the debt in the second 10 years of this bill will 
require big tax increases. Look to the Kansas example.
  As I like to say to the Caucus, Mr. Speaker, maybe I have to use my 
mother-of-five voice to be heard. But as a mother of five and a 
grandmother of nine, we are supposed to be thinking about our children 
and their futures, and our grandchildren and their futures.
  God willing, one day some of you will have grandchildren. I always 
ask the question: Do they breathe air? Do they drink water?
  Why are you messing that up in other areas of our policymaking here?
  But getting back to this. The tax scam won't create jobs. It won't 
raise wages. As I said: It will only fill the coffers of donors and the 
fat cats.
  This GOP tax scam will add trillions to the debt. Oh where, oh where 
are the deficit hawks? Have you become extinct? Is there not one among 
you who understands what this does to the national debt?
  And with all due respect to your leader, for him to put at our 
doorstep the debt, when it was a creation--President Bush went into 
office on a path from President Clinton of deficit reduction. The last 
five Clinton budgets were in balance or in surplus. President Bush 
turned that around by repealing pay-as-you-go. Tax cuts for the wealthy 
didn't trickle down. Two unpaid-for wars, giveaways to PHARMA, the 
pharmaceutical industry, taking us to a place--remember September of 
2008, when we were in the worst economic downturn since the Great 
Depression?
  But anyway, back to here. As Republicans know, our Republican friends 
have already shown us their playbook. In this bill, corporations will 
get a cut of $1.5 trillion--the same $1.5 trillion that Republicans 
plan to slash from Medicare and Medicaid in the GOP budget.
  In their bones, the American people know they are getting a raw deal 
under the Republican bill before us. You know it. You know why you are 
here. You know what you are doing.
  Democrats believe the American people deserve better, a better deal, 
better jobs, better wages, better future. We want to create good-paying 
jobs, raise workers' wages, lower the cost of living for families, give 
Americans the tools

[[Page H9410]]

they need to succeed in the 21st century. But you can't do that if you 
have a budget that does not invest in that future and is hampered by 
the cuts.

                              {time}  1315

  Let's go back to the drawing board. Let's write a bipartisan bill 
that raises wages, creates jobs, promotes growth, and reduces the 
deficit. To get to that place, we want to go to the table in a 
bipartisan way. What are you afraid of? In a bipartisan way, let's put 
together a tax bill that is good for the American people instead of one 
that does violence to the American Dream.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote 
``no'' and to demand a better bill for America's working families.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the U.S. Conference of Catholic 
Bishops' fabulous statement about this tax bill.
                                       United States Conference of


