[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14967]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        REMOVE TAX-EXEMPT STATUS OF PROFESSIONAL SPORTS LEAGUES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Gaetz) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe what I just heard on this 
floor.
  Kneeling as a sign of respect?
  I don't recall my Democratic colleagues kneeling when former 
President Obama would come to address this body. They stood as a sign 
of respect. That is what we do in this country, Republicans and 
Democrats, for our flag, for our anthem.
  That is why I joined so many Americans in anger and disgust when I 
saw NFL players, multimillionaires, kneeling during the national 
anthem, and it is such an overgeneralized indictment. If people have a 
problem with police brutality or the criminal justice system, there are 
venues for discussion, even for protest that highlight and isolate 
those issues for an adult in a responsible discussion.
  When people kneel during our national anthem, they don't simply 
indict the issue with which they take some particular grievance. They 
indict our country, our servicemembers, our first responders, our 
Founding Fathers, and the principles that made this country great.
  But, see, this freedom that we enjoy also includes the freedom of 
speech, the right of our citizens to express themselves even when we 
find that expression offensive. It is a fundamental constitutional 
right, yet nowhere in the Constitution does it say that hardworking 
Americans have to subsidize or create special carve-outs and exemptions 
for conduct that they find unpatriotic.
  Unfortunately, today, the Tax Code gives special breaks to sports 
leagues. Some swamp creature of yesteryear cleverly defined sports 
leagues as tax-exempt trade organizations.
  The public pays 70 percent of the cost of NFL stadiums. Tax-exempt 
sports leagues generate $2 billion in revenue, yet the Tax Code gives 
them special treatment, gives them a special break that small 
businesses in my district don't get. That is unfair.
  It is outrageous that we take money away from hardworking Americans 
to subsidize professional sports at all. The return on investment is 
negative. I have heard these arguments in my home State of Florida: Oh, 
these sports clubs create jobs and revenue and economic activity.
  Look, every economic analysis showed that this is a negative return 
on investment, a loser for taxpayers, and corporate welfare at its 
worst.
  The Internal Revenue Code must be amended to remove the tax-exempt 
status for professional sports leagues permanently. I am glad that the 
NFL voluntarily gave up their status, but we should make this change 
permanent and we should make it the law.
  In the coming days and weeks, we will be discussing tax relief to 
lift up the middle class. I support whole-scale, bold, conservative tax 
reform; but we have an opportunity in this tax bill to send an even 
more profound message: In America, if you want to play sports, you are 
free to do so. You are also free to protest. You are welcome to do 
both, but you should do it on your own time and on your own dime.

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