how do we solve this as a nation? rep. kevin brady: it seems like we are divided against each other. it is particularly troubling that this was a peaceful protest and some used that as an opportunity to target and kill law enforcement officers. coming on top of a tough week. what i do know is congress's responsibility is not to add to that divisiveness. it is to calm the waters. take a look at these incidences one by one. it is troubling in so many ways. host: let's turn to taxes and the economy. of aere the architect blueprint that the speaker has put together on major policy proposals and your area is texas. -- taxes. i want to introduce kelsey snell and joe lawler. i just wanted to ask about the blueprint. when speaker ryan started the process he said he hopes all the elements together would give house republicans a platform on which to run in the upcoming election. i'm wondering how much you have discussed that platform with your presumptive nominee donald trump. rep. kevin brady: i did. the speaker is exactly right. we have to stand for change in america and layout what our solutions are. we have done that with his leadership. giving us the green light on how to get people from welfare back to work and self-sufficiency. how do you make the country safer? how do we fix this broken tax code and get the economy going again? i was at the meeting. it was very positive. i feel like on the area of tax reform and how we get the economy going, there's a lot of common ground with mr. trump. and i'm hopeful as president that he will embrace our ideas. it seems like his tax reform proposals are very similar. so i'm pretty optimistic in that area. kelsey snell: the major differences in the platform you put out in the blueprint and the details he has shared about his vision tend to differ on the rates. i'm wondering if that is something your staff has discussed with his staff. rep. kevin brady: the rates don't have to match perfectly. is going all in for growth on jobs and opportunity. --ause we can't settle for so we take less from local businesses so they can grow. we redesign how we tax so we leapfrog from dead last in the world to one of the leading packs of best countries for progrowth tax codes. we simplify for families the very complex code enough that they can fit 14 lines on a postcard but take care of the basics like home mortgage deduction and charitable deduction. and we designed the irs to have a fair simpler tax codes. we are proposing to redesign it so they work for us and we can more quickly resolve tax disputes for families and small businesses. what happens next to build support for this blueprint? what you have to do to get all the different interests that will be affected by this on board and what needs to happen at the committee level? when are you going to actually start putting pen to paper? rep. kevin brady: we laid this blueprint out. telling america, this is not our tax code, this is yours. you have a say in how you are taxed. we are not imposing it. we are proposing it to the american public. tell us if you want more job and a stronger economy. tell us if you want a code so simple and fair he could fit on a postcard. we will be listening. townhall meetings and social media. we will be taking feedback from taxpayers and businesses is blueprint -- on this blueprint. but we will be doing the hard work of doing pen -- putting pen to paper. transitions.e going from an old car that doesn't go very fast to a new car that drives differently. there will be a transition to that. do the rest of the year we've got some work to do but it's good work -- through the rest of the year we've got some work to do but it's good work. simple and fair and economically so much stronger. kelsey snell: have you discussed at all how you would modify or adjust these proposals if hillary clinton is elected resident -- president? rep. kevin brady: tax reform is such a big undertaking. if it is to become law it will be bipartisan. it will have bipartisan ideas. it may not at every step of the way. pelosi anticipate leader embracing a republican tax reform plan. we know there are a number of democrats who know america can't compete around the world anymore. local businesses are holding onto their money and not creating new jobs. they know the code is so complex , families can understand it if their life depended upon it. regardless of who is president, we're going to advance what we call built for growth tax reform. we're hopeful that president is ready to work with us. kelsey snell: how much has the process changed since the last time tax or -- house republicans put something out? what has changed in the republican party to move you away from things that were in that draft? rep. kevin brady: two big differences. you have a speaker who is all green light on big issues. because he comes from the ways and means background. but think of his history. he has always been a bold thinker. tax reform kicks the green light like it never has before. draft made tax reform inevitable because he proved you could lower rates and do that in a revenue neutral way. he had the tightest constraints in the world and still did it. we have the opportunity to take 10 pounds of growth and put it in this five pound bag of tax reform in a way that really grows the economy. we've had some opportunities now to take areas and really supercharge them as far as local businesses being able to invest in the community. hire new workers. create opportunities we haven't had before. at each step we want to make it better. so that's why through the rest of the year we will be listening. we are also looking to make the