                                             Catholic Bishops,

                                 Washington, DC, November 9, 2017.
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative: Decisions about taxation involve 
     fundamental concerns of ``justice and equity'', with the goal 
     of taxes and public spending ``becoming an instrument of 
     development and solidarity'' (Mater et Magistra, 132; 
     Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 355). On 
     October 27, the USCCB offered six moral principles to guide 
     debate on tax reform, centered on care for the poor and 
     concern for families. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 
     contains many fundamental structural flaws that must be 
     corrected. As currently written, the proposal is 
     unacceptable.
       Care for the Poor. Doubling the standard deduction will 
     help some of those in poverty to avoid tax liability, and 
     this is a positive good contained in the bill. However, as 
     written, this proposal appears to be the first federal income 
     tax modification in American history that will raise income 
     taxes on the working poor while simultaneously providing a 
     large tax cut to the wealthy. This is simply unconscionable. 
     The nonpartisan congressional Joint Committee on Taxation 
     (JCT) indicates that by 2023 this tax plan will raise taxes 
     on average tax payers making between $20,000 and $40,000 per 
     year. Taxes for this group will be raised again in 2025, and 
     again in 2027. Taxes will also increase on average taxpayers 
     earning between $10,000 and $20,000 in 2025. The federal 
     poverty line is $12,228 for one person, and $24,339 for a 
     two-parent family with two children. Nearly one in three 
     Americans live in a family with income below 200% of the 
     poverty line. Meanwhile, average taxpayers who make over $1 
     million experience dramatic tax cuts for the same periods. No 
     tax reform proposal is acceptable that increases taxes for 
     those living in poverty to help pay for benefits to wealthy 
     citizens.
       Several other tax provisions that assist the working poor 
     and others who may struggle economically are also eliminated, 
     including:
       the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, which incentivizes hiring 
     of the disabled, veterans, those who have been unemployed for 
     long periods, and individuals receiving federal poverty-
     related assistance;
       the tax deductions to reduce the burdens of tuition and 
     student loans;
       the income tax credit to persons who retire on disability;
       the deduction for state and local income and sales taxes, 
     which may impact people in higher tax states;
       the tax deduction for employee business expenses; and
       tax incentives to employers and employees to help with 
     moving expenses for a new job.
       Strengthening Families. Society, in Pope Francis' words, is 
     in ``debt'' to the family. The family is the most important 
     institution in society because education, formation, and care 
     for the human person, especially children, take place more in 
     the family than anywhere else. Expanded access to schools of 
     choice is a positive step in this legislation, and we would 
     encourage Congress to go even further by empowering more 
     parents in directing their child's education. We also 
     appreciate that the legislation recognizes unborn children as 
     eligible beneficiaries for parents' 529 education savings 
     account contributions.
       However, this tax plan places new and unreasonable burdens 
     on families, especially those who welcome life or experience 
     serious hardships:
       It removes the adoption tax credit which provides important 
     and life-affirming assistance for families to adopt children 
     desperately in need of love and support.
       The plan also repeals the exclusion for adoption assistance 
     programs, which allows a family to exclude money paid by an 
     employer for adoption costs up to the amount of the adoption 
     tax credit as an alternative. This exclusion also allows 
     those who adopt a child with special needs to receive the 
     full value of the exclusion regardless of actual adoption 
     costs.
       Eliminating the credit and exclusion sends the wrong 
     message about our national priorities, which ought to protect 
     life, strengthen families, and affirm the value of every 
     human being. The savings to society from children finding 
     loving homes is well beyond any revenue lost due to the 
     credit and exclusion.
       It eliminates the personal exemption. Even with the 
     doubling of the standard deduction, some larger families will 
     pay more, including many two-parent families with more than 
     three children, and single-parent families with more than one 
     child. It is laudable that the child tax credit has been 
     expanded and removes the marriage penalty. However, the 
     modest increase in the credit does not fully compensate for 
     the elimination of the personal exemption for some larger 
     families. Moreover, because the child tax credit only remains 
     refundable up to $1,000, lower income families will get no 
