Alaska. Congress established Alaska Native Settlement trust in 1988 to provide permit Health Education and Welfare Benefits for those who are among the disadvantage in the United States. Unfortunately, the tax code has many taxes that impeded the alaska trust settlement heard as a result, Alaska Native Settlement trust has not been able to function in the Manner Congress originally intended to provide benefits for alaska residents. To eliminate that i have sponsored hr 3524 which alaska permit alaska native corpse to deduct. Corporation to deduct. Also hadtax bill virtually increased Alaska Native Settlement trust tax rate from 10 to 12 more difficult for the alaska native trust to provide longterm benefits to alaska natives. I request that you include the provision of h. R. 3524 in the final conference report that results from the conference committee. Mr. Brady. Mr. Brady if the gentleman would yield. I am pleased to work with the gentleman from alaska on this important issue. The alaska native community. Under the bill, Alaska Native Settlement trust would be unintentionally subject to slightly higher tax rates. I thank you for bringing this to my attention. I assure you i will focus on this in conference as we finalize individual rate struck turs between the house and senate structures between the house and senate, and i look forward to working with you to advance provisions of the bill in this area. Mr. Young thank you. I thank you for your commitment and inclusion of h. R. 3524 and maintain existing rates and law with regard to Alaska Native Settlement trust. And more generally, for your support of the alaska native community. Thank you. Mr. Brady thank you, sir. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from alaskas time has expired. The gentleman from texas reserves. The gentleman from massachusetts. Mr. Neal meerks i yield myself four minutes mr. Speaker, i yield myself four minutes. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for four minutes. Mr. Neal thank you, mr. Speaker. As we wind down this debate on tax reform or what we should really call it, a tax cut, i think that we should tabulate this as a missed opportunity. This could have been done between the two parties. Instead much of this was constructed without any democratic input. Reminder, in 1986, the historic Tax Reform Act included president reagan and speaker oneill, chairman rostenkowski, Dick Gephardt and bill bradley. And in this instance here, 32 years later, not one hearing was held on this tax bill that is about to be voted on in the next 45 minutes. The significance of that is that there was never any back and forth. And in 1986, expert testimony was sought from 450 witnesses. Who not one witness commented on the legislation. Its been advertised as a middle class tax cut. How can you say that this is a middle class tax cut and compare that to repeal of the estate tax . How many middle class people in america pay the estate tax . Thats how many people pay the estate tax. No middle class american pays the estate tax. There is no such thing as a death tax. In addition to which a middle class tax cut is described as doing away with the alternative minimum tax. 4. 5 million million families pay alternative minimum tax in america. Thats it. I fixed the problem years ago for the middle class and 27 Million People stopped paying a. M. T. So now were down to people at the very top. So how are we paying for this . How are they paying for it . Theyve decided that that teacher who used to have 250 that they could deduct on their income taxes, thats going to be abolished. So if you have alzheimers and you exceeded 10 number in terms of in of cost of your health care in loving for that loved one at home who is sick or has dimension yarks thats how theyre going to pay for the tax cut. Theyre going to take that away. State and local property taxes . Theyre going to take them away. The deduction. Theyre going to pare back the mortgage interest deduction. All of this advertised on the basis of a middle class tax cut . People at the bottom end are not going to get much from this tax cut. I want to take you back again as i have repeatedly, because ive cast three great votes in this house during my 29 years. Against the iraq war, and there werent many of us. And against the cuts in 2001 to the tax system and 2003. All advertised as progrowth economics. There was no Economic Growth from the tax cuts of 2001, which toe at that totaled by the way 1. 3 trillion. For everybody who says at the time, everybody gets a tax cut, they were correct. You look at the tables seerks what people got at the top and then what people got at the bottom. And then we came back in 2003 and cut another 1 trillion in taxes. Advertised as progrowth economics. Zippo growth occurred. Then by the way, the grand daddy of them all, how about repatriation. Repatriation, bringing back those earnings to the United States for investment in job growth. At by the way 5. 25 was the tax burden they carried. All based on job growth. It was for stock buybacks, dividends and layoffs. We had a chance here to do something historic. We had a chance here in this debate and discussion because theres a genuine of aability on that committee. We had this opportunity to take the tax code and transform it for the gig economy and the modern age. We didnt do that, though. Four days we had to examine this tax proposal. With no hearings. Not one chance for a democratic amendment. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. Mr. Neal to proceed. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from texas. Mr. Brady thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield myself as much time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Brady mr. Speaker, this historic legislation before us today represents a crucial step in fulfilling our tax reform promise to the American People. But its not the final step. Were republican. We believe the tax code doesnt belong to washington, it belongs to the American People. Well continue to work to make it better and improve at every step of the way. And before i make final remarks, i want to thank all of our ways and means members who have done so much and worked so hard, as well as every member of this house who helped make this opportunity real for the American People. I also want to thank say how grateful i am to everyone at the nonpartisan joint committee on taxation and the house office of legislative council. Their work, careful analysis, contributed so much to this bill. Finally i want to give special recognition to barbara anges, our chief counsel, and all of our staff on the committee. They put their hearts and souls and many sleepless nights in the development this bill. I cant thank them enough. For the hard work and dedication. Mr. Speaker, the house of representatives is by its very design the chamber of congress closest to the American People. Today this house, the peoples house, will pass historic legislation to improve the lives of americans nationwide. For too long this broken tax code has put the needs of the people second. Propping up Washington Special interests at the expense of hardworking americans. For too long this broken tax code has rewarded companies for outsourcing american jobs instead of encouraging them to create jobs here at home. For too long this broken tax code has eroded americas Economic Leadership around the world. This country used to be the standard worldwide for competitive tax system. Not anymore. Now the United States is barely a speck in the rearview mirrors of so many of our International Competitors. In our businesses, our workers, our made in america products, which are the best in the world, are bearing the consequences of washingtons failure to act. That stops now. And it stops with the tax cuts and jobs and jobs act with this historic bill, well provide real systemity for every taxpayer. Well deliver real fairness turnover hardworking american. Well be more competitive than ever. We will win worldwide and here at home as well. And well siebert jobs and bigger paychecks in every community of this great nation. So people can keep more of their hardearned dollars. With this bill we will deliver a new tax code built for a new era of american prosperity. So, to Washington Special interests who are now being propped up by absurd carveouts and loopholes, get ready to stand on your own. To our International Competitors who are now leading the pack, get ready to have some company. And to the American People who have waited years for tax reform, get ready for the tax relief you deserve. Today this house, the peoples house, is taking action on the most transformational tax overhaul in a generation and were taking action today. Its time for this old, broken tax code to go. Its time to put the American People first. Mr. Speaker, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. Mr. Neal meerks i yield myself the mr. Speaker, i yield myself the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Neal 2 1 2 minutes, i believe, mr. Speaker. The speaker pro tempore 8 1 2. Mr. Neal well, 2 1 2 to me im going to yield then. The speaker pro tempore thats fine. The gentleman is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Neal let me ac nodget superb democratic acknowledge the superb democratic staff that are here as well. Payton, deva, deep and susan. They did a magnificent sent job. Were all much dependent on the good staff work, particularly on the ways and Means Committee. So i spoke earlier of the missed opportunity that we had here. We have a real problem in america with Labor Participation rates. Six million jobs go unanswered every day now in america. 18,000 Precision Manufacturing jobs in new england, one million tax jobs. Because skill sets dont align with the Job Opportunities that are out there. Two million americans sit home with opiate addictions that should be in the work force. This was a chance to invest in Human Capital as well. To invest in our community colleges, to invest in apprenticeship programs. And, yes, the other challenge that we have in america is clearly to invest in vocational education. For many of the jobs that are available. Instead we pushed that all to the side and decided that once again, if we just had tax cuts, that all of these challenges and problems would go away. The idea of investing in the human side of American Opportunity is people do what we would like them to do in terms of home buying and raising families and caring for neighborhoods and practicing an art if an art form of citizenship. What were witnessing today, and we need to be alarmed about it, is the greater and greater concentration of wealth in america. Now, i understand its complicated. It has to do much with technology and globalization. But its also about the gig economy and we today reward capital more than we reward labor. And when we get done, if they are successful on the other side, we are going to further concentrate wealth amongst those few families in america. We serve here in the house of representatives. Not in the house of lords. This is not about peerage where youre entitled to a see the in this house of representative seat in this house of representatives. Thats whats wrong. Thats what jefferson and madison envisionhood they signed the declaration of independence and the american constitution, to break with europe. We dont practice divine right here. I wish the outcome here today, mr. Speaker, would have been more genuine and it would have been different. Thank you. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas is now recognized. Mr. Brady mr. Speaker, im proud to yield three minutes to our majority whip and a tremendous leader in tax reform, the gentleman from louisiana, mr. Scalise. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from louisiana is recognized for three minutes. Mr. Scalise chairman brady has done an incredible job in bringing this tax bill to the house floor. This is a historic day for families saying we want to pay less in taxes. When youve heard the complaints as myself and so many others have every time we see a company move more jobs overseas, good highpaying jobs overseas because america has the highest tax rate in the industrialized world, we do something about that today, mr. Speaker, by cutting the corporate rates so we can be competitive again and bring those jobs back home. Lets talk about Something Else that is going to be a benefit to hardworking families, we simplify the tax code that over 90 frs of families will do their taxes on a post card and think how much that is going to say because the code is so complicated and so massive that nobody can figure it out. We simplify the code. We lower tax rates. Everybody is going to see lower tax rates at every income level. We double the standard deduction. Rom 12,000 to 24,000 that double standard deduction is going to be a big win for hardworking families that are struggling. We eliminate special interest loopholes. You might hear complaints about people getting a piece of the tax code. Every time someone gets a special interest loophole, it costs the rest of us, now we get rid of those loopholes so everybody can pay less. Thats a big win. Mr. Speaker, in our bill, we completely repeal the death tax. Probably one of the most immoral parts of our code where Small Businesses, family farms, if dies. D one dice immediately after that, they get a big tax bill that forces them to sell their Small Business instead of passing it on to their family. Thats part of the american dream. We repeal the death tax and deliver a much fairer code, mr. Speaker. What this bill is about is putting more money in the pockets of hardworking families and getting our economy moving again and creating jobs. When people see the highest Corporate Tax rate, tens of thousands of jobs going to ireland and canada. I love ireland and i love canada. I dont want them to have tens of thousands of our good jobs. Lets bring those jobs back. In our bill we do that, mr. Speaker. This is a win for hardworking families and puts money back in the pockets for people who have been struggling so long and wages will finally increase after 10 years of a stagnant economy and about time we answer the call that millions of americans have been asking us to do, mr. Speaker. Lets pass the tax cuts and jobs act and get our economy moving back again. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from texas reserves. The gentleman from massachusetts is now recognized. Mr. Neal i yield five minutes to a very capable legislator, the democratic whip, mr. Hoyer, for five minutes. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from maryland is recognized for five minutes. Mr. Hoyer i thank the gentleman for yielding. In is the most irresponsible bill that i will have been confronted with in the 37 years that i have been in the congress of the United States. This bill, mr. Speaker, is both reckless and if he canless. It is reckless because it would add 1. 7 trillion, the chairman ys 2 trillion in a shameful act of hypocrisy for its supporters, who, for years, have called for fiscal responsibility. Because its ought thors wrote it with an eye towards politics, not policy. Here is no courage in voting for this bill. It is easy to vote for a tax cut. What is hard to do is paying for what we buy. And neither side does that particularly well. There is no courage in voting for this bill. Only a suspension of common sense and their now abandoned commitment to fiscal sustainability. Furthermore, my republican friends call this bill a tax cut. The gentleman who just spoke, the whip said, its a reduction in rates. But 36 million working americans will receive a tax increase under this bill. So it was a very careful arctic can you lation of reduction of rates. A tax on 36 million americans. Furthermore, they call this bill a tax cut. Its not a stretch of the imagination to presume that given republicans urgency to reject bipartisan compromise and deflect public input, the members of this house will be asked to accept whatever version of the tax bill can pass the United States senate. Yesterday, the Senate Finance committee listen to me, my colleagues, the Senate Finance mmittee rejected this bill 360. The Senate Finance committee, headed by republicans, rejected this bill 360. Im reminded of what representative matt gaetz said last month about the budget resolution. He said that and we are being asked to vote for a budget that nobody believes in so we have a chance to vote for a tax bill that nobodys read. I wont ask you to raise your hand if youve read this bill. One, those who take this vote will have to live with it. And just hope, just hope, that whatever mystery tax package your Senate Colleagues send over here wont gut you have extracted. I hope the whip say no special provisions in this bill. I dont have the time that has been used to get people to vote for this bill. This isnt the tax reform the American People were promised or the tax reform that American People want. Lets sit down together. Lets sit down together, mr. Chairman. You and mr. Neal, good americans. Not in a partisan way but in a bipartisan way. Thats the way we did the 1986 bill and thats why it was a responsible piece of legislation. Lets enact tax reform that focus on the middle class, the people who need the money, not give over half of it to the richest people in america. We dont have a beef with them. They dont need a tax cut and the middle class does. Why give 50 of the revenue to them . Lets enact tax reform that focuses on them and doesnt give half the benefit to those making more than 900,000 a year. Lets enact tax reform that improves a our longterm fiscal position rather than adding the 1. 