Neal of massachusetts talk to reporters about the republican tax reform plan. Also at this news conference, a group of private citizens outline potential impacts of the proposed legislation. This is about 40 minutes. Ms. Pelosi thank you for being here this morning. Thank you. Thank you for coming. Come over here. Here we are. Good morning, everyone. We have some very special guests with us today, so i will be brief in my remarks so we can hear from them. Yesterday, as you know, the republicans unveiled a terrible assault on opportunity for the middle class in america. The republicans want you to believe they are cutting taxes on the middle class, but republicans are plundering the middle class and middle class families to give trillions of dollars in tax cuts to corporations. Some shipping jobs overseas. And already its clear republicans arent being really truthful about whom their tax bill benefits. A tax analysis found the ryanmcconnell tax bill will raise taxes on at least 13 million tax filers who earn under 100,000 a year. Again, this bill raises taxes on the middle class. Adds trillions to the debt while giving tax cuts to the wealthiest americans and corporations while stripping credits and deductions from middle class families, includes tax incentives for corporations to ship jobs overseas. Budget it ransacks the budget of medicare and medicaid 1. 5 trillion 1 trillion from medicaid. Half a trillion to medicare. Take a trillion and a half out of medicare and medicaid. We are joined today by men and women and children who speak to the consequences of the ryanmcconnell act. They are speaking for the families and communities they didnt want you to listen to, hardworking americans who will bear the pain while Corporate America gets the tax giveaways. They are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the suffering under the g. O. P. Bill. We thank them for making time to share their stories. And we have with us today susan flashman, a retired Union Electricity with medical expenses which of course the deduction will be eliminated. Captain john niemiec, president of Fairfax County professional firefighters and paramedics, local 2068. Kendra tappin, a Health Care Worker and mother of three. Two here. Plus a friend. [laughter] barbara altman, retired grandmother, who has a grandson with microcephaly who relies on medicaid. And Michael Smith, nabisco worker, laid off from a chicago plant. In addition to hearing from our families, we are im honored were joined by the Ranking Member on the ways and Means Committee, a real champion for americas working families, a defender of the middle class. We are so proud he has the role he has. Please welcome congressman richie neal from massachusetts. Mr. Neal there was a real opportunity here to address what many of us have all agreed upon for a long period of time and thats complexity in the tax code. What was posted yesterday in terms of the summary and i would remind all you have not had a chance to see the chairmans mark which will tough off the debate in terms of specifics, but what happened yesterday is they added layers of complexity to the code with phase ins and phase outs. Theres also a fundamental assault on housing which will have a particular effect on middle class americans, and i dont know how we can say with students across america collectively facing 1 trillion worth of debt that we are now going to remove the deductibility of interest payments. This was all along an effort to take a size 12 foot and put it into a size seven shoe. When you look at the scoring on what they came up with yesterday, it is clear that because the numbers didnt work, they had to go to the middle class in a bait and switch opportunity to alter what middle class homeowners, middle class students, middle class people face in terms of medical expenses. All of this had to be subtracted, reduced or cast to the side in terms of abandonment all for one purpose and that is to justify the scoring of 1. 51 trillion which by most economic forecasts, because of borrowing principals over 10 years, is likely to be closer to 2. 4 trillion, 2. 5 trillion. The speculative nature of dynamic scoring indicates these losses will be recouped. I would like to know where the hardcore evidence is. If you want to know what democrats rely on in this instance about specificity in terms of trying to garner information that stands up under the magnifying glass, why dont we start with the Wharton School which has concluded that there is to be very little growth based upon what theyre suggesting. How about golden sachs . The Alumni Association that helped assemble this tax plan from Goldman Sachs, the children at Goldman Sachs still say, no, its not going to spur on that sort of Economic Growth. And thirdly, the center for tax policy whose numbers, in my judgment, based upon the analysis weve all done with them, stand up when you look at them. Theyre indicating that there might be the sugar high of growth for a year or so but you are going to be stuck with debt that will be passed onto these children for a tax cut for people at the very top. Now, this is as i said a moment ago, this is a missed opportunity because there is broad agreement on a code needing to be fixed, reformed and change. To close on this note as those of you that will scrutinize these proposals as we go through the weekend into monday at noontime for