     additional benefits from the child tax credit, while 
     suffering the full loss of the personal exemption.
       It eliminates the out-of-pocket medical expenses deduction 
     for families facing serious or chronic illness.
       It eliminates tax incentives to employers to provide 
     dependent care assistance or child care. The family 
     flexibility credit, at $300 per taxpayer, is some help, but 
     is set to expire after five years and does not offset the 
     greater losses.
       It eliminates the qualified tuition reduction for children 
     of teachers, which will raise taxes on educational 
     institutions and disrupt family arrangements.
       It repeals mortgage tax credit certificates, which are only 
     available for first-time home buyers under certain income 
     thresholds.
       Other aspects of the plan also have consequences for 
     families. By creating stricter rules around parents' social 
     security numbers, the plan makes it more difficult for 
     immigrant taxpayers to receive the Child Tax Credit or the 
     Earned Income Tax Credit for their families, or to receive 
     assistance in seeking advancement through education.
       Progressivity of the Tax Code. Pope St. John XXIII wrote 
     that a progressive tax code is required by ``justice and 
     equity.'' The ``Unified Framework,'' upon which this tax plan 
     was based, promised that any new tax code would be ``at 
     least'' as progressive as the present code. This plan breaks 
     that promise. It raises taxes on the working poor, while 
     simultaneously providing large tax breaks to high-income 
     taxpayers. It also repeals the estate tax (which applies to 
     the estates of single people valued at more than $5.5 million 
     and married couples valued greater than $11 million), and 
     eliminates the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) which was 
     designed to prevent high-income earners from avoiding tax 
     liability through loopholes. In the years that the working 
     poor suffer a tax increase under this bill, millionaires and 
     billionaires will see significant tax decreases. This must be 
     fixed. Those who stand to benefit the most from proposed tax 
     policies ought to be the ones to bear most of the risk 
     associated with them, rather than those who are struggling 
     and in need.
       Adequate Revenue for the Common Good and Avoiding Future 
     Cuts to Poverty Programs. The state has a legitimate role in 
     promoting the common good, and a legitimate interest in 
     collecting taxes to do so. This tax plan, by design, will 
     result in a nearly $1.5 trillion deficit over ten years. Even 
     with the potential benefits of economic growth from 
     individual and corporate tax cuts--which cannot be 
     guaranteed--the poor should not be the ones to finance these 
     changes. Undoubtedly, the deficit will be used as an argument 
     to further restrict or end programs that help those in need, 
     programs which are investments to help pull struggling 
     families out of poverty. Repeal of the AMT and estate tax 
     alone comprise a good portion of the deficit that is built 
     into the plan. Rather than exploring even modest reductions 
     to these dramatic cuts for the wealthiest, the bill raises 
     taxes on the vulnerable and creates a strong incentive to cut 
     the social safety net.
       Incentive for Charitable Giving and Development. Doubling 
     the standard deduction will bring tax relief to many people. 
     However, for those who give to charity, it will make the 
     charitable deduction increasingly a benefit only available to 
     high income families. An ``above-the-line'' deduction would 
     incentivize and assist charitable giving at all income 
     levels, and increase the amounts people can give. It would 
     also guard against a multi-billion-dollar decrease in 
     charitable giving that this plan would otherwise cause, 
     shrinking civil society and cutting income to nonprofits that 
     help the poor, just as government aid to the poor is 
     jeopardized, as noted above. By and large, money given to 
     charity helps those in need. The tax code should encourage 
     voluntary association, mutual aid, and a culture of giving, 
     helping rather than hurting groups that will be asked to do 
     more for the poor in the days ahead. Similarly, this plan 
     will lower the value of affordable housing and community 
     revitalization incentives. Public-private partnerships that 
     benefit the poor and the greater community should not be 
     discouraged.
       Because tax policy is far-reaching, Congress must provide 
     ample time for Americans to discuss the complexities of these 
     reforms and fully understand their effects. The current 
     timetable does not provide adequate time for that discussion. 
     In many ways, this legislation is unacceptable in its present 
     form and requires amendment. It must be changed for the sake 
     of families--the bedrock of our country--and for those 
     struggling on the peripheries of society who have a claim on 
     our national conscience.
           Sincerely,
     Most Reverend Frank J. Dewane,
       Bishop of Venice, Chairman, Committee on Domestic

