Ive been in the senate a while and i can only remember a few times when the white house, and Senate Leadership were in agreement on an issue as complicated as tax reform. The current state of affairs is remarkable. Clear in the document, this is only a statement, not the product. The taxwriting committees will be taxed with putting together legislation with meeting the goals and principles outlined in the framework. Ofrefore it is the chairman the finance committee, my job is to produce a comprehensive tax reform bill that can get at least 14 votes in the committee. Without that, there likely wont be any tax reform. Before we get to that point, we need to pass the fiscal year 2018 budget resolution. Make no mistake, the budget resolution is critical to our tax reform. If we are going to move a tax reform the vehicle in the current environment, we need a resolution in place with a workable reconciliation instruction that will allow us to produce a bill of sufficient to give scope middleclass taxpayers a pay raise, grow our economy, and create more american jobs. The Budget Committee will mark up their resolution later today, and it includes the type of astruction we need to produce bill that will fix our broken tax system, boost economic growth, and give a pay raise to middleclass americans. I am grateful the leadership of crafting the in resolution. I want to urge everyone who supports tax reform in congress or elsewhere to support the budget resolution. That is the next big step in this process. It is an absolutely essential step. Done, the committee will be able to move forward on crafting and marking up a tax reform bill. Some have said tax reform is a do or die moment for the gop. That toeartedly believe be true. Not just because we might lose an election, or our poll numbers michael down, republicans have promised for some time we will deliver comprehensive tax reform that will spur economic growth, increase wages and wellpaying jobs, and semper fi our existing and simplify our existing system. We need to deliver because the cost of doing nothing, retaining the status quo for this perceivable future will be too much for the economy to bear. The overhaul the last overhaul of our tax code was 31 years ago. Our current tax system was built for the economy in 1986, and is ill suited for the needs of today. In the last 31 years we havent we have seen a dramatic increase in international trade. We have seen the fall of the soviet union, and the collapse of most centrally run economies. We have seen the development and rapid expansion of the internet which has remade the entire world several times over. America no longer has a competitive tax code. Withve a byzantine system exceptionally high rates, and an of deductions, exclusions, and credits. Trotted out byt republicans. The have been acknowledged by a number of democrats, like president s clinton and obama, not to mention our Current Senate majority leader. Our system is not working. We have politics as usual around here when we talk about tax reform. While both parties have supported reform in the past, including a number of reforms included in the framework, we are already hearing the same tired arguments that come up every time. Want to talk about tax reform. According to the opponents of reform, our plan will cut taxes on the super rich. Our plan will raise taxes on the poor. Our plan will harm the middle class. To plan is a giveaway corporations. These are on claims given that as of right now no plan exists. We have a framework. Not commenting on that for pr reasons. We have principles and targets. Our leaders have agreed upon this framework, and it makes finance ways and Means Committee have been tasked with the details and writing legislation. Here are some of the details not included in the framework. Income thresholds for individual tax brackets. The framework includes rate targets but the breakdown of those brackets is still to be determined. Anticipates an increase but does not specify an amount. The existence and rate of the highest bracket. Our document leaves room for the creation of a fourth bracket at the high end, but it does not include any rate target. Safeguards to prevent abuse from recent past three rates. These are just some of the key details that need to be filled in. My point is that no one can make any definitive statements, or make any credible estimates about the fiscal impact of the plan until the committees do more work. That has not stopped people from trying. Last week the leftleaning Tax Policy Center released an unattributed analysis of the framework that appeared to confirm a number of blanket claims critics have made about our plan. As we all know, leftleaning outlets,liberal media and many of our friends on the seem to loveam the tpc. The tpc is willing to provide estimates and analysis about tax plans without waiting for all the boring details. Wrote mitt romneys tax plan and claimed he wanted to raise tax plans on the middle class. Of the run analysis plan becameomney the gospel for our friends on the other side. There estimates were repeated time and again. Nevermind the fact they did not have enough evidence to support their assertions. The tpc appears to be on the same track with regard to the unified framework. I guess they think they can get away with it again. Maybe they can, i dont know. The tpc document from last week included a relatively precise estimate of lost revenue that they claim would result from the framework. It also estimated how much of the tax benefit on the framework would go to the 1 of earners, again with a fair amount of precision. These results is to me a mystery. There is no way tpc or anyone can deliver these kinds of estimates. Estimates, they filled in blanks with numbers withother proposals pessimistic and biased assumptions, and came up with the tax and came up with a tax plan that was their own. There estimates arent suddenly credible. I expect to hear a lot about the tpc analysis