[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 208 (Wednesday, December 20, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1735-E1736]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





           CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 1, TAX CUTS AND JOBS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. KEVIN BRADY

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 19, 2017

  Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record letters from 
Heritage Action, American Action Network, SBE Council, and Americans 
for Prosperity:

                                         Americans for Prosperity.


                              Letter No. 1

  AFP: Historic Tax Reform Agreement Will Unleash Economic Growth and 
                               Prosperity

       Arlington, VA.--Americans for Prosperity today cheered the 
     final version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act released by the 
     tax reform conference committee. The organization commended 
     lawmakers for crafting a bill that remains true to the 
     principles of the Unified Framework and advances the ultimate 
     goal of unrigging the economy for hardworking Americans.
       In praising the package, the group is pointing out that it 
     would provide tax relief for individuals at every income 
     bracket, make U.S. businesses significantly more competitive 
     by lowering the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 
     percent, and includes efforts to simplify and ease the burden 
     of tax compliance. In addition, the tax plan includes 
     provisions long championed by AFP, such as repealing 
     Obamacare's unpopular individual mandate.
       Americans for Prosperity President Tim Phillips issued the 
     following statement: ``This final tax reform plan delivers 
     relief to the working class while unleashing opportunity and 
     growth for America's small business owners and job creators. 
     All year, we've been calling on Congress to go bold and focus 
     on making this pro-growth. We think they've done that. 
     Although not perfect, the House and the Senate should be 
     commended for their diligent work to significantly improve 
     our broken system, and the Trump White House deserves credit 
     for its relentless focus on getting tax reform done this 
     year.
       ``Lawmakers now face a historic moment--a once-in-a-
     generation opportunity to overhaul our nation's broken tax 
     code in order to create jobs, increase wages, fuel the 
     economy and unleash U.S. investment, which will usher in a 
     new era of American innovation. We urge all members of 
     Congress to embrace this historic plan and fulfill their 
     promise to create a simpler, fairer and more competitive tax 
     code by sending it to the president's desk this year.''


                              Letter No. 2

          AFP Key Vote: YES Vote on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

       Dear Senators: On behalf of more than 3.2 million Americans 
     for Prosperity activists in all 50 states, I urge a YES vote 
     on the Senate version of The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. This tax 
     reform package will deliver a fairer, flatter, and simpler 
     tax code that will lead to stronger economic growth, more job 
     creation, and higher wages. Lawmakers should not miss this 
     once-in-a-generation opportunity.
       We urge you to vote YES on the Senate version of The Tax 
     Cuts and Jobs Act. Americans for Prosperity will include this 
     vote in our congressional scorecard. This comprehensive tax 
     reform plan will bring tax relief to middle-class households 
     and businesses across the country. Americans would see 
     individual tax rates fall from the current rate of 22.5 
     percent to 22 percent; 25 percent to 24 percent; and 32.5 
     rate to 32 percent. They would also benefit from an expanded 
     standard deduction and repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax. 
     Businesses would see the corporate tax rate fall to 20 
     percent permanently as well as improvements in the structure 
     of our punishing international tax system. Meanwhile, small 
     businesses--the economy's top job creators--would also see 
     welcome tax relief.
       Americans have suffered under an unfair, complex, and 
     burdensome tax code which pits the least fortunate against 
     the well-connected for far too long. It's encouraging to see 
     lawmakers follow through on their commitment to the American 
     people to overhaul the tax code and make it work better for 
     everyday Americans. This vote will inform our engagement on 
     the grassroots level in lawmakers' districts.
       We urge you to vote YES on the Senate version of The Tax 
     Cuts and Jobs Act. Americans for Prosperity will include this 
     vote in our congressional scorecard.
                                  ____

                                                      SBE Council.

  SBE Council Statement on Tax Reform Conference Report: A Solid Bill 
       That Supports Strong Economic Growth and Entrepreneurship

       Washington, DC.--Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council 
     (SBE Council) president & CEO Karen Kerrigan issued the 
     following statement about the ``Tax Cuts and Jobs Act'' 
     conference report unveiled today:
       ``The conference report is a solid bill that will enable 
     strong and sustainable economic growth, which is critical to 
     healthy entrepreneurship and small business growth. It is 
     vitally important that this tax package be signed into law 
     this year to fuel the optimism and confidence that is 
     strengthening our economy and bolstering investment, which is 
     key to higher wage growth and more opportunity in areas of 
     the country that have never recovered from the great 
     recession.
       ``We appreciate the efforts of the conference committee, 
     especially as it relates to keeping entrepreneurs, their 
     workforce and the dreamers who want to start businesses at 
     the center of tax reform. We urge the House and Senate to 
     quickly pass the legislation so it can be signed by President 
     Trump this year.''
                                  ____

                                          American Action Network.

