Continue beyond 11 50 a. M. Each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the majority whip shall be limited to five minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from oregon, mr. Blumenauer, for five minutes. Mr. Blumenauer thank you, mr. Speaker. One of the phrases one often hears is, i hate to say i told you so, and its delivered with a feign sincerity but usually people actually like to say i told you so. I must confess that i have some of those feelings myself as repeatedly during the few hours the ways and Means Committee met rushing through the massive tax cut, the largest transfer of wealth in our nations history that will be paid for on the backs of our children and grandchildren with increased debt and benefiting people who dont need it. I said at the time that each week after this bill passed, if it did, we would have a series of embarrassing stories about mistakes and oversight and special interest provisions that were stuck into it. Actually the fact is that that was somewhat understated, because we are seeing literally every day people understand what was tucked in the bill, mistakes, oversight, and special interest provisions. For example, there is a reduction in the bill that we were told designed to help small craft brewers. Thats important to me and the people i represent, and theres broad support for minor provisions that would be able to help them by reducing their tax liability. But the provision that ended up in the final bill has massive opportunities to benefit large producers. A little bit more small craft brewers. But for Large International distillers an opportunity to recon figure how they do business reconfigure how they do business, to take multiple opportunities for that tax break. There was an article yesterday talking about how the tax rate for American Companies that manufacture overseas, the tax on that activity will be half as much as if they were manufacturing in the United States, providing an incentive to offshore jobs at a time when most of us would like to make sure that is here at home, at least a level Playing Field, not disadvantage people at home. Of course, theres another story in todays wall street journal. Fuel farm fect outcry. There was a provision inserted in the bill that would give farmers a more lucrative reduction that they would sell agriculture directly to farm could he operatives. Cooperatives. It will sting large agribusinesses like Archer Daniel midland. The new provision could reshape parts of the agriculture economy and sharply reduce many farmers taxes as well as scrambling these individual businesses. John power, a north dakota accountant who was the accountant for the small grain operator who is going to be hammered said, quote, its kind of hard to imagine they intended to make farming taxfree, he said. Fixing it becomes difficult because they dont think its something that can be fixed with regulation. There are a variety of these provisions that are the result of not following what we call regular order, without having hearings on the provision, of allowing lobbyists and staff to be able to draft the bill on the fly without having members of the committee, not just democrats, but republicans to fully know what was in it. That is legislative malpractice. Its one of the reasons why espite giving over 3 trillion of tax cuts, the bill remains unpopular. Americans are nervous about increasing our National Debt over 2 trillion, and they know that the benefits for average citizens are going to go away in a few years and some are actually going to see increases. But the benefits for the top 1 and the largest corporations are permanent. People know that its not fair, that its unnecessary, and its going to have more and more problems here, not just in states like mine where citizens are no longer going to be able to fully deduct their state and local taxes, property taxes, resulting in significant inequity and scrambling property values, not just in oregon but its across the country where people will be facing these problems. Mr. Speaker, were watching now people starting to try and backtrack the speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. Mr. Blumenauer then i will stop. Thank you. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The chair now recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Thompson, for five minutes. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, its been nearly 10 years since the Great Recession officially began, when our economy slumped and unemployment climbed to levels not witnessed since the early 1980s. Last month, congress paved a way to a tax system thats fairer, simpler and one that establishes an environment where the country can unleash our full potential. Too Many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and have been poor for too long. Stagnant wages, growing debt, and the inability to save have plagued so many. Thats why our tax overhaul is so important. This truly is a onceinageneration opportunity that we could not afford to pass up. The tax cuts and jobs act will touch every household in the nation and every corner of our economy. As soon as february, americans will see more money in their paychecks. When it comes time to file the 2018 taxes, our tax simple will be so simple that nine out of 10 americans will be able to file on a postcard. The standard deduction will be doubled for individuals and joint filers. Middleclass families will also have a significant increase to the Child Tax Credit to help parents with the cost of raising children. Mr. Speaker, for those pursuing opportunity through education, americas students, the graduate tuition voucher exemption and student Loan Interest deduction remain in our tax reform package. I and many of my colleagues