blueprint better going forward as well. kelsey snell: i may have misspoke. it may have been 2014. joe lawler: let's talk about one of the big obstacles you will face. the distributional impact of the plan. you cut the individual tax rate, capital gains taxes, eliminate the estate tax. democrats say, this is going to result in big tax cuts for high earners. how do you address that? i think thosedy: press releases were written before the blueprint was actually sent out. so they were anticipating that. if you look at the blueprint you see tax relief at every income level. simplification and every income level -- at every income level. taxed for lowre income families. we virtually eliminate the 10% bracket. it is just not needed anymore. the analysis of the blueprint is it provides wage growth, strong growth for the economy, 9% growth. after-tax in your paycheck growth at every income level. and that is by. we think tax relief should occur take less board and money from you at every income level so you can have more control of your life. and it will also grow local economies. joe lawler: let me ask about one of the specific interest groups that was notably cool to the introduction of the tax plan. the real estate industry, the homebuilders and realtors came out and expressed concern. someright now benefit from of the bigger tax breaks including the mortgage interest induction and they stand to lose a lot. how are you. proceed with them for other groups like that are bound to come up who stand to lose a big break and could lend a lot of influence against the bill? rep. kevin brady: first we are going to be listening. this better and more progrowth we are wide open to it. we retained the home mortgage deduction as well as the child tax credit and charitable deductions and helping getting people from welfare to work. we think that continues to support homeownership. and my experience is nothing and getsre homes people into homes than a strong economy. nothing replaces that. and so since we are all in for that growth in the tax code i think you're going to see more homes built as a result. so you are increasing the standard induction by so much that you are going to make it so fewer people are claiming itemized deductions. that's a concern for these groups that get an advantage from so many people claiming that mortgage interest reduction right now. are you going to go any further to diminish the impact of that deduction? is. kevin brady: my guess and we will he or from the american public that their inire for simpler and fairer a system they can understand is thatger than any groups have a special provision that works as long as taxes are high and the code is really complicated and we force people into longer filing form's. provision you are counting on i think you're going to be in conflict with the american public who just wanted simpler and -- want it simpler and understandable. the american people are going to have their say. i think they're going to opt for simpler. researchell: some shows the american public does like the idea of simpler taxes until they are faced with giving up something they are accustomed to. we saw a lot of reaction that was negative when chairman camp put that out on this issue. i was wondering if there was a strategic decision to include not include which deductions you would get rid of to avoid that feedback. rep. kevin brady: we were looking at, what's important to most families? one, lower taxes so they can keep more. savings for retirement and investing, which also grows the economy. we cut those rates in half. think about the basics. help with homes, charitable giving, raising kids. help with getting people on that first rung in the economic ladder. for most families the feedback from the blueprint is, that's what we want. that covers our basics. not addingd prefer dozens more to the postcard. maybe hundreds of more provision and having to send our dollars to washington in helping you get some back -- and hoping we get some back. we will do tons of town hall meetings. we will get that feedback from the people. host: er at the 11 minute mark -- we are at the 11 minute mark. recentsnell: -- in months has been the most -- hope there could be some talk with senate democrats really in the year about an international tax reform plan. wondering where that stands right now. it's not outady: of the question that we could come together in that area. the clock seems to be taking. this legislative year is racing by. for the focus on the blueprint was to give businesses in america especially their computing around the world hope that there is a serious discussion about how we connect and competitive again and how when they win they can bring those profits back to reinvest here in the unit tests. -- united states. taxes, takingg less money from our businesses whether they are competing on main street or around the world so they can grow. redesigned had they compete internationally so they are competitive again. for the first time we are going to stop taxing our exports. we will simplify our tax code in a way. i'm convinced we are going to last.og from deadd la the response has been very good. whether it will be a targeted approach before we leave for the year is still under discussion. kelsey snell: what about in general doing international first? rep. kevin brady: there is an urgency on the international side. i don't know if that will come together before the end of the year. we know a lot of businesses are now looking at that blueprints with a welcome because it really addresses the competitiveness. we eliminate every incentive for foreheadmpany to a