John Garamendi

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, something is terribly wrong here. Four in my family are teachers. It is a little thing, but it means everything. It is little. Teachers are able to deduct from their taxes $250 for expenses that they have paid for classroom supplies. Gone. It is gone. If you want to hurt the system, stick it to the teachers. Why would you do that? It is not a big thing. It is a little thing, but it means everything to that classroom. It is the additional paper, the crayons, the chalkboard, whatever. How small is that? Is that a better deal for America? I don't think so. The casualty loss deduction hurts. Three hundred homes in my district were lost in the October fires. The casualty loss deduction is gone. I don't know, maybe they will be able to rebuild. But when it comes time to address that deficit, I can assure you that they will do everything they can to cut the programs that would support that family as they attempt to rebuild. So you get the program, you lose on the front end, your tax deduction is gone, and you lose on the back end when you go to get mortgage assistance. There has got to be a better plan. There has got to be a better way to do it. Mr. Speaker, over the years, in the last several months, Mr. Cicilline and his colleagues on the Democratic Caucus have put together a program for a better life for Americans. It involves much of what we talked about here. It involves a tax program that is balanced, one that provides the incentives for businesses to stay in the United States. We haven't talked about the corporate tax program that allows for territorial taxing, a specific effort in this legislation to encourage corporations to go offshore where their corporate income will never be taxed. That is not a better plan. That is not a better program for building American jobs and wages. It is a way for corporations to continue to escape. Someday soon I would hope Mr. Cicilline and his colleagues would bring to this floor--the three of them who have put together this program on how we can build the American economy--well, the gentleman can talk in specific ways about how we can have educational programs, apprenticeship training programs, and job training programs, how we can encourage corporations to invest in America, and how we can Make It In America. I would love to join Mr. Cicilline and talk about a bill that we are soon going to introduce that would require that, when we export a strategic national asset--our oil and natural gas--that it would be on American-built ships with American sailors. We could employ hundreds of thousands of people in our shipyards by changing the laws and by providing incentives for Americans to stay here and to work here. Mr. Speaker, I know this is Mr. Cicilline's effort. I know the gentleman wants to get to it. Perhaps we can wrap up.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, the recent passing of the father of my district director brings me to the floor today to speak about the extraordinary career of Albert O. Orta and his selfless service to our Nation. He began his career in the U.S. Air Force at Lackland Air Force Base in 1947, where he became an expert on radar and communications equipment. In 1949, he married Mary Louise Guerrero, which resulted in 12 children, 31 grandchildren, and 29 great-grandchildren. Mr. Orta was a busy man, but he also served his country after leaving the U.S. Air Force. He became an expert in radar engineering and communications, working on the B-29, B-36, B-47, and B-52, as well as fighter jets F-84, F-86A, F-89, F-102, and F-106. His outstanding accomplishments and his willingness to serve our Nation faithfully and to the best of his abilities brought him praise from President Jimmy Carter and a host of generals all around this Nation. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues and the United States House of Representatives to join me in honoring Albert O. Orta for his distinguished career and his proud service to our country.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, as an esteemed member of the Rules Committee, there is an emergency meeting to push this bill to the floor without any public hearings. Is that correct?