the kickoff. In 1986, the ways and Means Committee took testimony from 450 witnesses. In 30 hearings. Over the course of years and months. From the time that Dick Gephardt and bill bradley filed the legislation in 1982, 1982, the legislation passed in october of 1986. And were reminded at that time that through the markup, the secretary of the treasury sat for day upon day upon day so that this would be done in a bipartisan manner. That is not whats happened here. So were going to a markup on monday at noontime without having one hearing and not having heard from one witness. Thats a breakdown in the regular order here, and i hope as we go to monday to talk about this there will be ample opportunity to focus not just policy but the process that has brought us to this point. But the process that has brought us to this point. Ms. Pelosi thank you very much, mr. Neal. Why does process matter . It matters because they dont want people to know what this means in their personal lives. Thats why its all in the dark of night and faster than the speed of sound. But not the sound that were going to be making about this and hearing from our special guests today. Well lead off with susan flashman. Ms. Flashman. Thank you. Good morning. My name is susan flashman. Im a retired union electrician. And i am here on behalf of the alliance for retired americans. I am 63 years old and my husband and i live in maryland. I worked for more than 25 years as a union electrician. But then i needed brain surgery. Due to a cyst that had turned into a tumor. Took about a year of rehab for me to be somewhat functional once again. However, my balance was permanently affected and i was unable to work. This happened when i was 57. The financial effects compounded my health concerns. The hospital bills alone were more than 100,000. And that was on top of lost earnings. I had brain surgery in 2011. By 2013 i qualified for medicare. Due to my condition and other multiple surgeries, i used the medical expense deduction over eight to 10 years and saved hundreds of dollars a year on my federal taxes. Being able to deduct my medical expenses was extremely important when i was unable to work. Id also helped with expenses that medicare doesnt cover or allow. I cant imagine where i would have found those funds when i couldnt work and had such massive bills. Not knowing what to do in the future, i may need that deduction again. The tax legislation that the house rolled out on wednesday this week will affect not just myself, but millions of other people who have worked hard all their lives and now need nursing home care and Home Health Care or who have high dental expenses. It concerns me deeply that the house has introduced this legislation that would take this deduction away from those excuse me. Those who need it most. And have the most Serious Health problems. That would be on top of the plans to cut nearly 500 billion from medicare and 1 trillion from medicaid. And all to fix to offer tax breaks to corporations and billionaires. Who need the money the least. It just doesnt make sense to me. Thank you all very much. Ms. Pelosi thank you, susan. Youve answered the question, why, why would they take away this extraordinary medical deduction extraordinary medical expenses . Why . To give a tax break to the high end. Now well hear from captain john niemiec. Mr. Niemiec good morning. C and i is john niemi firefighterparamedic with am a fairfax fire and rescue department. I want to share a few thoughts on why the impacts of this bill on the state and local Tax Deduction will hurt firefighters. First, i want to thank leader pelosi and mr. Neal for holding this event and those elected officials in virginias delegation who stood up for firefighters during this debate. In particular, id like to thank senators warner and kaine for their vote to preserve the state and local Tax Deduction when it came to the floor in late october. On the subject of s. A. L. T. I want to be clear, the current plan to cap the deduction would be devastating to the fire service. Not just in virginia, but across the country to read while Fire Departments are funded through local taxes, they base their needs not on what can be provided, but on determining the best way to save lives and protect property. Eliminating the salt deduction would force local governments to arbitrarily reduce taxes or cut services, leading to a weaker fire service under either scenario. These cuts would have a real impact on things like response time, funding Proper Staffing levels, and purchasing necessary equipment. Even with the property tax exemption, sales and income taxes, supply the majority of state revenues. Without the full salt deduction, we would be fighting for a smaller piece of the pie instead of working together as a community to Fund Services based on actual need. We must stand up for the sovereignty of states and their local tax decisions. In addition to affecting the fire service, taking away the deductibility of these taxes would have an impact on the lives of middle class men and women, many of whom i work beside and represent every day. In virginia alone, residents would be hit with thousands of additional dollars in tax liability. In addition, those workers who own a home will see their mortgage Interest Deduction diluted, impacting the value of their property. This half measure on s. A. L. T. Will only serve