[[Page H9411]]

     Justice and Human Development.
     Most Rev. George V. Murry, S.J.,
       Bishop of Youngstown, Chairman, Committee on Catholic 
     Education.
     Most Reverend Oscar Cantu,
       Bishop of Las Cruces, Chairman, Committee on International 
     Justice and Peace.

  Ms. PELOSI. I return to one of their statements: `` . . . this 
proposal appears to be the first Federal income tax modification in 
American history that will raise income taxes on the working poor while 
simultaneously providing a large tax cut for the wealthy.''
  The Senate is not going to make it better. They have already said 
they are raising taxes on those making under $75,000 and giving tax 
cuts to the wealthy. They have already said they are going to take 
affordable care away from 13 million Americans.
  I don't know how that is making it better. That might be something 
you applaud, but I certainly hope you would not vote for it.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair would remind all Members to direct 
their remarks to the Chair and not to others in the second person.
  Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, no one man has plowed the field for 
tax reform for more years, more boldly, or more effectively than the 
Speaker of the House.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Ryan).
  Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, first, I love this 1 minute, and 
I try not to abuse it too much, but I am going to right now.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to start off by thanking Chairman Kevin Brady and 
all of the members of the House Ways and Means Committee for this job 
well done.
  Mr. Speaker, we are in a generational defining moment for our 
country, and what we are doing here--what we are doing here--is not 
just determining the kind of Tax Code we are going to have, what we are 
doing here is determining the kind of country we are going to have.
  Right now, because of this anemic economic recovery--don't forget, we 
had the worst recession in our lifetimes in 2008, and ever since then 
this economy has been flat. This economy has been way under its 
potential. This economy has been growing at a limp 1 to 2 percent.
  Do you know what that means for hardworking taxpayers? Do you know 
what that means for Americans? Nobody gets a wage increase. Living 
standards are stagnant. Economic anxiety is high.
  Seventy-eight percent of our workers in this country today are living 
paycheck to paycheck. Most Americans say that they don't even have $500 
in their bank account for an unexpected emergency or an expense. This 
is the economic anxiety that is for real in this country today. Instead 
of thinking about getting ahead, families are just struggling to get 
by.
  Think about all the moms and the dads and the hardworking taxpayers 
going to bed tonight and not sleeping, worried about what comes next 
week. This is not how it should be. This is not how it is in this 
country traditionally.
  We need to restore growth. We need to restore opportunity. We need to 
restore this beautiful thing we affectionately call the American idea. 
Passing this bill is the single biggest thing we can do to grow the 
economy, to restore opportunity, and to help these middle-income 
families who are struggling.
  People always ask: Well, what is in it for me? How do I benefit from 
this?
  I am a chart guy.
  Why is this important? What this shows you, under this plan, the 
average family at every income level gets a tax cut, a tax cut at every 
average level.
  What this chart shows you, the people here who are struggling, the 
people here who are in middle-income brackets, the people here in low 
income trying to become middle income, they get the biggest tax cuts.
  This plan is good for people in all walks of life all across the 
country, and the bigger relief goes to those who need it most.
  Let's put it into numbers.
  A typical household of four people, they make $59,000 in this 
country. That family of four gets an $1,182 tax cut the first year 
alone.
  The median family income, Mom, Dad, two kids, the median family 
income in America today is $87,000. That family will get a $1,941 tax 
cut right away, year one. If you are one of those 57 percent of 
Americans who say you don't even have $500 to go through an emergency, 
this really helps you.
  Let's talk about those people who itemize their taxes, who live in 
high-tax States. Let's talk about a couple making $1115,000, living a 
high-tax State. Let's say they have $8,400 in a mortgage interest 
payment and $6,900 in property taxes for the year. They can still write 
all of those off under this plan, and they will still see a tax cut of 
$1,130; if they have kids, an even larger tax cut.
  Not only do people get to keep more of their own money in their own 
pocket, but we dramatically simplify the tax system. We make it more 
fair.
  Today, 7 out of 10 Americans don't itemize their deductions. That 
means 70 percent of Americans take what we call the standard deduction 
for their taxes. It is just that. It is standard. It is 
straightforward. You are not taxed on that income.
  But over the years, Washington has piled on special interest loophole 
after special interest loophole after special interest loophole. These 
loopholes are skewed to the people who are wealthy, who are well 
connected, who can afford all the tax lawyers and all the accountants 
to navigate the Tax Code so they can get a good deal. But if you are 
not in that group, if you don't have the lawyers and the accountants 
and you are just scraping away with your middle income, you don't get 
those deals.
  What we want to do is take those loopholes away, make it fair for 
everybody, lower tax rates, and make it easy.
  Here is how easy this gets. We are going to make it so easy that, by 
doubling the standard deduction, 90 percent of Americans, 9 out of 10 
Americans, will be able to fill out their taxes on a form the size of a 
postcard. What this means is, for a single person, you don't pay taxes 
on your first $12,000 of income. For a married couple, you don't pay 
taxes on your first $24,000 of income.

  Here is the basic philosophy. Instead of jumping through all the 
hoops that the IRS puts in front of you, instead of doing what the 
special interest groups say you need to do in order to get some of your 
money back, we basically say: Keep your money in the first place. It is 
your money. Do what you want with it.
  All of this is about tax relief. It is about fairness. It is about 
simplicity. It is about easing the stress and anxiety that is in this 
country.
  What we really need to do is we need better jobs, more jobs, faster 
economic growth, higher wages.
  This brings us to the way we tax ourselves as businesses. This brings 
us to what do we do to make America the most competitive place in the 
world.
  Here is the real problem we have got when it comes to the way we tax 
our businesses. We are the worst in the world at it. We, right now, tax 
our businesses at the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized 
world.
  What does that do? Well, let me give you an example of where I come 
from.
  In Wisconsin, the example is Johnson Controls. Johnson Controls is a 
company with a history dating back, in our State, to the 1880s. It was 
the biggest company we had headquartered in Wisconsin. Not anymore, 
because Johnson Controls is an Irish company, and their Irish tax rate 
is 12\1/2\ percent.
  This is happening all over the country. Companies, just to stay 
competitive, are becoming foreign companies. And when the headquarters 
of that company leaves your hometown, when the headquarters of that 
business and that employer leaves your State and goes to another 
country, there goes the United Way Campaign. There goes the white-
collar jobs. There goes the manufacturing. There goes the research and 
development. There goes America's competitiveness.
  What is worse is all these foreign companies are buying U.S. 
companies because it is cheaper because of taxes.
  Here is what we do. Instead of being the worst in the pack, we 
leapfrog ourselves by bringing that tax rate down