urged the Conference Committee to keep these important provisions intact. Our tax code should provide incentives for greater opportunity. For many this is realized through Higher Education. The student Loan Interest deduction helps make Higher Education more affordable and based on the most recent yearly data available, 12 million taxpayers benefited from that deduction. I advocated keeping this provision as well as the graduate tuition voucher exemption and other Higher Education tax credits as part of the tax cuts and jobs act because they truly do make a difference in the lives of so Many Americans. It makes financing in education possible for many low and middleincome individuals. In addition to education, another great cornerstone of the American Dream is homeownership. Proudly the tax cuts and jobs act will continue to provide tax relief to current and aspiring homeowners alike. Mr. Speaker, there are many accomplished things in this tax overhaul, according lowering the Corporate Tax rate which will put our job creators on a level Playing Field with their global competitors. This has already led to increased bonuses and pay raises for millions of workers. Quite simply, this bill provides the kind of tax relief that americans deserve. We challenge the status quo and the special interests who said it couldnt be done and we did it. The American People won. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentlewoman from washington state, ms. Jayapal, is recognized for five minutes. Mr. Speaker, i rise today in honor of the upcoming holiday remembering dr. Martin luther king jr. As a lifelong activist fighting for immigrants, civil and human rights and now as a member of congress, dr. King has been a deep and central inspiration throughout my life. His work has helped me to make possible the path that ive taken, from being a 16yearold immigrant girl who came to this country by herself for college to serving now as the first woman Indian American woman elected to the United States house of representatives. And it is the courage and the fight of dr. King that made my journey possible. I knew of dr. King first because of his connection to gandhi, a great leader from my own birth country of india. Like gandhi, dr. King was a once in a generation leader. Like gandhi, the problems that dr. King tackled were once seen as insurmountable problems, institutional barriers of race and class that seemed as if if taken on would topple society as we knew it. Tall walls of tradition and practice that kept our society segregated and divided. But that did not stop him from speaking out, organizing and leading a growing movement that reminded the leaders of our country of the very dream that made america possible, that all men and women were created equal and that we should be judged by the content of our character and not the color of our skin. Dr. Kings gift was in his unique ability to bring truth, compassion, and justice together for a Better Future and to remind us of how much we share, even across our differences. He followed gandhis principles of nonviolent resistance, also known as the satia graha. Adherence to truth. It meant insistence on truth and that is what dr. King preached and acted upon. Truth about ending segregation and discrimination. Truth about ending the war in vietnam. Truth about ending up sanitation workers and ending poverty. Truth ultimately that it is love and not hate that builds our character and our collective society. If dr. King was here with us today, he would call on us to have faith in our fight for justice and to substitute courage for caution. He would call on us to work passionately and unrelentingly for the very vision of our country that inspires so many around the world. For that more Perfect Union that we know is still ahead of us, for that society that remembers that we are all better off when were all better off. Dr. King would remind us that justice is what love looks like in public. He would call on us to move into that plane of Higher Education, that plane of moral consciousness where we cannot simply stand by as injustice occurs around you us. He would want us to raise the minimum wage, enacting real tax reform whose benefits accrue to the masses and not to the top 1 and wealthiest corporations. Dr. King would call on us to pass the dream act and support the futures of 1. 5 million young people across the country. He would call on us to expand and support the Affordable Care act and health care for everyone so that no one is one Health Care Crisis away from bankruptcy. Our work is still to fight for justice and build that beloved community where each of us has a place to stand regardless of the color of our skin or where we live or how much money we have in our pocket. And in this beloved community we would tackle the legacies of racism and implicit bias that we all carry with us with courage and with fortitude. We Work Together to build that community that inspires us and to leave a world to our children that makes us proud and most importantly, we operate always from a place of generosity and not abundance rather than fear and scarcity. From that jail cell in alabama, dr. King wrote that we are caught in an Inescapable Network of mutuality tied in a single garment of destiny. Or as the great civil rights leader said to me during the mmigrant workers freedom march, we are all in the same boat how, to make a difference, to truly serve the people. It only takes courage and coming together as a collective. Across the aisle, across rural and urban, black, white and brown, dr. King showed us what that really looks like and he died because he was compelled to stand for making a reality from a dream of what was possible only in a country as great as the United States of america. So