headquarters, manufacturing, intellectual property. incentives toeate do it in america. that is the signal we want to send. joe lawler: right now the obama administration is trying to limit those corporate inversions through treasury rulemaking. withw you had a meeting treasury officials this week about one of those provisions which is complicated but they essentially try to prevent companies from loading up on debt which they can then deduct interest payments on and shift income out of the u.s. into low tax jurisdictions. can you tell us what you heard from them and if they proceed with those rules what options do you have to shape those are stop them if they are going to be harmful? rep. kevin brady: we want companies to not be forced to move overseas. there is common ground on that. how the white house is approaching that is wrong. thisnly solution is to fix broken tax code. in their haste to keep u.s. companies from leaving, they have built a wall that keeps foreign dollars from flowing back into our local communities. the regulation they have laid out is so complicated that in for every answer there were five more questions that were raised. my worry is that they rush into this rule that has huge economic consequences at home. they miss the target and don't really solve it and in fact make us less competitive which means you have missed the mark in every way. our advice to them is slow down. take more input. we will work with you in this area. we agree with the concept of incentives to keep companies in america. they are rushing into this regulation and it's going to have long-term consequences. joe lawler: is it possible with congress might weigh in with possibly legislation? rep. kevin brady: it depends if the treasury is listening. bitt the sense they were a dismissive of the concerns that were raised in the meeting. they do seem open to some small changes. the bigger concerns that were raised by members of congress from both parties didn't seem to be resonating with them. they kept reiterating we want to move swiftly. all the regulations. we would rather they move correctly and accurately in this regulation. we are putting every legislative option on the table. because it all comes down to jobs at the local level. we wanted to move on to a couple issues that are not tax related. i wanted to bring up the issue of trade. donald trump has been very adversarial toward the idea of the traits system -- trade characterizedave how the u.s. has done business over the past many years. last week you put out a statement that said trade lies at the heart of free enterprise and republicans must expand that freedom. was that a rejoinder to trump? how did you want that to be read? rep. kevin brady: i wanted to be clear that republicans will continue to be a champion or expanding the economic freedom to trade. it is at the heart of our free enterprise system. the freedom to buy and sell and compete anywhere in the world with as little government interference as possible grows our economy in a major way. creates opportunities, raises wages at a home. .ours the cost of goods -- lowers the cost of goods. i know we disagree with mr. trump on this area. i'm hopeful that we can convince codehat making our tax more progrowth will make america stronger. but to do that it is not enough to simply buy american. we need to sell american. we need to manufacture and produce here and level that playing field so we can sell all around the world and turn one-way trade into two-way trade. that's what trade agreements do. they have been successful and we're going to continue to make the case that republicans are going to lead on free trade. joe lawler: as ways and means committee chairman your committee has oversight over health care. one of the issues that came up this week was the obamacare cost sharing reduction program. one of your subcommittees put out a report finding that that has been administered illegally which was also the finding of a federal court. where does that go? are you looking to push the issue further? rep. kevin brady: we are going to continue the investigation. here's why. it's bigger than health care. it is the issue of, can any white house ignore the and simply spend money for a program they want where congress has repeatedly and specifically said zero funding, don't do that. .he court agreed with us here knowingly $7 billion to soe illegally funding money, we are going to pursue the investigation because all agencies we subpoena documents continue to refuse to give them to us. so we're going to demand we get that information. whole ahead of those agencies accountable for providing those documents. bigger issue here and i applaud the chairman of the oversight committee and the work chairman. host: let me close with some politics questions. you are just about a week out from your national convention, are you going? rep. kevin brady: i will be going. i'm going to back the republican ticket. we are going to the convention and to highlight a better way for house republicans. we want to lay out argument for why having a bold progrowth positive vision for change in the direction of the country is good and house republicans are going to continue to lead in that area. i'm hopeful our nominee embraces these ideas and the goals behind them because i think we can turn the country around. host: you have not set his name. -- you have not said his name. rep. kevin brady: mr. trump will be the nominee. host: there are still some unhappy delegates. will he be the nominee? rep. kevin brady: i believe so. i have not followed the convention politics as closely as i have fixed in the broken tax code. but