[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19443]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1100
                      PEOPLE ARE PAYING ATTENTION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, as I listened to the House Democratic 
whip lay out the case for the American public, I was struck by how 
stark the choices are and how much we are looking at failure at home 
and abroad.
  We are watching the reckless action of Trump with his declaration 
that we are going to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, further 
isolating America. We are alone in this instance. People who are in the 
Arab world, European allies, are deeply concerned that this will have a 
destabilizing effect.
  We are watching the countdown here as we are kind of scrambling to 
keep government open, when, for heaven's sake, these have been clear 
for months. Republicans occupy all the levels of power. Why can't they 
simply act to be able to send clear signals so the appropriators can 
work and government operates.
  We have watched the expiration of the Children's Health Insurance 
Program, wildly popular with people across the political spectrum to be 
able to have this significant enhancement of health for children in 
this country, even more important because of the Republicans' 
relentless assault on the Affordable Care Act and destabilizing 
insurance markets. Yet State after State, including my home State of 
Oregon, is facing the difficult task of sending out notices to families 
that they are no longer going to have access to this critical 
healthcare.
  In the backdrop of all of this, we are watching a Republican tax 
program which would be the largest transfer of wealth in our Nation's 
history paid for by mortgaging the future of our children and 
grandchildren a trillion and a half extra debt. When you put in the 
fact that we will have to pay interest on that, $2.3 trillion to be 
able to give some of the largest corporations and the wealthiest 
Americans even more tax benefit, and we are neglecting fundamental 
responsibilities.
  $2.3 trillion tax benefits for some who don't need it, and we still 
don't have an infrastructure plan, which the President promised a 
trillion dollars of infrastructure spending to rebuild and renew 
America.
  Well, I will tell you, there would be bipartisan support for any 
reasonable plan going forward. In fact, we have people in the American 
transportation industry who are saying: Raise our taxes.
  The fuel tax has been raised in over half the States, including a 
number of red Republican States. There is a deal to be had when AAA and 
the American Trucking Associations say: Let's provide the leadership, 
make the investment, put hundreds of thousands of Americans to work in 
ways that will enhance the environment, improve the economy, and give 
people a sense of pride that we can actually come together and get 
something done.
  It is waiting there. Yet we are spending $2.3 trillion to largely 
benefit the top 1 percent and the largest corporations, and we are 
ignoring needs like that.
  The Treasury, we are told, has been doing studies that will prove 
that this will just pay for itself, and the Secretary of the Treasury 
has been asked: Show us the studies. What is the research? Where do you 
pick this number out of the air that is rejected by virtually every 
independent economist as well as past experience?
  We see nothing.
  The tax bill is constantly in flux. That is one of the prices that we 
pay, because they never followed regular order, they didn't attempt to 
work on a bipartisan basis. There were no hearings held on this bill. 
As a member of the Ways and Means Committee, I was shocked. This bill 
changed sometimes hour by hour. They still don't know what they have 
passed. They are talking about changing corporate tax rates, they are 
talking about dealing with some of the deductions that have been taken 
away, like for State and local taxes. It is in a state of flux.
  What we do know is what was passed in the House is wildly unpopular. 
How do you take a tax cut that is unpopular by 75 percent of the 
population? It is because people are starting to look at it, and the 
closer they look, the more they are going to find it distasteful.
  I am hopeful that we will be able someday to come to our senses, work 
together on things that will actually make a difference for the 
American public rather than make things worse.

                          ____________________