The Media’s Big Misses Last Week
By: U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX)
MISS #1. Last week the media breathlessly headlined major federal deficits in the future, citing lost revenue from the pro-growth tax cuts. Except they got it wrong.
The Congressional Budget Office report shows Washington revenue for the next decade actually grows, not shrinks, since tax reform was signed by President Trump in December over the objections of every Democrat in Congress.
How can this be? The media and liberals everywhere are peddling the claim that Republican tax cuts have robbed the country of trillions of dollars, causing massive deficits. But according to the CBO, the federal government over the next decade will actually have more to spend after tax reform than before – by $1 trillion dollars.
More revenue comes from a much stronger American economy in the years ahead. The CBO predicts over a million new jobs, paychecks that increase by $1.2 trillion and economic growth of more than $6 trillion compared to the sluggish, pre-tax reform economy.
The deficits come from more spending, not from letting Americans keep more of what they earn. Washington has a spending problem, not a revenue problem. Democrats in Congress have already pledged to repeal all the tax cuts for families and local businesses – not to cut the national debt, but to spend even more.
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Miss #2. The media likely buried this story because it was good news. Last week Republicans and Democrats working together in the U.S. House, approved the first reforms of the Internal Revenue Service in 20 years. The bills redesign the IRS into a “Taxpayer First” agency, refocus the agency on customer service, and rein in IRS abuses.
The reforms begin restricting the IRS. We create an independent appeals process that puts taxpayers on the same level as the IRS, allowing disputes to be resolved more fairly, affordably and quickly. We modernize the IRS to make sure personal taxpayer information is truly protected. And we prevent the IRS from seizing the assets of American taxpayers without due process.
Simply put, a new, fairer tax code deserves a new, fairer IRS. Too bad Americans didn’t hear about it.
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MISS #3. It’s not often a local businessman from Splendora, Texas, stars in a congressional hearing. But recently Kevin Kennedy, president of the steel fabricating company his father started many years ago and which employs over 350 workers, testified before the House Ways and Means Committee.
With his young boys wriggling in their seats behind him in the packed historic hearing room, he talked about how the proposed steel tariffs are hurting his business. It’s already cost him jobs, projects, and forced his customers to buy from foreign countries rather than buy here in America.
President Trump is absolutely right to go after China and their unfair trade practices. But you can’t punish American businesses and workers while doing it. I’m working closely with the President and the White House to target the trade cheaters, while protecting Americans who use fairly traded steel and aluminum.
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Our country mourns the loss of an incomparable First Lady – Barbara Bush. As we celebrate her life, we honor the remarkable legacy she leaves for her family, our state and our nation. Please join Cathy and I in praying for the Bush family and all those who loved her.
U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, arguably the most powerful committee in Congress. His Briefing is a regular feature on USA Daily Times.
