Signers of the Community Letter

The Community Letter in Support of Nonpartisanship, signed by more than 5,500 organizations from every state and every segment of the charitable and foundation communities, makes a strong statement in support of nonpartisanship and urges those who have vowed to repeal or weaken this vital protection to leave existing law in place for nonprofit organizations and the people they serve.
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Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, for almost a decade, Americans suffered under  Obamanomics. Their savings remain decimated, their paychecks were stagnant, and their American dreams were diminished. But, Mr. Speaker, a new day has dawned. Under the leadership of President Trump, Speaker Ryan, and Chairman Brady, we are on the precipice of passing a fairer, flatter, simpler, and more competitive Tax Code, one built for 3-plus percent economic growth. The American people can now imagine a Tax Code that brings jobs and capital back to America. They can imagine a Tax Code that is simplified from 70,000 pages to 500, where 90 percent of Americans can fill out their return on a postcard. They can imagine a Tax Code swept of all the special interest loopholes. They can imagine a Tax Code creating lower rates for working Americans and small businesses, and they can now imagine a Tax Code that is all about economic growth. All my friends on the other side of the aisle can offer is the politics of division, envy, and class warfare.I am proud to support the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act because it is all about better jobs, fair taxes, and bigger paychecks.

Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, 17,000 people in Mr. Hensarling’s district will now pay higher interest on their student loan deductions.Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind), who is a great advocate for the heartland of America.

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Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from the Congressional Budget Office, which details out the other shoe to fall in this legislation.

Congressional Budget Office, U.S. Congress,

Washington, DC, November 13, 2017

Hon. Steny H. Hoyer,Democratic Whip, House of Representatives,

Washington, D.C.

Dear Congressman:

This letter responds to your request for information about the effects of legislation that would raise deficits by an estimated $1.5 trillion over the 2018-2027 period, specifically with respect to a sequestration–or cancellation of budgetary resources–in accordance with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (PAYGO; Public Law 111-139).The PAYGO law requires that new legislation enacted during a term of Congress does not collectively increase estimated deficits.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is required to maintain two so-called PAYGO scorecards to report the cumulative changes generated by new legislation in estimated revenues and outlays over the next five years and ten years. If either scorecard indicates a net increase in the deficit, OMB is required to order a sequestration to eliminate the overage. The authority to determine whether a sequestration is required (and if so, exactly how to make the necessary cuts in budget authority) rests solely with OMB.

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At the time, I was the Senate majority leader in Michigan under the last administration, overseeing the only Republican branch of government. I saw firsthand how the administration pursued targeted tax credits, one after the other, that favored one industry over the other.

It was a classic example of government picking winners over losers, and as expected, it failed miserably.

As we see at the Federal level today, in Michigan, these targeted tax benefits were paid for by everyone else in the form of tax increases, and not only did it fail to attract growth in emerging sectors as they had hoped, but it caused our economy to go into a tailspin, a very serious tailspin.
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