to target firefighters twice. One, for having a job. And the other, for owning a home. For these reasons we will not support any attempt to tailor or cut the s. A. L. T. Deduction. Thank you. Ms. Pelosi thank you very much, captain. The question why, why . To give Tax Advantages to corporations, to ship jobs overseas, undermining our work force as it undermines the abilities of state and local governments to meet the needs of the American People. Now well hear from Kendra Tappin and her guest. Kendra good morning, everyone. Thank you so much for the opportunity to be here. And thank you for everyone who continues to stand up for the millions of working class women, men and families across america and speaks against this horrendous tax bill that will directly harm middle class and working class families. We sell young people a bill of goods that says if you go to college you can get a good job, you can have the american dream. And i was one of those wideeyed young people, the daughter of immigrants, who did just that. My parents told me i had to work hard, i had to go to college. So i did. I worked hard and went off to Barnard College and Columbia University and stanford university. I have degrees from all of those places and i won fellowships, including a fullbright. But i wouldnt have been able to do any of those things without the additional help with Student Loans that made my education possible. And so seven years ago i was a doctoral student at stanford. And like many 20something, i had something of an existential crisis questioning my worth, my , ability and whether or not i belonged at a place like stanford. Today we call that kind of worry imposter syndrome. You see, i was the first person in my family to go to college. The first person to go to graduate school. And my family, working class people, one of whom works at the u. S. Postal service, right, my father works at a hotel in a kitchen, right. My family didnt have the frame of reference to support what it is that i wanted to do. And they werent able to give me the support in the ways that i needed. Now, i imagine many of you listening today might have gone to graduate school, so you know that graduate students dont typically have a lot of money. If youre parents of children in graduate school, they might call and ask you for money. And they think him a you are and, why are you still asking me for money . Its not an easy road. And when i became pregnant and learned that i was expecting twins, what was supposed to be a joyous time quickly turned sour when my partner went out with a friend for drinks one evening and simply never came back. I didnt know it then, but hed also neglected to pay three months of the money i had and all of my other possessions except for a little volkswagen , that i drove and my boxes of books. If the basic purpose of this tax bill is to help working class and middle class families, then the obvious next step would be to include provisions that expand tax credits for those groups. Instead we see cuts like the elimination of the Tax Deduction for Student Loans. What this means is that if youre someone with a Student Loan Debt like me, you wont be able to pay down the interest on your loans to reduce your taxable income. These taxes will hurt working class families. Theyll hurt millions of people who bought the bill of goods, saying that you should go to college for a better job and for a better opportunity to provide for your family. With this kind of tax code, i ask myself, what kind of opportunity can i provide for my children that im raising on my own . What kind of futures will they have if they go to college . What does that mean, what does that look like . The bill will also explode the deficit by 1. 5 trillion. Forcing radical cuts to programs that me and my family have benefited from. Programs like tanf and snap and Housing Support and housing subsidies. Without the tax code weve to wait almost a year for housing. So what does that mean now that we cut programs that support that . As a pregnant all of this in favor of corporations and the interests of the wealthy. The superwealthy. As a pregnant woman expecting twins, the Childrens Health insurance program, c. H. I. P. , and the a. C. A. Afforded my daughters and myself the health care that we needed at the most critical times. I had weekly appointments making sure that the girls and i were healthy and that i would have a safe delivery. I ask myself today the question, what happens to parents or women who are in similar circumstances . Children who are yet to be born, what options are we leaving them . Im happy to share that the a. C. A. , which this year earlier celebrated its seventh birthday, like my daughters celebrated their 7th birthday as well, and were really part of the successes of the a. C. A. , that has done so much for so many families around this country. Im glad because my life and my daughters lives have benefited so much from c. H. I. P. And the a. C. A. As well. If we as a nation are to move forward, provide opportunity and access to grow a generation of writers and you all see them, they brought their own notebooks and pens for themselves. Theyre taking notes of the journalists taking notes. [laughter] engineers, poets, lawyers, policymakers, legislators. And, yes, perhaps even the next president. Then we must invest in people in children, in education and jobs, in health care and housing. Because these can lift people out of poverty. I know that firsthand. And because the future of all of us depends on it. Thank you. Ms. Pelosi do you want to introduce the children . They cant see behind the podium. So these are my girls. Shiloh is wearing the pink pompoms in her hair. And thela is wearing green pompoms in her hair and danny, their friend from school, is here today. Today is a no school day, youre helping in the village of child care. Thank you very much. [laughter] ms. Pelosi thank you so much, kendra, for spelling out how important this is for opportunity and for the next generation. And why are they making these cuts . Theyre doing it so they can eliminate the estate tax. A move that benefits. 