[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8120]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           TAX SYSTEM BROKEN

  (Mr. PETERS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. PETERS. Mr. Speaker, our tax system is broken and in desperate 
need of comprehensive reform. I am ready to get to work on a simpler 
Tax Code that is fiscally responsible, makes our businesses more 
competitive, and gives relief to our working families. But President 
Trump's plan, if you can call it that, is not the answer.
  According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Trump's 
tax plan will cost $5.5 trillion over the next 10 years. Instead of 
targeting relief to the deserving middle class, President Trump wants 
to give big breaks to the wealthiest Americans. It is time to stop 
pretending that tax cuts that favor the wealthy somehow pay for 
themselves. They don't.
  Conservative economist Gregory Mankiw has said that only one-third of 
the cost of tax costs is recouped from growth. So Trump's tax plan 
would actually be paid for by blowing up the national debt. That will 
crowd out investment and hurt economic growth, which is the opposite of 
what we want.
  We have to do better for working Americans, and I express my interest 
in working with Members on both sides of the aisle to do just that.

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