7 trillion in a c. B. O. Projects this will add. In an op ed in todays washington post, and by the way, he was secretary of treasury during the only four years of a balanced budget that we have experienced in the last 50 years. May i have one additional minute . The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. Mr. Hoyer vote no on this bill. Ok to your souls, not your polls our your political party. Reject this sellout. Vote no. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas is now recognized. Mr. Brady im honored to yield one minute to the gentleman from california, our majority leader and champion for tax reform, mr. Mccarthy. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Mccarthy before i begin, i want to thank the gentleman and all the americans out there that have waited decades for this, for the hours that you have listened and the numerous hearings you have gone through to get us to this day. Now, mr. Speaker, i stand before this body, but i want to speak to the people watching us at home right now and who will hear in the hours and days to come. I want to speak to the people who stretched their budget to get to the next paycheck. I want to speak to the people who are starting to wonder if the american promise no longer applies to them. You need a comeback. America needs a comeback. If we are successful today and in the weeks to come, you will keep more of the money you earned. You will have more in your paycheck. Your life will improve. If we succeed, you will succeed. But if the leaders and obstructionists on the other side of the aisle win, you will lose. You see, they want washington insiders and bureaucrats to keep more of your hardearned income. They think its theirs to spend. We think its yours. I have tried my best to understand their opposition. And i have listened to the pessimistic leaders of a party that once upon a time claim they stood for the common man. Without a shred of evidence they are certain our plan wont work. They drum up a stale argument from 30 years ago saying all this bill does is help the rich. They call it a mide will class tax hike. That same paper our colleague just held also has Fact Checkers. But the Fact Checkers gave him not one, not two, not even you the most pinocchios can give for that lie. Every honest person sees this as a tax cut for hardworking americans. This bill increases the child tax credit, increases the standard deduction, increases wages and is already bringing back jobs to america. 55,000 an the first average family of four earns ill not face a single penny of income tax, not a single penny. So what are these Party Leaders defending by their opposition . Its not the people. After all, there is not a Single Person i have ever met in this nation that wants higher rates, lower wages, fewer jobs and a more complicated tax code. No. They arent defending the people. They are defending loopholes for the special interests, corporate welfare and carveouts for lobbyists. They are defending the abusive tactic of the status quo in the i. R. S. You know what i find most absurd . They are spending. They have made it their mission to increase taxes on our fellow citizens. And my friends on the other side of the aisle, they have the audacity to call this a tax increase. In the end, they are defending a broken status quo. You know what i think, mr. Speaker . I think that voting no on a plan that lowers taxes, higher wages and more jobs and a simpler system, it isnt about republicans and democrats. Voting no is telling the American People you do not have faith in them to rise if they are given a fair shot. Well, mr. Speaker, i have a simple question for this house and everyone watching at home. You want higher taxes and less money in your pockets or lower taxes and more money . I think we sent a message to the doubters and the critics. The American People do not want hard work to be punished. We do not accept decline. We do not accept that washington knows how to spend our money better than we do. So i have a different message for the American People. Those trying to find a job, that long search is coming to an end. This is your comeback. To those sick of just getting by and fighting for a raise, this is your comeback. To those struggling to keep your Small Business afloat to pay your employees and help your neighborhood, this is your comeback. To every american who ever dreamed of being an entrepreneur and owning a Small Business, this is your comeback. To every mother and father starting a family, raising your kids trying to give them more of an opportunity than you ever had, this is your comeback. Now, i put hope in the American People. This bill puts hope in our American People. Because we trust the people. Thats the start of americas comeback. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The chair reminds all members to address their remarks to the chair and not to the perceived audience. The house will come to order. The gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. Mr. Neal thank you, mr. Speaker. Always an honor to introduce the very capable democratic leader, the gentlelady from california, ms. Pelosi. