[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14971]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               TAX REFORM

  (Mr. LaHOOD asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, over the past three decades, our Federal Tax 
Code has ballooned to 74,000 pages filled with loopholes for special 
interests. Moreover, the Federal tax system has become too complicated 
for hardworking taxpayers to navigate alone.
  Since joining Congress, I have traveled all across my district 
meeting with people and businesses who have all made it clear that our 
current tax system needs change. Small businesses like Vaughan & 
Bushnell Manufacturing in Bushnell, Illinois, want a simpler Tax Code 
that lowers rates and closes loopholes so they can invest in 
innovation, higher wages, and more jobs.
  Middle class families across Illinois have told me how a simpler Tax 
Code would mean more money in their pockets to save and spend. Earlier 
this year, it was estimated that our House blueprint for tax reform 
would save the median Illinois family over $5,000 in taxes every year. 
We can all agree that our system needs work, and this week we will take 
the necessary first steps towards fixing it.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join in this effort to 
make our system work for everyday Americans, not special interests.

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