Dave Camp

Mr. CAMP

Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6169, the Pathway to Job Creation through a Simpler, Fairer Tax Code Act of 2012. Yesterday, House Republicans, joined by 19 House Democrats, voted to extend current tax policies through the end of next year. That was an important, responsible step to provide Congress the time to pass and enact comprehensive tax reform without risking further damage to a fragile economy. The failure to stop the tax hike that's looming at the end of the year could push us over a jobs cliff. I know many Democrats want to raise taxes, but an independent study by Ernst & Young shows the Democrat tax hike would eliminate over 700,000 jobs. We can't afford to lose more jobs in the United States, and that is why we voted to extend the current tax policy. Instead of raising taxes on small businesses and making it harder to create jobs, as the Democrat plan did, Republicans are focused on creating jobs, reforming the Tax Code to make it simpler and fairer for all Americans, and strengthening our economy. The bill before us today provides a pathway to that goal. This bill forces Congress to do its job, something I think all Americans will support. It provides a specific time line for the House and the Senate to act next year on a comprehensive tax reform bill. It also ensures an open process. A bill is introduced and then the appropriate committees may amend it. Democrats and Republicans, alike, will have an opportunity to debate and offer changes. And this bill tells the American people exactly where we want the debate to start. We say that tax reform should: eliminate special interest loopholes to reduce rates for families and employers, reducing the current six tax brackets down to just two (10 and 25 percent); help America be competitive in the global economy by setting a corporate rate of 25 percent and updating a 50-year-old international tax code to a modern and more competitive territorial system; and get rid of the alternative minimum tax that's currently looming over 31 million middle class families. We also don't think we should ask taxpayers to bail out Washington's wasteful spending. Tax reform should not result in the Federal Government taking more out of the economy and more out of taxpayer pockets than the tax system historically has. Tax reform is not about making the government bigger, it's about creating jobs. That's why this bill says Federal tax revenues should remain within historic norms of 18-19 percent of gross domestic product. Independent economists have noted, when paired with appropriate government spending cuts, comprehensive tax reform that includes these policies could lead to the creation of 1 million Americans jobs in the first year alone. Compare that to the Democrat plan offered yesterday--a tax hike that would eliminate over 700,000 American jobs. The choice could not be clearer. Do we want and does America need Democrat tax hikes that destroy jobs? Or do we want, and does America need, Republican-backed tax reform that creates a simpler, fairer code and 1 million jobs in the first year alone? Today, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have one more opportunity to stand with families and job creators by joining House Republicans to demonstrate their commitment to passing and enacting comprehensive tax reform next year. We can and should work together to revive our economy and get the unemployed back to work. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote in favor of this legislation. And in doing so, take an important step to creating a simpler, fairer Tax Code and more jobs for American families. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Roskam).

Mr. CAMP. At this time, I yield 3 minutes to a distinguished members of the Ways and Means Committee and chairman of the Budget Committee, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan).

Mr. CAMP. I yield myself 30 seconds. I would just say that the gentleman from Texas just described current law as long as you don't bring it back. So what we're looking for is really--we are in a crossroads. I agree with him on that. We really have a choice. Do we follow their path of a tax hike that costs us 700,000 jobs, or do we follow our path of comprehensive tax reform that grows our economy and creates up to 1 million jobs? At this time, I will yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Smith), a member of the Ways and Means Committee. And I also ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Tiberi) be permitted to control the balance of my time.

Mr. CAMP. At this time, Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Virginia, the majority leader of the House.

Mr. CAMP. At this time, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Hurt).

Mr. CAMP. Absolutely, there will be a full and robust discussion because, as I said, there will be amendments in committee, and there will be an opportunity for Members to weigh in. And, obviously, this will be a national debate. So this is about getting us on that path and moving forward. Because as we know, the alternative is, do we have taxes go up and cost us 700,000 jobs, or do we try to get us on a path of reform that will create the million jobs that we need to get this country moving again? So absolutely.

Mr. CAMP. At this time, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Tiberi), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. CAMP. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, we just have one final speaker to close, so I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CAMP. At this time, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia for the purposes of a colloquy.

Mr. CAMP

Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier), the distinguished chairman of the Rules Committee, who's been active in trade issues his entire career in Congress. (Mr. DREIER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. CAMP. I have no further requests for time.