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, very, very much. There has been much discussion. We are going to be yielding this floor to our Republican colleagues, and I see them beginning to assemble, all of them who, just 3 weeks ago, were deficit hawks. I am going to point this out, and I am going to leave it here for my colleagues who will be talking about why we ought to increase the deficit. The current structural deficit is about $500 billion. We are going to add, just this year, $115 billion on top of that. You can see that. But over the next decade, that present structural deficit will grow to nearly $1 trillion a year, and we will add to it another couple hundred billion dollars. The deficit hawks have a choice. They can live with the deficit, forget they ever were deficit hawks and just increase the deficit with this 1 percent tax bill, H.R. 1, or they could do what I call the Texas two-step. Keep in mind, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee is a Texan. The Texas two-step is first you seriously cut the revenues with this tax bill that is not a reform but, rather, a bill that actually 50 percent of the $1.5 trillion reduction goes to the American corporations and the top 1 percent. Forget about the deficit or do the Texas two-step: cut the revenues and then cut the programs. What are the programs? You mentioned Medicare. Already in the budget that passed this House with Mr. Ryan as Speaker was a $500 billion reduction to Medicare and a $700 billion or $800 billion reduction to Medicaid, 60 percent of which goes to the elderly in nursing homes. That is what they have in mind. Secondly, they are going to talk about a trillion-dollar infrastructure. No way. The money is gone. There will be no infrastructure program, no roads, no trains, no buses, no levees, no repair.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the work that the gentleman does there trying to protect the American public from this hasty--Mr. Hastings, thank you so very much. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Suozzi and I could probably spend a couple of hours going back and forth. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Jayapal), who comes from the far side of the continent from New York, Washington State.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman very much, Representative Jayapal, for her comments. She brought to our attention the inconsistencies that are in this piece of legislation. Everywhere I go and people talk about this, they say: I don't understand why they want to do that. I don't understand why, with a growing economy and the economy actually moving along pretty well, 4 percent-plus unemployment and growth somewhere in the 3 percent range, why they want to totally turn the American economy upside down in a way that does not create growth. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Nadler), bouncing back across the continent and picking up, once again, in New York. I thank the gentleman for joining me, and I look forward to his words and the wisdom that he brings from Manhattan.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the great State of New York (Mr. Tonko).

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, my recollection in the 1986 Reagan tax reform, it took 2 years of public hearings all around the country and some 30 hearings in the House Ways and Means Committee, probably a similar number on the Senate side before the bill came to the floor. There were many, many amendments that were offered.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Exactly, and you might add education to that. So what do you do? Student loans of which $1.4 trillion and nearly a trillion of that is owned by the Federal Government, these students are paying interest to the Federal Government; and to add to that, we are going to deny them the ability to deduct the loan interest that they are paying. This is really just hypocritical, and it is very harmful to the economy. We want to do job training. Forget it. The money is gone. The Texas Two Step will deny us the money that we need for education, reduce the revenues, and then cut the programs to attempt to bring back under control the deficit. It did not work. It will not work. And what it means is, the American economy that is recovering is going to be given a wallop on the side of its head, and we are going to see some real serious problems as we attempt to build the foundation for future economic growth. The money will not be there. Mr. Speaker, I suspect that that emergency meeting of the Rules Committee is to specifically deal with the problem that was announced by the Congressional Budget Office just 3 hours ago that said this tax bill will, because of the sequestration law--it is a law--will create an automatic $25 billion reduction in Medicare immediately and another $111 billion reduction in programs, not to be determined by the Representatives of the people of the United States but, rather, by Mick Mulvaney, the head of the Office of Management and Budget, who is known to be really weird in his budgeting proposal. He will make a $111 billion reduction all on his own, if this tax bill passes as it is written today. This is serious business, Americans. This is about your future. This is about your ability to have a decent job in America, a decent infrastructure, a decent education system, and medical services. What about the children's health program which is not yet in place? It is unbelievable that, without one public hearing, the Republicans are determined to pass a $1.5 trillion tax cut of which 50 percent of the benefit goes to the top 1 percent, and America's corporations are given yet another reason to offshore their jobs with what is called territorial pricing. This is where we are, folks. Wrap it up, if you will.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings).