in the quoting in the coming weeks. Some will treat them as facts. Ofaking from any notion professional accountability, the analysis was according to tpcs report authored by tpcs staff. No organization that describes itself as nonpartisan wanted to put their name on a document of the use in such a partisan manner. Must be clear. We cant separate this kind of speculative analysis from the way its being used by our friends in the other side. It has become fodder for more of the same. More of the same partisan attacks. Going forward i hope he tpc and other think tanks will notice still undefined features of the framework, including the commitment to maintain the current perversity of the tax will acquire require adjustments in order to achieve. I think the tpc will be helpful if they avoid the partisan criticisms and focus on shedding light and providing accurate assessments of various proposals. Everyone who has an interest in these issues should wait and let the taxwriting committees to their work. In the finance committee, we are going to write a committee bill. Any member who is sincerely interested in working with us will get a chance to contribute, whether they are republican or democrat. A debateing to have and amendment in the light of the day. We will have a fair and open them in the process on the floor. Despite some clients to the willary, the Tax Committee score the bill. Day, peoplef the will be free to disagree but no one will be able to credibly claim that the legislation was written behind closed doors are that the American People didnt get chances he was in the bill. Read Accurate Accounts of the fiscal and economic impact. I want to work with anyone who is willing to come to the table in good faith. I think the framework puts forward a number of general proposals that both parties can support. There is Fertile Ground for bipartisanships. Bipartisanship if my democratic colleagues are willing to set aside some of the unreasonable preconditions they put on their involvement in tax reform. Last time i checked, both republicans and democrats supported tax relief for low income and middle income families. Last time i checked, reducing our uncompetitive Corporate Tax rate was a bipartisan objective. Last am i checked, both republican and democratic voters were in need of higher wages, better jobs, and a more competitive economy. Its going to be a difficult process weather is bipartisan or partisan. Lot of sacred cows in our tax code, with with a constituency that will fight to keep them in place. Youre going to have to eliminate a number of deductions and credits if we are going to be responsible. Includes a number of deductions that are pretty popular in certain sections of the country. Framework names to deductions that should stay in place. They are designed to achieve important policy goals. Everything else is on the table. This includes items that i have personally championed in the past. I want a scene stories about how republicans are divided on the fate of the state and local tax seduction deduction. Popular pretty deduction. It has some republican supporters. The benefits of that particular provision skew heavily towards , especiallye owners those living in high tax cities and states. If our main goal is to help the middle class, i would hope that there wont be many senators who will follow their swords in order to keep this particular deduction in place. Still, nothing is set in stone. Most things are currently up for negotiation. The state and local tax seduction is like virtually every other tax provision currently on the table. We may very well have to parrot back one way or the other. We have to wait to see the numbers on this or any other tax policy item. For a conclude, let me say that this is a once in a generation opportunity. More momentum in favor of tax reform than at any other time in the past three decades. All of us should be willing to take a dented up this opportunity. All of us should give in order to get a final bill done that will get us back on track. Im hoping we can have a bipartisan effort here. I intende do or dont, to see that we get tax reform done in the best interests of our country, our people, and the best interest of the middle class. Cspans watch and journal every day with news and policy information that affects you. We are next in kentucky. Robert stivers and Allison Mulligan grimes will be our guests. Be sure to watch cspans lost ashingtonal w journal. Join the discussion. Tour goes toiving pierre, south dakota. Tv, Nathan Sanderson talks about pioneer cowboy make lemon. Lemon was involved in the growth of our state in the early part of the 20 century. Another author will explore more in goals wilder. Its a program of the south Dakota State Historical society aat is designed to study comprehensive addition of Laura Ingalls wilders pioneer girl. Thats her autobiography. We will tour south dakotas state capital. You look out, there are four corner areas with flags. Obviously, the south dakota flag. There is a flag from the dakota territory. As a flag in the united states. There are flacks from spain and france because they control the territory at different times. Has a white flag, a red flag, and a yellow. Those of the native american colors that symbolize the four directions of the compass. Clarkesbout lewis and encounter with members of the lakota sioux. Watch cspan of pierre, south dakota on saturday at noon eastern. Sunday on cspan3. Visiting cities across the country. Today President Trump travel to las vegas for he met with local officials, las vegas a and staff in the hospital that treated many victims. We also hear from governor brian sandoval. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It is good to be here with my fellow nevadans. The victims of the families of this horrible tragedy, and i want to think the sheriff and the men and women of the metropolitan Police Department for their courage, their bravery, their professionalism,