[[Page H9412]]

to 20 percent. Because, guess what. When you tax your businesses at 
much, much higher tax rates than our foreign competitors tax theirs, 
they win and we lose. We have got to stop losing. We have got to start 
winning. That is what this does.
  What is even more impressive about this is it lowers taxes for those 
small businesses, those mom-and-pops even more. We have got to make 
sure that our businesses, the job creators of America, have every 
incentive to stay here, have every incentive to build here, have every 
incentive to hire here.
  What is more, we are finding that by doing this, we are going to get 
faster economic growth. We are going to get more jobs. We are going to 
get higher wages, better take-home pay.
  Let me just break it down in simple numbers.
  The Tax Foundation ran the numbers. The nonpartisan Tax Foundation 
said, with this bill, we will get faster growth, about 3\1/2\ percent 
faster economic growth. We will get about 890,000 new jobs. They 
estimate that in New York State alone, 57,834 new jobs; In Wisconsin, 
17,999 new jobs; in California, 101,422 new jobs; in Texas, 74,037 new 
jobs. You get these new jobs when you grow this economy. You pass this 
bill, you grow this economy.
  So why do we do all of this? Because it is about giving people more 
take-home pay. It is about raising wages. It is about helping families 
that are struggling to get ahead. It is about getting Washington out of 
the business of picking winners and losers and giving the American 
people the kind of economy they deserve, the kind of economy we can 
have.
  This just shows you that across every income scale across the board, 
wages will go up because we are going to grow the economy. Most of the 
wage growth goes to the people who need it most, people who are in the 
middle, people who are struggling. That is why we are here.
  Right now, we are in the middle of a long day where people are 
working tooth and nail in their jobs. We are right here in the middle 
of a day where America's workers are trying to figure out how they are 
going to make ends meet, how they are going to keep up with everything.
  Those people, the hardworking taxpayers of this country that we 
represent, that is why we are here. This is why we are doing this. They 
are the foundation of this country. We are here today for them.
  The special interest groups are trying to protect their piece of the 
pie. All the negativity you see out there, there is probably a special 
interest group back there trying to keep their special niche in the Tax 
Code.
  It is high time we root that out, we don't settle for the status quo, 
and we give people the kind of Tax Code that they need and they 
deserve. It has been 31 years since we last did this, and it is finally 
time that we get the general interests of this country to prevail over 
the special interests in Washington.
  We know that this brings more fairness. We know that this increases 
take-home pay, bigger paychecks, and we know that this grows the 
economy and creates more opportunities.
  Faster economic growth is not going to fix every problem America has, 
but faster economic growth is going to help us solve every problem 
America has.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues today to raise their gaze and do 
something bold, to see the forest through the trees, to think about the 
people we are here to actually represent, to think about the people who 
are struggling, who are going to go to bed tonight and probably not 
sleep because they are worried about what is going to happen tomorrow. 
That is what this is. This is one of the most historic and the biggest 
things that we will ever do.