02 of the American People. Practically everyone in the president s cabinet. With that im pleased to introduce barbara altman. Thank you. I am barbara altman. Im from rockville, maryland. And im 81 years old. So there. [laughter] it is wrong to cut taxes this is my son, andrew. It is wrong to cut taxes for people who need it least, while Cutting Services for people who need it most. Dont cut taxes for millionaires and corporations while cutting medicaid and medicare. My son, andrew, is 54 years old. Nonverbal and profoundly retarded. He was in an institution temporarily while i had hip surgery during the time they were emptying institutions. He was accepted into an arc home and a group home 27 years ago. At 1 3 of the cost of what the institutionalization cost. He now lives with four others. Medicaid has been his lifeline and mine. Medicaid allowed him to have a normal round of life. Day programs during the week and activities on the weekend. Sometimes he even comes home. Cutting taxes for millionaires and corporations while cutting medicaid and medicare is simply immoral. Dont take from my son for people who dont need it. Ms. Pelosi thank you so much, barbara. And everything that you said applies, much of it weve heard from the veterans and veterans depend very heavily on medicaid, food stamps. Some of the initiatives that kendra mentioned as well. And why . And why . To have an unfair tax policy at the expense of the middle class. To the benefit of billionaires in our country and corporations with advantages to send jobs overseas. With that, welcome Michael Smith to the podium. Thank you, michael. Thank you, madam leader. My name is Michael Smith. And i am here to tell you why we believe that the tax bill is a job killer. Up until march of 2016, i was employed at the nabisco bakery in chicago. I had worked there nearly five years. And i am unemployed today because nabisco sent my job and the jobs of over 500 others at the bakery to mexico. It happened because our trade and tax laws make it easy and profitable for companies to outsource our jobs. During the last years election, i heard a lot of politicians say it was time to change the rules and bring jobs home. But now i see this tax bill and heres what it says. It says that from now on, a u. S. Company will pay no taxes in the United States on its profits from its mexican plant. Where my job went. But it will pay taxes on the profits from its plants here in the u. S. About 20 . What we do think will happen, what do you think will happen to my brothers and sisters who still work in the u. S. Under these rules . Literally this tax bill wants to Pay Companies like mondelez to move jobs like mine out of the United States. We cannot believe this. So let me say to the people who wrote this bill, you must think that i am more than a chance to just make some more money and so it is, so its the same understanding of my coworkers back in chicago and around this country. Whose life will be destroyed if if this bill passes and corporations move more jobs to profit offshore in pursuit of the tax breaks in this bill for offshorers. Once again, my name is Michael Smith and i am more than a statistic. I deserve to be treated with dignity and respect and so do the others who were laid off at the plant in chicago. We pay taxes, and we Implore Congress not to reward Companies Like this one that outsourced my job with billions of dollars in tax breaks. Let me say this one more time. This tax bill is a job killer. Someone said its cut, cut, cut. What it cut is my job. Thank you. Ms. Pelosi thank you so much, michael. As you see the republican plan , will rob from these childrens future by heaping mountains of debt onto the national debt. Why . To give 1. 5 trillion tax break to corporations and by the way, captain, when they say individuals cannot deduct state and local taxes, that doesnt include corporations. They can still deduct permanently. And at the same time a tax advantage to create jobs overseas at the expense of doing it in our country. Clearly an advantage in the tax code. Why . They have to answer that with that, im pleased to take any questions you have. Id like to focus on this subject first. Any questions . You have a tremendous resource here, a Ranking Member on the ways and Means Committee who knows the most about this subject and its impact on peoples personal lives. [inaudible] mr. Neal i think part of it is the complications that arise in the Housing Market. And i think that even if you grasp the immediate number on limiting or shaving back the deduction, it also adds layers of complexity to getting people into the Housing Market eventually. Which