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from california is recognized. Mr. Neal for one minute. Ms. Pelosi thank you very much, mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman for yielding and thank him for his superb leadership as the top democrat on the ways and Means Committee. I commend him and all of his our fellow democrats on the committee for standing up for the middle class in our country and fighting for the truth in what is in this bill. Mr. Speaker, this vote today is a defining moment for our country. Our votes today will decide the future of the american middle class and those who aspire to it, the future of our children and our grandchildren, the future of the United States of america as the land of opportunity. Today the republicans have brought forth a bill that is pillaging the middle class to pad the pockets of the wealthiest and hand tax breaks to corporations shipping jobs out of america and drastically increasing the National Debt. My colleagues, the bill republicans have brought to the floor today is not tax reform. Its not even a tax cut. It is a tax scam. So many people have written in about it who are affected by it and ill submit all of that for the record. But i do want to say that this is not only a defining moment, it is a moment of truth. With straight traces and with the speed of light, i have to give them credit, they raced this thing through in the dark of night. Theyre trying to sell a bill of goods to the middle class that this is in their interest, that this is a middle income tax cut. According to the nonpartisan tax policy center, republicans are raising taxes on 36 million middle class families. 36 million. Mr. Speaker, the house is not in order. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady will suspend. The gentleman is correct. Ms. Pelosi typical of the the speaker pro tempore the gentlelady will suspend. Ms. Pelosi typical of the Republican Party, they dont want you to hear what i have to say the speaker pro tempore the gentlelady will suspend until the house comes to order. The gentlelady can condition. Ms. Pelosi i associate the speaker pro tempore the gentlelady can continue. Ms. Pelosi i associate myself with the words of mr. Hoyer when he said, look to your soul. Not to your poll. Want to speak to pope encyclical. He quoted the wisdom of st. Augusta saint augusta. 17 centuries ago Saint Augustine said, a state which is not governed according to justice would be just a bunch of thieves. Benedict went on to say, the state must inevitably face the question of how justice can be achieved here and now. And he cautioned against the danger of certain ethical blindness caused by the dazzling effects of power and special interests. Interesting, in light of the fact that when this bill was brought forward, the director of National Economic council, gary cohen, he said, the most Excited Group out there are the big c. E. O. s about our tax plan. Is that about justice . Congressman collins said, my donors are basically saying, get it done or dont ever call me again. Senator Lindsey Graham said the financial contributions will stop if this tax scam fails. Well, he didnt say scam. Im saying scam. Thats my word. Back to the pope. And the catholic beneficiary opposite. The u. S. Conference of cash lick beneficiary opposite wrote this proposal Catholic Bishop wrote this proposal appears to be the first modification that will raise income taxes on the working poor while simultaneously providing a large tax cut to the wealthy. The u. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops went on to say, this is simply unconscionable. My colleagues, we always begin our session with prayer. Many of us attend mass on the weekend, on sundays. But we cannot pray and think that that gives us a lesson to pray on prey on people the rest of the week. And that is what this bill does. It preys on the middle class and those aspired to it. It pillages and a lots the loots the middle class. It is a shameful piece of legislation. And the republicans should know better. They say its going to get better in the senate. Oh, my gosh. In the senate, as mr. Hoyer pointed out, unanimously the Senate Finance committee rejected this proposal already. Was it 260, whatever the number was, the zero loomed large. But getting back to values. Because thats what were here to do, and what we do in our budget, which is which the tax bill is a part of. Supposed to be a statement of values. In his study of civilization, the Great British historian arnold toynby found that the beginning of a hopeful country, the Political Leadership formed a creative minority that inspired and led the flowering of civilization. But in some nations leaders became a dominant minority of exploiters. Focused on their own wealth and power. Arnold, welcome to the republican side of the aisle in congress. These competing mindsets, he went on, between the dominant minority of exploiters versus the creative minority that inspired and led the flowering of civilization, these competing mindsets and motivations create skis muches in a body schisms in a body social and in the body politic. And lo and behold, the Republican Party has written a bill, nearly half the benefits go to the top 1 in our country. And 80 of the benefits go to the top 2 . This is a defining moment, but its also a moment of truth. How can the republicans with a straight face say to the middle class, well, were doubling this or doubling that . Give with one hand, take with another. And to hear them cheer, hear them cheer for the provision in here about the estate tax. Listen to this. You tell me if you think this is fair. 1,800 families in america, not your family farmer, everybodys taken care inform what we have done already with the estate tax. In this bill, 1,800 of the wealthiest families, filers in our country, will in the life of break of 172 billion. 1,800 families. This is for 1,800 families. And you know what, the republicans cheered that. 1,800 families, 172 billion. Ey cheer the fact that up to 1. 