                              {time}  1330

  And the reason is because this is one of the biggest things we can do 
to improve people's lives, to revitalize that beautiful American idea, 
to spread liberty and freedom. This is something that is going to 
refresh our confidence in ourselves and our confidence in each other.
  Enough settling. Enough giving in. Let's start to reclaim our future 
right here in this moment, in this Chamber. In this moment, let's pass 
this bill.
  Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WENSTRUP. Mr. Speaker, more jobs, bigger paychecks, and fairer 
taxes. Those are the three big promises of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, 
and I am proud to lend my support.
  This tax relief legislation serves as an opportunity for all American 
families to achieve the American dream--because it is crafted with 
working families and providing relief for the middle class in mind.
  This bill does much to reform and revitalize the tax code. I look 
forward to doing even more to assist American families and communities, 
ensure U.S. companies can fairly compete with foreign counterparts, and 
close existing loopholes in our laws. For years, our nation's high 
corporate tax rate has created an unlevel playing field for U.S. 
businesses to compete in global markets. By reducing rates and moving 
to a territorial system much in line those of our international 
competitors, we will incentivize companies to build investment here, 
thereby creating new jobs and increasing take-home pay for hardworking 
Americans.
  Further compounding this problem is the ability, in some industries, 
for foreign-based competitors to exploit loopholes in the tax code to 
avoid taxes altogether. For instance, under current law foreign-based 
reinsurers to transfer a portion of their profits to offshore tax 
havens, and thus shielded from our corporate tax rate, has essentially 
gutted the domestic reinsurance industry over; the last two decades. 
Rather than allowing our domestic insurers to effectively compete, this 
uneven and unfair playing field instead promotes the use of foreign 
inversions and affiliate transactions to achieve a lower tax rate. This 
environment erodes the U.S. tax base to the tune of billions, and 
forces U.S. insurers to decide whether solely-domestic operations, 
which many have maintained for decades, is worth paying a higher 
effective tax rate. Mr. Speaker, these are not decisions that our tax 
code should force on job creators.
  As our country competes with the rest of world in a 21st century 
global economy, it is essential that our tax policies offer 
opportunities for job creators in the United States of all sizes to 
grow, thrive, create jobs, and increase the take-home pay for all hard-
working Americans so that they may thrive and seek their dreams.
  As the U.S. economic engine drives forward, aided significantly by 
the passage of this historic legislation, we must also ensure that 
neglected and distressed communities are kept in mind. My district in 
southern Ohio has leveraged the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) and 
Historic Tax Credit (HTC) to bring hundreds of millions of dollars of 
investment to such areas, and the net result is thousands of permanent 
new jobs and housing units in my district alone.
  Given the positive impacts these pro-growth credits have had in my 
district and across the country, I was hopeful for the preservation of 
NMTC and HTC as my colleagues on the Ways & Means Committee crafted 
this legislation. While H.R. 1 would repeal both credits, the Senate's 
proposal would retain the NMTC and a modified version of the HTC. I 
hope the House and Senate come to a productive solution in conference.
  More broadly, I encourage my colleagues in the upcoming House and 
Senate conference process to produce a final version that will ensure 
our tax relief creates a level playing field for all competitors in an 
interconnected world, and realizes the vast potential of our nation's 
overlooked communities.
  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of America's future 
generations who will be saddled with an unsurmountable debt created by 
H.R. 1, the Republican Tax plan, I must object to it. This rushed piece 
of legislation will not only add more than $1.7 trillion to the 
national debt over the next 10 years, but it will also shift the burden 
of paying for that debt to our hard working families.
  Despite our Republican colleagues' assertions that this tax plan will 
benefit the majority of Americans, numerous economists disagree. They 
note that nearly 45 percent of all households with children will see a 
tax increase, while 80 percent of our wealthiest citizens will receive 
a tax cut by 2027.
  Even more egregious, this tax bill seeks to eliminate the long-
standing State and Local Tax deduction, subjecting every wage earner's 
income to double taxation. This defeats the original framers' intent to 
avoid a system of double taxation.
  The original tax code, drafted in 1913, consisted of three pages in 
its entirety and included the State and Local Tax deduction at the core 
of its responsible tax policy to ensure state and local governments 
could raise revenues for public schools, police, fire, and emergency 
services.
  Plain and simple, this tax plan is a tremendous windfall for our 
wealthiest 1 percent and large corporations. It favors large businesses 
over small businesses, it favors sending jobs overseas rather than 
creating jobs at home, it favors the wealthy over hourly wage earners, 
and it pays for these tax cuts for the wealthy by raising taxes on our 
middle class families