we all think is a desirable goal. So i think there are many parts of the tax code. They are advertised as numbers, when there are also social impacts that occur because of it. And i think when you consider, for example, how people might enter that job market, im sorry, how people might enter that Housing Market, then all of a sudden discover after theyve had a second or third child that they cant move to a bigger home, even if they need it because the deduction being , removed. And i think that in the suburbs around boston, i think this is going to be to have a very perilous effect. I also think that the description that i used earlier of trying to fit that size 12 foot into a size seven shoe makes an awful lot of sense. Because youre squeezing people in the middle class while simultaneously advertising this as middle class tax relief. Thats the disguise. Thats the ruse thats being undertaken. Theyre prepared to make the corporate cut permanent and make phaseouts for the other items that theyre proposing. So this if i can take you there for a moment. I think this is important in terms of their projections on growth. What if that doesnt happen . Which did not happen in 2001 and 2003, despite the fact that there were 2. 3 trillion worth of tax cuts. What happened was very similar, deficits went through the roof. Thats what happens. So theres slow growth and all of a sudden the deficit goes up and somebody has to pay it. So you might not see the consequence of it in 2001, but you certainly see the consequence of it in 2007, were in the midst of a recession, losing 800,000 jobs a month. So these are longterm impacts that take place and theres a considerable number of social issues that arise afterwards and if these cuts went into effect as advertised, and then we run up against budget deficits down the road, theyre going to medicare and social security. For cuts. Ms. Pelosi any other questions . First i want to finish this. I want to thank our guests. This is a moment of truth for our country. Because the decisions that are made about the budget affected by the tax code have a direct impact on the growth of our economy and wellbeing of americas working families. Our distinguished Ranking Member, mr. Neal, talked about home ownership. Its very important, the sense of community. People putting down roots. Its very important. And to undermine that we already have people on this floor of this house say to me, im going to have to sell my house. Without the deduction, that is a really important part of it. And what the possible appreciation it isnt indexed. So it only gets worse for people. So again, the moment of truth. What does this mean when they say that this is for the middle class, its not. Its like saying to the middle class, heads i win, tails you lose. Because they give with one hand just a little bit and they take a great deal away, as you heard from our guests, whether its the extraordinary medical expenses deduction, whether its deduction for interest on Student Loans, whether its what happens in terms listen to this. This really is stunning. Education central to everything , we do. And by the way, nothing brings more money to the treasury and makes and reduces the deficit and increases our growth than investing in education. So to cut education is really dumb. With stiff competition, one of the dumbest moves the republicans are making in this bill. So theyre impacting people and their ability to pay their Student Loans. Theyre taking billions of dollars out of our investment in education in our country. And then just to see the meanness of it all, if youre a teacher and you bring supplies to school because your school isnt able to supply everything in the classroom, you know no longer can deduct that. Why . So they can give the president s cabinet a Tax Deduction or eliminate the estate tax and many other Tax Advantages. Theres a cruelty to it. Again, veterans are affected very directly. Families are affected very directly. Home ownership is directed. Local communities meet the needs of the American People are affected very directly. What are they thinking . This is a moment of truth. And we have to make sure, as your question indicated, what is it in this bill that people should know more about . Well, one thing theyre finding out more is that whatever was said during the campaign by whomever about keeping jobs in the u. S. , this bill does the exact opposite. And we want to be sure that people are aware of that. So again, a moment of truth. To our colleagues, get real. Dont tell the middle class this is for them. Youve set a banquet for the wealthy and Corporate America and youre throwing a few crumbs. Its really making suckers of the American People. And we have to speak in some bold language about this. Because the misrepresentations are so outrageous about this. So we thank our guests for speaking their own experience to the unfairness of this legislation. I thank you. I thank you susan, captain niemic, Kendra Tappin, barbara, and Michael Smith. And our very special guest, shiloh and their friend. Lets hear it for the future. For the future. [applause] thats what this is supposed to be about, the future. Thank you all so much. I thank our distinguished Ranking Member for his great leadership and the democrats on the committee too for the knowledge and wisdom that they bring to all of this. Yes, sir. Briefly. Do you