i'm hoping we come out of the convention unified. while anyone may have disagreements with our nominee -- i have never agreed 100% with any nominee. hopefully we make the positive case for change. watchthere are people who the congress very closely who suggest his candidacy may put the house and play. -- in play. are you concerned about that? rep. kevin brady: this is an uncertain environment around the country. candidates are independent candidates. they represent the values of the district. are going to we hang onto the majority. i'm hopeful we can build on it and we're going to run our own race. host: thank you for being with us on newsmakers. newsmakers is back after our conversation with house ways and means committee chairman kevin brady of texas. kelsey snell of the washington post and joe lawler of the washington examiner. we spent a lot of time on the blueprint for speaker ryan's overall policy agenda for the house republicans. joe lawler, are you pressed about the special interest groups? people with a lot of money for going to want to have their say and try to shape the outcome of this. the chairman kept talking about the will of the people. the difference is people don't generally have money behind their proposals. how well moneyed interests in real estate -- will moneyed interests in real estate have an impact on this process? joe lawler: you are getting rid of so many deductions and preferences and that that is if you lower the rates enough people will be happy with that. but of course there are going to be winners and losers. the real estate industry has some of the more prominent tax deductions. mortgage interest is one of the biggest ones. there are hundreds of others and their obviously some very powerful lobbies in d.c. who will protect those. but also the people. a family might benefit from the tax break for college for instance and they might not have lobbyists in d.c. we can get those colleges do. you are going to find someone havein d.c. to advocate the ears of all of those lawmakers. the lobby shop has really grown up around the tax code. we talked about the former chairman dave camp. why would this be any different? kelsey snell: it's not clear to me that it necessarily will. book about the loving process during the 86 tax reform. i think we're going to continue to see some significant lobbying here. he doesn't anticipate their point get much done this year. it will really depend on who is president and what the will of congress is once they see the lay of the land whoever happens to be in the executive. host: we didn't talk about the revenue side of the text -- tax proposals. how does the shakeout with the money brought into treasury. ? kelsey snell: it's hard to see untily how they get there they tell us which deduction will actually be eliminated to make up the rates. they also say they're going to use dyadic scoring. so they anticipate that economic growth will be part of that equation. host: i was also interested in your conversation about trade. his strong statement and the republican leadership's statement puts them at odds with one of the most principal parts of donald trump's candidacy. joe lawler: that was a great question. in his initial statement in response to donald trump's big speech on trade in front of the big pile of compressed recycling, he didn't mention donald trump by name. he said, republicans are in favor of free enterprise. that's part of what conservatives and republicans support. but he didn't mention donald trump by name. now he did. i'm not sure he actually did. maybe he started that direct confrontation -- skirted that direct confrontation once again. notice that in passing the trade tpa andt this year the the tpp there was division in the republican party. that's why the issue and something -- a live issue and something he will have to deal with. host: this is the final week before congress breaks for their conventions. weeky snell: in the last the senate is going to attempt to take another vote on the zika funding package. we are expecting the outcome to be nearly the same where democrats will block that. in the house they have a number of additional things on the table. one more appropriations bill. and likely they will start talking about a stopgap spending bill they could start to act on in september. host: are the democrats an unknown quantity in getting this done? kelsey snell: i think they are and the events out of dallas may change the calculus of how that goes down. host: thank you for being on newsmakers this week. we appreciate your questions. >> invest in additional $100 million into higher education in the commonwealth. we have to change the way we deliver education and expect more the dollars we are getting. >> tonight on q&a, gerard robinson talks about the state of education in the u.s. >> there is a body of literature that's clear that there are certain courses you should take. math, science, english. that should be in place if you expect to be successful in college. to simply accept students who have not held that obligation is doing a great disservice to them and it is selling the effort of affirmative action. >> tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span's q&a. >> could five g mobile connectivity be right around the corner? fcc chair nominee is pushing --d and says the u.s. must fcc chair tom wheeler is pushing hard for it and says the u.s. must lead. she will discuss why the internet is needed and the expansion of virtual reality. she's joined by howard busker. >> the goal is to say we have the spectrum. we have the vision about where we want to go wireless and we are going tous