[[Page H9413]]

to the detriment of Medicare, Medicaid, education, and other vital 
public services.
  The fact is, Mr. Speaker, this bill is so skewed to benefit the 
wealthiest 1 percent in America that it could more accurately be named, 
``H.R. 1 percent'' I urge my colleagues to support the 99 percent of 
Americans instead, and to oppose this plan. Vote no on H.R. 1.
  Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, today is a good day for hardworking 
Americans. We are considering legislation that let's taxpayers keep 
more of their paycheck to save, spend, and invest as they see fit.
  Our bill--the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act--will overhaul our broken tax 
code and finally put the American taxpayer first. Because we can all 
agree that hardworking taxpayers are the losers under the current 
system. Right now, our tax code rewards lawyers, lobbyists and 
loopholes--while leaving hardworking families and job creators behind.
  The bill we are considering today will change all of that. To me, 
there is only one special interest group that matters--and that is the 
American people.
  That's why we simplify the tax code and cut taxes for all Americans 
to ensure hardworking Americans--like the people I represent in 
Southeast Texas--can keep more of their hard-earned money.
  It has been more than 30 years since the last time we overhauled our 
tax code. And since then it has grown to more than 70,000 pages.
  I like to put it this way . . . our current tax code is now longer 
than the Bible with none of the good news. Over the past 30 years, 
Washington has piled up all these carveouts and loopholes for special 
interests--making things far too complicated and far too expensive for 
hardworking families.
  This needs to end--and today the House will take a historic step to 
fix that and deliver long overdue tax relief to the American people. 
Here are the details:
  First, we get rid of loopholes. Then we use that money to lower 
taxes. And then, we simplify the code altogether.
  Now, instead of seven confusing tax brackets and carveouts, there 
will be just four--making things so simple that you can file your taxes 
on a postcard.
  Importantly, we also double the standard deduction, increase the 
child tax credit, eliminate the Death Tax, and preserve the home 
mortgage interest deduction.
  In addition--to help create more good jobs right here in America--we 
lower the tax rate on job creators from 35 percent down to 20 percent.
  Today, many of America's biggest job producers face the highest tax 
rate in the world--which makes America less competitive and forces jobs 
overseas.
  We fix that in our bill--because we want companies to invest, grow 
and produce jobs right here in America. We also reduce the tax rate on 
the income earned by small businesses to no more than 25 percent--the 
lowest tax rate on small business income since World War II.
  Folks, let's not forget. When we reformed the tax system over 30 
years ago, it led to an explosion in jobs and economic growth.
  With the passage of this bill, we will be on the verge of achieving 
such greatness again. This is an exciting time--and the American people 
deserve some good news.
  I urge my colleagues in the Senate to quickly follow our lead and get 
a bill passed so we can deliver a tax relief bill to the American 
people before Christmas.
  For more details on our bill, please visit www.FairAndSimple.GOP. 
Thank you--and God bless.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
  Pursuant to House Resolution 619, the previous question is ordered on 
the bill, as amended.


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  November 16, 2017, on page H9413, the following appeared: 
Pursuant House Resolution 619, the previous question is ordered on 
the bill, as amended.
  
  The online version has been corrected to read: Pursuant to House 
Resolution 619, the previous question is ordered on the bill, as 
amended.


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 

  The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was 
read the third time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, this 15-
minute vote on passage of the bill will be followed by a 5-minute vote 
on suspending the rules and passing H.R. 3109, if ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 227, 
nays 205, not voting 2, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 637]