believe what Donna Brazile said . Ms. Pelosi you havent heard me relitigate last years election. I wasnt involved in the president ial. I am only looking forward, this is about the future. I dont have time to read any of that. What i have seen across the screen lets focus on whats , really important to our country. Even though you were directly involved ms. Pelosi no i wasnt. With that said, you are a big fundraiser for the party ms. Pelosi i am. The biggest. [laughter] not counting the president ial im not look. I have responsibility for what i have responsibility for. I dont have any interest in what i dont have responsibility for when it comes to other campaigns. Im heartbroken that we didnt win the white house. There will be all kinds of books written about what happened. Im focusing one year ago that election took place. Can you believe its been a year in just a couple of days . And one year until the next election. My focus is on the next election. I dont have a spare second to be thinking about comments that went on within the d. N. C. Any other questions . Yes, sir. Then ill come back. The misrepresentations are outrageous. [inaudible] ms. Pelosi i say theyre taking the American People for suckers. Theyre trying to pass this off as a middle class tax cut when they know it is not. Why . Why would you cut the deduction of interest on Student Loans . Why would you say to teachers, you have to take it out of your own pocket to bring supplies to school . And you dont get a Tax Deduction on it. But were going give Corporate America a Tax Deduction to shift jobs overseas. Im saying im not using the word lie. I dont use the word lie. Im saying that they are misrepresenting what this bill is and we will make sure the American People know what the impact is on them. Im saying this is a moment of truth. The figures, bill will speak for itself. Well make sure that the American People know what is in that bill. And well be very graphic. Mr. Neal can i comment on that . When you look at the wharton study or the study center for tax policy or Goldman Sachs study, none of them say that youre going to get 3 growth. They all say that you, given demographic trends, youre lucky if you get 2. 2 . Heres when i talked about speculation, about what might happen, heres in the debate we recently had over the border adjustment tax, the people that youve just described they said it was going work because the dollar was going appreciate by 25 over five years. Thats a heck of a way to do policy. To say that the dollars going to appreciate and thats going to justify what they want to do. Its the same thing when you take 1. 5 trillion, borrow the money, over 10 years, which is closer to 2. 4 trillion, what if theres no Economic Growth here and that bill comes through . Who is going pay for that . Ms. Pelosi let me also just say this dont take my word for , it. Mr. Neal had a hearing, republicans didnt come, of course, but a hearing about the truth and what is in this bill. Bruce bartlett, who had been part of jack kemps supply side economics agenda, proudly so, he said to us, this whole idea that this trickledown economics pays for itself is not true, nonsense, and he went in to use a term, b. S. Except he said the words. There are other economists who espouse trickledown economics or who considered on the conservative side of the ledger who will tell you the same thing. The facts do not support what they are saying. And for them to try to sell a bill of goods to the American People, that this meager give with one hand, take with the other, and let us give 1. 5 trillion in tax cuts to Corporate America, in addition to Tax Advantages that shift jobs overseas and let them deduct their state and local, and with all of the money that that sucks out of the system, sucks up from the middle class into the wealthy, and the wealthy corporations is going to pay for itself . Please. Please. When we had the majority, we had pay as you go. Heres what they have. The middle class pays as the wealthy and the corporations go. And go with jobs overseas. Thank you all very much. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] the house ways and Means Committee akins its work on the republican tax reform plan monday, before sending it to the full house for debate in both. Watch live coverage monday starting at noon eastern on cspan two and www. Cspan. Org. And to live using the free cspan radio app. Join us this weekend for book tv live at the texas book festival in austin. Coverage begin saturday at 11 00 a. M. Eastern and includes the book code girls. Bunk. Ung, author of a farewell to ice a report from the arctic. Book deep in the shadows in the worthless in the world of human smuggling. And life in code. Our coverage begins at 3 00 p. M. Eastern with Carol Anderson and her book white rage, the unspoken truth of our racial divide. Another with bloodlines, the true story of the blood cartel, the fbi, and the battle for a horse racing dynasty. And authors of violated, as amid College Football sexual cell crisis. The texas book festival on cspan2s book tv. Now, a reporters roundtable discussion on the House Republican tax reform bill. From washington journal, this is about one hour and 25 minutes. We are back continuing with our tax discussion. House republicans unveiled their proposal, what they would like to see hn
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