     American Action Network Statement on Tax Conference Agreement


Congress on the verge of delivering historic, once-in-a-generation tax 
                     reform to the American people

       Washington.--Following the House and Senate's announcement 
     of a conference agreement on tax reform, American Action 
     Network (@AAN) Executive Director Corry Bliss issued the 
     following statement:
       ``House and Senate leadership should be commended for their 
     work, and today's progress, toward making meaningful tax 
     reform a reality for working families across the country. 
     Congress is on the verge of delivering historic, once-in-a-
     generation tax reform to the American people, and this is an 
     opportunity that cannot be wasted. Right now, too many 
     families are living paycheck-to-paycheck, struggling to make 
     ends meet because of an archaic and unfair tax code. The plan 
     presented by Congress today will expand economic opportunity 
     for all Americans by unleashing more jobs, lower taxes and a 
     fairer playing field for businesses. Now, it is up to the 
     House and Senate to quickly bring the legislation forward 
     for a vote, and send it to the President's desk to become 
     law before Christmas.''
       AAN has been the highest spending outside group in the 
     effort to pass meaningful tax reform, and launched the 
     Middle-Class Growth Initiative in August to promote pro-
     growth tax reform passage. The multi-pronged effort, now 
     totaling over $24 million, has included advertising on 
     television, radio, digital, direct mail, and mobile 
     billboards in over 60 congressional districts across the 
     country.
                                  ____

                                                  Heritage Action.

  ``YES'' on Conference Report for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1)

       December 18, 2017.--This week, the House and Senate will 
     vote on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1), the most 
     significant tax reform and tax cut legislative initiative 
     since the 1986 tax reform package passed under President 
     Ronald Reagan. The bill would make sweeping changes to the 
     individual and corporate codes, and eliminate Obamacare's 
     individual mandate penalty.
       The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Conference report would unleash 
     economic growth, increase wages for American workers, create 
     new jobs, and provide tax relief to all Americans including 
     the middle and working classes, main street businesses, and 
     U.S. corporations. It accomplishes this by 1) cutting the 
     corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, 2) allowing 
     pass-through businesses to deduct 20 percent of taxable 
     income, 3) permitting full and immediate expensing of new and 
     capital equipment for five years, 4) moving toward a 
     territorial tax system that incentivizes foreign investment 
     here in America, 5) lowering marginal tax rates for all 
     Americans, 6) doubling the standard deduction, and 7) 
     providing substantial relief from the death tax.
       According to Heritage Foundation research, the GOP tax 
     reform bill could increase long-run gross domestic product 
     (GDP) by almost 3 percent, translating into an increase of 
     $4,000 per household. The Tax Foundation estimates, if 
     enacted permanently, the tax plan will increase wages by 3.3 
     percent and create roughly 1.6 million new full-time 
     equivalent (FTE) jobs. This is exactly the kind of economic 
     growth our country needs and what congressional Republicans 
     and President Trump promised on the campaign trail. Two 
     important provisions contained in the tax plan is the near 
     elimination of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction and 
     the full elimination of the Obamacare individual mandate tax 
     penalty. Eliminating the SALT deduction ends the practice of 
     federal taxpayers subsidizing liberal state governments, 
     which will put pressure on state and local governments to be 
     more fiscally responsible. In fact, New Jersey Senate 
     President Steve Sweeney said ``We're going to have to re-
     evaluate everything'' if the bill becomes law. Like the House 
     bill, the Senate bill allows for a $10,000 deduction for 
     property tax. Eliminating the individual mandate provides tax 
     relief to working class Americans who can't afford expensive 
     Obamacare insurance plans. Additionally, both provisions 
     raise significant revenue needed to lower marginal tax rates 
     under Senate budget reconciliation rules.
       It's been far too long since Congress made lasting positive 
     changes to the U.S. tax code--three decades in fact. Since 
     that time, our convoluted 74,000-page tax code has suppressed 
     American entrepreneurship, driven companies and jobs 
     overseas, and made it harder and harder for American families 
     to leave a better life for their children. Members of 
     Congress justifiably concerned about the national debt should 
     look to cut federal spending to balance the budget, not 
     confiscate hard-earned income from individuals or punish 
     profitable businesses. Congress

[[Page E1736]]

     cannot tax the American people into economic prosperity nor 
     can it raise enough revenue to balance the budget if it 
     continues to spend nearly $4 trillion a year.
       Adam Michel, Policy Analyst in the Thomas A. Roe Institute 
     at The Heritage Foundation explains:
       ``Holding pro-growth tax reform hostage over the deficit 
     unwittingly makes fiscally responsible spending reforms 
     harder. The deficit cannot be eliminated with tax increases. 
     The notion that we can tax our way out of trouble denies the 
     fundamental problem: The deficit is driven by uncontrolled 
     spending. Tax reform that grows the economy can also ease the 
     burden of paying down the debt. Robust economic growth is a 
     necessary component of managing our debt. Pro-growth tax 
     reform that allows for a larger and more robust economy means 
     our debt relative to our output shrinks and makes the 
     necessary spending reforms easier.''
       Due to the self-imposed $1.5 trillion deficit tax cut box 
     Senate Republicans elected to put themselves in, the Tax Cuts 
     and Jobs Act is not as robust as tax reform should be under a 
     unified Republican government, but it certainly is what 
     President Reagan would call ``half a loaf.'' While Congress 
     cannot tax the country into prosperity, it can and should 
     deliver meaningful tax reform that spurs sustainable, long-
     term economic growth. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is a strong 
     step toward that end. The time for pro-growth tax reform is 
     now.
       *** Heritage Action supports the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and 
     will include it as a key vote on our legislative scorecard. 
     ***

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