5 trillion in tax cuts goes to Corporate America while at the same time giving them another tax break to send jobs overseas. At the same time be a solving them of any responsibility absolving them of any responsibility when it comes to state and local taxes. While insisting that individuals pay the state and lose the state and local Tax Deduction. But corporations do not. And listen to all of it. Were they cheering when theyre saying to a teacher, theyre cheering when they say to a teacher, you may bring supplies to your school because your school and classes need that, god bless you for that. But were taking away your tax the Tax Deduction that goes with that. What . Is that something to cheer about . Theyre saying to students who get a 2,500 Tax Deduction on interest on student loans, forget about that. Even though it may make the difference between you attending colonel or not, forget about that college or not, forget about that. Were too busy giving a tax cut to 1,800 wealthiest families in america, so they can get 172 billion in tax breaks over the next 10 years. Theyre saying to families, where they have a child with a disability, a senior with alzheimers, and everything in between, if you have extraordinary medical expenses, and since 1944 you have been. Le to deduct them, no more no more. Because we got to give it to the high end. So take that away. Do you have any idea what that means to americas working families and what it means for them, that they have alzheimers . We had one person come to our event in San Francisco last week from barbara lees district, she said it cost almost over 170,000 in costs for her because her husband has alzheimers. The Tax Deduction enabled them to survive. She said, i cant even imagine the cruelty that decided that this should happen in this tax bill. To understand what this means in peoples lives, and tell the truth about it, tell the truth about it. Republicans want to you believe that their trickledown tax break for the rich will pay for itself. Never has happened. Never has happened. As bruce bartlett, architect of supply side economics, said, its not true. That this trickledown economics pays for itself, its not true. Its nonsense. And he went on to say, it was b. S. In the full extent of those words. This tax scam wont create jobs. It wont raise wages. It will only spill the fill the coffers of the donors and the fat cats it. Will add trillions to the debt and stick our children with a bill that you cannot pay off. None of us will probably be around by the time the full impacts of the hemorrhaging of the debt in the second 20 years of this bill will require big tax increases. Look to the kansas example. Mr. Speaker, the house is not in order. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is correct. The house will come to order. Ms. Pelosi i thank the gentleman. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady will still continue to pause. The gentlelady will still continue ms. Pelosi mother of five boys the speaker pro tempore the gentlelady will it be to pause. The members made a valid point. The chair will get the house in order before the gentlelady continues. The gentlelady will now continue. Ms. Pelosi mr. Speaker, maybe i have to use my mother of five voice to be heard. But as a mother of five, and a grandmother of nine, were supposed to be thinking about our children and their futures. And our grandchildren and their futures. God willing one day some of will you have grandchildren. I always ask you the question, do they breathe air . Do they drink water . Why are you mesotheliomaing that up messing that up in other areas of our policymaking here. But getting back to to. This the tax scam wont create jobs. It wont raise wages. It will only fill the coffers of donors and the fat cats. The tax scam will add trillions to the debt. Oh, where, oh, where are the deficit hawks . Have you become extinct . Is there not one among you who understands what this does to the National Debt . And with all due respect to your leader, for him to put at our door step the debt when it was a creation, president bush went into office on a path from president clinton of deficit reduction. The last five clinton budgets were in balance or in surplus. President bush turned that around by repealing pay as you go, tax cuts for the wealthy, didnt trickle down. Two unpaidfor wars. Giveaway to the pharmaceutical industry. Taking to us a place remember, september of 2008, when we were in the worst economic downturn since the great depression. But anyway. Back to here. As republicans know, our republican friends have already shown us their playbook. In this bill, corporations will get a cut of 1. 5 trillion, the same 1. 5 trillion that republicans planned to slash from medicare and medicaid and the g. O. P. Budget. In their bones the American People know theyre getting a raw deal under the republican bill before us. You know it. You know why youre here. You know what youre doing. Democrats believe the American People deserve better, a better deal, better jobs, better wages, better future. We want to create good paying jobs, raise workers wages, lower the cost of living for families, give americans the tools they need to succeed in the 21st century. But you cant do that if you have a budget that does not invest in that future and is hampered by the cuts. Lets go back to the drawing board, lets write a bipartisan bill that raises wages, creates jobs, promotes growth, reduces the deficit, to get to that place we would want to go to the table in a bipartisan way. What are you afraid of . In a bipartisan way, to put together a tax bill that is good for the American People, instead of one that does violence to the american dream. I urge my colleagues to vote no. I want to return to the u. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to put their fabulous statement about this tax bill in the record and i return to their one of their statements. This proposal appears to be the First Federal income tax modification that will raise income taxes on the working oor while simultaneously making it better, they said theyre raising taxes on those making under 75,000 and giving tack cuts to the wealthy. They said theyre going to take Affordable Care away from 13 million americans. I dont know how thats making it better. That might be something you applaud but i hope you would not vote for. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. All members inds to address their comments to the chair and not in second person. No one man has worked on the tax reform plan than the gentleman from wisconsin. Mr. Brady im pleased and proud to yield one minute to the speaker of the house, mr. Yan. The speaker i havent said anything yet. Mr. Speaker, the house is not in order. The speaker pro tempore the house will come to order. And the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized for one minute. The speaker first, i love this one minute, i try not to abuse it too much but im going to right now. Mr. Speaker, i want to start off by thanking chairman kevin brady and all of the members of the house ways and Means Committee for this job well one. Mr. Speaker, we are in a generational defining moment for our country. And what were doing here, what were doing here is not just determining the kind of tax code were going to have, what we are doing here is determining the kind of country were going to have. And right now, because of this anemic economic recovery, i mean, dont forget we had the worst recession in our lifetimes in 2008. And ever since then, this economy has been flat. This economy has been way under its potential. This economy has been growing at a limp 1 to 2 . You know what that means for Hardworking Taxpayers . Do you know what that means for americans . Nobody gets a wage increase. Living standards are stagnant. Economic anxiety is high. 78 of our workers in this country today are living paycheck to paycheck. Most americans say that they dont even have 500 in their bank account for unexpected emergency or expense. This is the economic anxiety thats for real in this country today. Instead of thinking about getting ahead, families are struggling to get by. Think about all the moms and dads and Hardworking Taxpayers going to bed tonight, not sleeping, worried about what comes next week. This is not how it should be. This is not how it is in this country traditionally. We need to restore growth. We need to restore opportunity. We need to restore this beautiful thing we affectionately call the american idea. Passing this bill is the single biggest thing we can do to grow the economy, restore opportunity, and help these middle income families who are struggling. People always ask, whats in it for me . How do i benefit from this . Well, im a chart guy. Why is this important . What this shows you under this plan, the average family at every income level gets a tax cut. A tax cut at every average level. And what this chart shows you, the people here who are struggle, the people in middle income brackets, people in low income trying to become middle income, they get the biggest tax cut. This plan is good for people of all walks of life. All across the country. And the bigger relief goes to those who need it most. Lets put it into numbers. A typical household of four people. They make 59,000 in this country. 1,182 tax f four cut the first year alone. The median Family Income, mom, dad, two kids, the meanian Family Income in America Today is 87,000. That family will get a 1,941 ax cut right away, year one. So if youre one of those 57 of americans who say you dont even have 500 to go to an emergency, this really helps you. Lets talk about those people who itemize their tax, who live in high tax states. Maybe a couple making 115,000, living in a high tax state. Lets say theyve got 8,400 in a mortgage Interest Payment and 6,900 in property interest taxes for the year. They can write those off under this plan and still see a tax cut of 1,130. If theyve got kids, an even larger tax cut. Not only to people get to keep more of their own money in their own pocket, but we dramatically simplify the tax system. We make it more fair. Today, seven out of 10 americans dont itemize their deductions. 70 of americans take what we call the standard deduction for their taxes. Its just that, its standard, straightforward. Youre not taxed on that income. But over the years, washington has piled on special interest loophole after special interest loophole after special interest loophole. These are skewed to people who are wealthy, who are wellconnected, who can afford all the tax lawyers, all the accountants to navigate the tax code so they can get a good deal. If youre not in that group if you dont have lawyers and accountants and youre just scraping away at your middle income, you dont get those deals. What we want to do is take those loopholes away, make it fair for everybody, lower tax rates and make it easy. Heres how easy this gets. Going to make it so easy that by doubling the standard deduction, 90 of americans, nine out of 10 americans will be able to fill out their taxes on a form the size of a postcard. And what this means is, for a Single Person you dent pay taxes in your first 12,000 of income. For a couple, for a married couple you dont pay taxes on your first 20,000 of income. First 24,000 of income. Heres the basic philosophy. Instead of jumping through all the hoops that the i. R. S. Puts in front of you, instead of doing what the special Interest Groups say you need to do in order to get some of your money back, we basically say, keep your money in the first place. Its your money. O what you want with it. All of this is about tax relief. Its about fairness. Its about simplicity. Its about easing the stress and anxiety thats in this country. But what we yale need to do is we need better jobs. More jobs. Faster Economic Growth. Igher wages. And this brings us to the way we tax ourselves as businesses. This brings us to what do we do to make america the most competitive place in the world . Here is the real problem weve got when it comes to the way we tax our businesses. Were the worst in the world at it. We right now tax our businesses at the highest Corporate Tax rate in the industrialized world. What does that do . Let me give you an example where i come from. In wisconsin, the example is Johnson Controls. Johnson controls is a company with a history dating back to the 1880s in our state. It was the Biggest Company we had headquartered in wisconsin. Not anymore. Because Johnson Controls is an irish company. And theyre and their irish tax rate is 12. 