Mr. CAMP. At this time I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Royce).

Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5986) to amend the African Growth and Opportunity Act to extend the third-country fabric program and to add South Sudan to the list of countries eligible for designation under that Act, to make technical corrections to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States relating to the textile and apparel rules of origin for the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement, to approve the renewal of import restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003, and for other purposes.

Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. CAMP. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this legislation to strengthen trade and investment ties with Africa and the CAFTA-DR countries and support well-paying jobs in the United States. The legislation also extends the President's authority to impose the import ban on products from Burma for an additional 3 years and reauthorizes the actual imposition of the import sanctions for 1 year. The legislation has broad bipartisan support and is supported by all stakeholders. AGOA has succeeded in deepening trade and investment ties with sub- Saharan Africa and underscoring U.S. commitment to the region. The apparel industry has been a major driver of employment growth in Africa under AGOA. In Lesotho alone, jobs in the textile and apparel industry have more than doubled--growing from 19,000 to 45,000--because of AGOA. This bill extends the third-country fabric provisions which are vital to ensuring the continued success of the AGOA program and ensures that the new Republic of South Sudan is eligible to benefit from AGOA. Under the CAFTA-DR trade agreement, trade has grown substantially. And since the implementation of this agreement, the trade deficit the United States previously had with these countries has turned into a trade surplus. Today's legislation builds upon that success by further improving the agreement's textile rules of origin. These changes encourage greater use of U.S. inputs in the CAFTA-DR countries, which supports U.S. jobs and improves trade integration in our hemisphere. In 2003, Congress passed the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act, which included an import ban on products of Burma renewable once a year for a total of 3 years. The law has been extended twice. This legislation extends the President's authority to impose the import ban for an additional 3 years and reauthorizes the actual import sanctions for 1 year. Now, I want to acknowledge the positive developments in Burma over the last year, but much work remains ahead with respect to political and economic reforms, human rights, the release of political prisoners, freedom of speech, press, association, as well as religion, and the treatment of ethnic groups within the country--all factors required for full termination of the import sanctions and other restrictions in the 2003 law. I encourage the Burmese Government to continue its current reforms and commence others to fully address the concerns that led Congress to pass the 2003 law. For all of these reasons, we urgently need to pass this important legislation. I urge all of my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the distinguished chairman of the Trade Subcommittee, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady).

Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, I just have one remaining speaker, so I'm going to reserve. But before I do that, I just want to acknowledge Mr. Rangel's remarks and acknowledge his leadership on this issue over many years. He was at the forefront of making this AGOA agreement a reality, and I want to thank him for that and for all of his hard work over a very long period of time. At this time, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CAMP. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I want to thank the ranking member of the Trade Subcommittee for his kind comments and for his leadership as well over the years. This really was a team effort. A lot of people on both sides of the aisle came together to make this a reality. I'll just briefly say that this is bipartisan legislation that does deepen our trade and investment ties with Africa and with the CAFTA-DR countries. It also supports well-paying jobs here in the United States as well as in other countries, as Mr. Dreier stated. This is not a zero sum game. This will help both of our nations as well as Africa. Also, this legislation reauthorizes the import ban on Burmese products. I urge its passage, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CAMP

Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 2 minutes to a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee, the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Smith).

Mr. CAMP. At this time I yield myself 15 seconds. We have a note here from Stan's Two from Rowland Heights, California, a small business. They were asked: How would increased taxes impact your business? ``Less hiring, more struggle to pay for expenses and payroll.'' If rates were allowed to increase, would that affect your ability to hire new employees? ``Absolutely. We've done nothing except cut staff for 4 years now. A tax increase could spell disaster.'' At this time I yield 3 minutes to a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Reichert).

Mr. CAMP. I yield myself 15 seconds. I would just say that the gentleman's remarks refer to the stimulus bill, a failed stimulus bill that was promised to create unemployment of under 8 percent. Frankly, it's never been there. For 40 months, we've been over 8 percent. These are spending items that were failed, that failed in the stimulus program. That program did not work. At this time, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee, the gentleman from Louisiana, Dr. Boustany.

Mr. CAMP. At this time, Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner), the Speaker of the House.

Mr. CAMP. At this time I yield 1 minute to a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Marchant).