today as we remember and honor dr. Martin luther king jr. , we remember, too, that if we are courageous, if we put people over politics, our actions have the power to change lives, to push that moral arc of the universe more quickly towards justice. As dr. King said, we must make the pledge that we shall always march forward. We cannot turn back. Thank you and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewomans time has expired. The chair recognizes the gentleman from ohio, mr. Tiberi, is recognized for five minutes. Mr. Tiberi its truly been the most remarkable honor to o serve the people of the 12th Congressional District in central ohio. It started in 1999 on my parents front porch, the house i grew up, middle class neighborhood in columbus called forest park. There as the sun of italian immigrants i learned how blessed i truly was to be an american. First in my family to graduate from high school. To go to high school. Work my way through college at the ohio state university. My mom and dad believed that america was an Incredible Opportunity with hard work and a good education, you could do anything. Their sacrifices and their hard work im here before you today. For their sacrifices, i am forever grateful. Leaving grateful grateful. Believe this congress was not an easy decision. The speech i made in 1999 on their front porch still holds true today. The reason i ran. To help those constituents. Not only help them here in washington, but help them cut through the red tape, to help that veteran, to help that video on o social security. On social security. Leaving was important for my family. It was important to support them. To be with them more. My colleagues understand that. The sacrifices that we make, they make more. We put our names on the ballot, our spouses dont. Our children dont. To my colleagues, thank you for your friendship, your mentorship, and certainly your wisdom over the years. I will miss you. To my supporters who spent countless hours knocking on doors, putting up signs, going on bus tours, couldnt have done it without you. Thank you. To my team, both back in ohio and here in d. C. , both past and present, thank you for helping me serve and succeed the people of ohios 12th district. The late great woody hayes said you win with people. You are my people. Nd we won together so many battles. I could not have done this without you. Forever team tiberi, youall will be. Most importantly for my wife, our battles. I could not have done this without you. Four daughters thar all your support over the years. I will look forward to seeing you much more. And finally, to the constituents of the 12th Congressional District. What an honor. A humbling honor to serve you for the also 17 years. For a kid who grew up in columbus, ohio, in a middle class family, it has truly been an amazing journey. This speech is not goodbye. This speech is see you soon, around the corner. And to that i wish youall the best here in the United States congress, god bless you. And god bless america. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The chair recognizes the gentlewoman from florida, ms. Roslehtinen, for five minutes. Ms. Roslehtinen thank you so much, mr. Speaker. We will all certainly miss the gentleman from ohio. Hes a wonderful member and we have and joyed his service to our country. Mr. Speaker we have enjoyed his service to our country. A judge ordered the administration to continue accepting renewal applications for daca recipients, although this is welcome news, this should not undercut the urgency for us here in congress to pass a permanent legislative solution to shield our dreamers from deportation. This week i again have the great honor of meeting another great group of bright and hardworking young immigrants from my district whose daca permits will expire in the coming weeks and month. Despite their circumstances, living in fear and uncertainty about what their holds, each one of these individuals has demonstrated great resolve and perseverance to continue the fight. They visit members of congress, they share their unique stories, the facts about their contributions and our communities, and they implore us to take to give them the opportunity to stay in what they consider to be their home. The United States. Our dreamers have suffered long enough, mr. Speaker, and it is time that we act and take this issue to the the facts finish l human lives are at stake. Our dreamers cant live from Court Decision to Court Decision as congress has returned this week to begin our second session, im here once again to urge us all to bring to the floor a legislative solution to give our dreamers the opportunity to work here, to study here in this great country that they know as home. Im confident that we have the votes, republicans and democrats, for the house and the senate, to pass this permanent fix. Lative we can and fix. We can and we must make this happen now. Let us not wait any longer. To congratulate st. Thomas university as it breaks ground on january 24 on the new home for the school of business. This new facility will empower st. Thomas university to peaker, i rise today continue its decadeslong commitment to providing an excellent yet affordable Business Education to students in south florida. The new Business School complex will include a stateoftheart trading room, cybersecurity center, and entrepreneurship and innovation hub, and many other more exciting spaces. It will also empower the Business School to offer 48 undergraduate and graduate degrees. Most importantly with this expanded class rams and Robust Technology infrastructure, this new facility will keep st. Thomas at the forefront of Business Education and will enable the university to continue preparing new generations of south Florida