5 . This is happening all over the country. Companies just to stay competitive are becoming Foreign Companies. And when the headquarters of that company leave yours hometown, when the headquarters of that business and that employer leave yours state and goes to another country, there goes the united way campaign. There goes the white collar jobs. There goes the manufacturing. There goes the research and development. There goes americans competitiveness. Whats worse, Foreign Companies are buying u. S. Companies because its cheaper because of taxes. So heres what we do. Instead of being the worst in the pack, we leapfrog ourselves by bringing that tax rate down to 20 . Because guess what. When you tax your businesses at much, much higher tax rates than our foreign competitors tax their they win and we lose. We got to stop losing. We got to start winning. Thats what this does. Whats even more impressive about this is it lowers taxes for those Small Businesses, those mom and pops, even more. So we got to make sure that our businesses, the job creators of america, have every incentive to stay there. Have every incentive to build here. Have every incentive to hire here. Whats more, were finding that by doing this, were going to get faster Economic Growth. Were going to get more jobs. Were going to get higher wages. Better takehome pay. Let me just break it down in simple numbers. Tax foundation they ran the numbers. Nonpartisan Tax Foundation said with this bill, well get faster greth about 3 1 2 faster Economic Growth. 890,000 new jobs. They estimate that in new york state alone, 57,834 new jobs. Wisconsin, 17,999 new jobs. Alifornia, 101,422 new jobs. Texas, 74,037 new jobs. And you get these new jobs when you grow this economy you pass this bill you grow this economy. And so why do we do all of this . Because its about giving people more takehome pay. Its about raising wages. Its about helping family whors struggling to get ahead. Its about getting washington out of the business of picking winners and losers. And giving the American People the kind of economy they deserve theark kind of economy we can have. This just shows you that across every income scale, across the board, wages will go up. Because were going to grow the economy. Most of the wage growth goes to the people who need it most. People in the middle. People who are struggling. That is why were here. My colleagues right now, we are in the middle of a long day where people are working tooth and nail in their jobs. We are right here in the middle of a day where americas workers are trying to figure out how to make ends meet, trying to keep up with everything. Those people, the Hardworking Taxpayers of this country that we represent, that is why we are here. This is why were doing this they are the foundation of this country. Were here today for them. The special interests are trying to protect their piece of the pie. All the negativity you see out there, theres probably a special Interest Group back there trying to keep their special place in the tax code. It is fine time, it is high time we root that out, we dont settle for the status quo and we give people the kind of tax code they need and deserve. It has been 31 years since we last did this and it is finally time that we get the general interest of this country to provail over the special interests in washington. So we know that this brings more fairness. We know that this increases taxhome pay and bigger paychecks. We know that this grows the economy and creates more opportunity. Faster Economic Growth is not going to fix every problem america has. But faster Economic Growth is going to help us solve every problem america has. My colleagues irk ask you today to raise your gaze and do something bold. To see the force of forest through the trees. To think about the people we are here to actually represent. To think about the people who are struggling, who are going to go to bed tonight and probably not sleep because theyre worried about whats going to happen tomorrow. Thats what this is. This is one of the most historic and the biggest things that we will ever do. And the reason is because this is one of the biggest things we can do to improve peoples lives. To revitalize that beautiful, american idea. To spread liberty and freedom. This is something thats going to refresh our confidence in ourselves, in our and our confidence in each other. Enough settling. Enough giving in. Lets start to reclaim our future right here in this moment, in this chamber, in this moment, lets pass this bill. Thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. The house this week passed the republican tax reform plan by a vote of 227205. The finance committee in the Senate Passing their version, 1412. Were joined by politico tax and Financial Services reporter, colin wilhelm. How big of a win was this for paul ryan . Colin this is a huge win. Ryan has said he has wanted to do tax reform since before he entered politics