[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 194 (Wednesday, November 29, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H9475]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
                    TAX BILL IS A LOSS FOR AMERICANS

  (Mr. HIMES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HIMES. Mr. Speaker, I rise to mourn the lost opportunity for real 
bipartisan tax reform. There were lots of Democrats, Mr. Speaker, who 
were ready to make a deal to make our Code simpler and more 
competitive. There were lots of Democrats who would have said, yeah, 
let's lower rates, but let's do it responsibly so that we don't balloon 
the deficit. And there were lots of Democrats who said let's eliminate 
that incentive for companies to operate abroad.
  But instead, we are where we are today, where we have a bill here and 
in the Senate that will raise taxes on millions of middle class 
Americans, that will deliver a huge windfall to the wealthiest 
Americans, and that will send a tsunami of cash to American 
corporations.
  For what purpose?
  American corporations, today, are swimming in cash. They are 
profitable like never before. There is this fantasy that they will hire 
more people, but let's actually listen to the corporations. Cisco, 
Pfizer, and Coca-Cola have said they will take this money and they will 
return it to shareholders as, quite frankly, they probably should, 
since it is shareholder money. It is not going to go to new jobs. And 
remember--this is the kicker--35 percent of shareholders of American 
corporations are foreigners.
  This is not a win. This is a loss for the American people.

                          ____________________