                               YEAS--227

     Abraham
     Aderholt
     Allen
     Amash
     Amodei
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Banks (IN)
     Barletta
     Barr
     Barton
     Bergman
     Biggs
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (MI)
     Bishop (UT)
     Black
     Blackburn
     Blum
     Bost
     Brady (TX)
     Brat
     Bridenstine
     Brooks (AL)
     Brooks (IN)
     Buchanan
     Buck
     Bucshon
     Budd
     Burgess
     Byrne
     Calvert
     Carter (GA)
     Carter (TX)
     Chabot
     Cheney
     Coffman
     Cole
     Collins (GA)
     Collins (NY)
     Comer
     Comstock
     Conaway
     Cook
     Costello (PA)
     Cramer
     Crawford
     Culberson
     Curbelo (FL)
     Curtis
     Davidson
     Davis, Rodney
     Denham
     Dent
     DeSantis
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Duffy
     Duncan (SC)
     Duncan (TN)
     Dunn
     Emmer
     Estes (KS)
     Farenthold
     Ferguson
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Flores
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Gaetz
     Gallagher
     Garrett
     Gianforte
     Gibbs
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Gosar
     Gowdy
     Granger
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guthrie
     Handel
     Harper
     Harris
     Hartzler
     Hensarling
     Herrera Beutler
     Hice, Jody B.
     Higgins (LA)
     Hill
     Holding
     Hollingsworth
     Hudson
     Huizenga
     Hultgren
     Hunter
     Hurd
     Jenkins (KS)
     Jenkins (WV)
     Johnson (LA)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jordan
     Joyce (OH)
     Katko
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     King (IA)
     Kinzinger
     Knight
     Kustoff (TN)
     Labrador
     LaHood
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Latta
     Lewis (MN)
     Long
     Loudermilk
     Love
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     MacArthur
     Marchant
     Marino
     Marshall
     Massie
     Mast
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McHenry
     McKinley
     McMorris Rodgers
     McSally
     Meadows
     Meehan
     Messer
     Mitchell
     Moolenaar
     Mooney (WV)
     Mullin
     Newhouse
     Noem
     Norman
     Nunes
     Olson
     Palazzo
     Palmer
     Paulsen
     Pearce
     Perry
     Pittenger
     Poe (TX)
     Poliquin
     Posey
     Ratcliffe
     Reed
     Reichert
     Renacci
     Rice (SC)
     Roby
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rokita
     Rooney, Francis
     Rooney, Thomas J.
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roskam
     Ross
     Rothfus
     Rouzer
     Royce (CA)
     Russell
     Rutherford
     Ryan (WI)
     Sanford
     Scalise
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (TX)
     Smucker
     Stewart
     Stivers
     Taylor
     Tenney
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiberi
     Tipton
     Trott
     Turner
     Upton
     Valadao
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walker
     Walorski
     Walters, Mimi
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Williams
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Woodall
     Yoder
     Yoho
     Young (AK)
     Young (IA)

                               NAYS--205

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Barragan
     Bass
     Beatty
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Blunt Rochester
     Bonamici
     Boyle, Brendan F.
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (MD)
     Brownley (CA)
     Bustos
     Butterfield
     Capuano
     Carbajal
     Cardenas
     Carson (IN)
     Cartwright
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Chu, Judy
     Cicilline
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Correa
     Costa
     Courtney
     Crist
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Davis (CA)
     Davis, Danny
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delaney
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Demings
     DeSaulnier
     Deutch
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Donovan
     Doyle, Michael F.
     Ellison
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Espaillat
     Esty (CT)
     Evans
     Faso
     Foster
     Frankel (FL)
     Frelinghuysen
     Fudge
     Gabbard
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Gomez
     Gonzalez (TX)
     Gottheimer
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hanabusa
     Hastings
     Heck
     Higgins (NY)
     Himes
     Hoyer
     Huffman
     Issa
     Jackson Lee
     Jayapal
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Jones
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Kennedy
     Khanna
     Kihuen
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Kind
     King (NY)
     Krishnamoorthi
     Kuster (NH)
     Lance
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lawrence
     Lawson (FL)
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lieu, Ted
     Lipinski
     LoBiondo
     Loebsack
     Lofgren
     Lowenthal
     Lowey
     Lujan Grisham, M.
     Lujan, Ben Ray
     Lynch
     Maloney, Carolyn B.
     Maloney, Sean
     Matsui
     McClintock
     McCollum
     McEachin
     McGovern
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Meng
     Moore
     Moulton
     Murphy (FL)
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Nolan
     Norcross
     O'Halleran
     O'Rourke
     Pallone
     Panetta
     Pascrell
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Peterson
     Pingree
     Polis
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Raskin
     Rice (NY)
     Richmond
     Rohrabacher
     Rosen
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sanchez
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schneider
     Schrader
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Serrano
     Sewell (AL)
     Shea-Porter
     Sherman
     Sinema
     Sires
     Slaughter
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (WA)
     Soto
     Speier
     Stefanik
     Suozzi
     Swalwell (CA)
     Takano
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tonko
     Torres
     Tsongas
     Vargas
     Veasey
     Vela
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Walz
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters, Maxine
     Watson Coleman
     Welch
     Yarmuth
     Zeldin

[[Page H9414]]


  


                             NOT VOTING--2

     Pocan
     Wilson (FL)


                Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the vote). There are 2 minutes 
remaining.

                              {time}  1348

  So the bill was passed.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  Pursuant to section 2 of House Resolution 619, the title of the bill 
was amended so as to read: ``A bill to provide for reconciliation 
pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget 
for fiscal year 2018.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  Stated against:
  Ms. WILSON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have 
voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 637.

                          ____________________