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman is exactly right. Finally, as we turn this floor over to our Republican colleagues, I am really interested in hearing why--and I see one of our colleagues from my area--why in the Central Valley of California where anywhere from 110,000 to 150,000 families who pay taxes are going to lose their State and local tax deduction? They will lose somewhere between $7,000 and $12,000 of deductions. That amounts to an increase in taxes anywhere from $1,500 to $2,000. I want to hear them explain why that is good tax policy. We will see what they have to say. They will be on the floor in a few moments. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, there is one additional factor--I know this is the case in California and also in New York--and that is both New York and California are net contributors to other States. In our State of California, even with this deduction, far more tax revenue flows to the Federal Government than Federal Government revenue comes back to the State of California. It is probably in the 15 to 20 percent net loss range to the State of California, and I think in New York it is similar.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for bringing us the view from New York. He is quite correct about what happened during the great crisis in 2008, 2009. The American public, probably to the tune of about $1 trillion, bailed out Wall Street. And here we go again. Major support for the American corporations who are hiding trillions of dollars overseas. Let me just give you one other example. There is a lot of talk around here from our Republican friends that somehow, if we reduce the corporate tax rate, we will see jobs being generated and some $4,000 a year of new money in the pockets of American workers. Really? You think so? Let me give you an example of one of America's great corporations, AT&T. I think we all know AT&T. We probably have them on our smartphone. In the last decade, AT&T was capable, using various tax loopholes and deductions, to lower its effective corporate tax rate, not to 20 percent, but to 8 percent. So over that period of time, while they were reducing their effective tax rates, that is their real tax rate, from whatever it was to 8 percent during that decade, did they create new jobs? No. What they did was to lay off 80,000 workers. And at the same time, guess what? The CEO, he raked in $124 million. So what is going on here? The American corporations, back in the seventies and sixties, actually invested more than 50 percent, almost 60 percent, of their after-tax profits in expanding their business--investment in plants and equipment and wages and hiring people. Today, less than 10 percent is spent on expanding their businesses. Instead, they are pumping up their stock prices with buybacks and with dividends. So what is going down? Tell me that this is going to somehow create jobs. And, by the way, the gentleman didn't quite pick this one up, so let me add to the weight of this terrible bill. They use what is called territorial tax system. Terrific. Corporations will not be taxed for their profits globally, but, rather, they will only be taxed for their profits within the United States, so it is even a further incentive to offshore your jobs to the lowest tax place in the world: Bahamas. Used to be Ireland, but the EU decided that Ireland was cheating the rest of the European countries; put a stop to that, so now they are off. Apple, a great California company, abandoned Ireland and is now, I think, located in the Jersey Islands off the coast of Great Britain. Scheme, scam, the American public is going to be the beneficiary? No. It is going to be the victim, is going to be the victim of this great transfer of wealth. The gentleman had one more point to make, and then I would like to go to my colleague, also from New York and what we still call the East- West Show.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Suozzi for his remarks. I appreciate him bringing to my attention the SALT--the State and local tax. What basically happens is the Republicans are putting salt on the wound and causing an enormous amount of pain for Americans--certainly in California, another high-cost State; Illinois; New Jersey; and Massachusetts. This is a problem for about 50 percent of the population of this Nation that is going to see enormous things. In my own State, there are 120,000--not 250,000, as in the gentleman's State, but 120,000--who are looking at somewhere over a $12,000 loss deduction.

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, a moment ago, you heard from my colleague from California (Ms. Judy Chu) about the tax bill. She put the first page of H.R. 1 up and she added this little percentage, H.R. 1 percent. I thought that was not only accurate, but it really does reflect what I was going to show a moment ago, and then I decided to use hers. H.R. 1 is really about the 1 percent. The top 1 percent wealthy Americans would get 50 percent of a $1.5 trillion gift from the American people, which really amounts to an enormous transfer of wealth from the working men and women of America who depend upon programs like education--and that was discussed by my colleagues a few moments ago-- and depend upon medical services from Medicare, Medicaid. In California, we call it Medi-Cal. But what is going to happen here with this $1.5 trillion tax cut--and when you add the interest to it, basically, a $2.3 trillion bogus deal that our Republican colleagues are putting forth--is what I call the Texas two-step. This really is Mr. Brady from Texas' program to really do a two-step, together with the Speaker of the House, Mr. Ryan. The two-step was laid out in the budget bill, and the two-step is this: First, make a monumental tax cut that really is for the superwealthy. And then as soon as you get that signed by President Trump, you do the second step, which is to do massive cuts so that you can deal with the deficit. So I am going to just bring up the issue of the deficit for just a moment with this. I don't expect you to really look at all of these numbers, but this is the structural deficit that exists today: $563 billion structural deficit. Every year--this year and in the past years--we are running a serious deficit: $1.5 trillion. Ten years from now, it is going to be over a $1 trillion-a-year structural deficit. So what does H.R. 1, the 1 percent bill, do to you? What it does is it adds to the structural deficit this year $115 billion; and, in 2027, it will add $155 billion. You can look at it this way--and perhaps this is a little easier to understand. It is about the deficit, and this is why the two-step is going to happen. By the way, all of the deficit hawks that once occupied that entire array on the right side of the congressional House of Representatives disappeared. They migrated. They migrated south or somewhere. But I will tell you this: as soon as this H.R. 1 percent passes, the deficit hawks will return with a mighty force to make cuts. So here is what happens to the deficit: it starts down there--this is the annual, not the total deficit--and rises to this in 2027. This little orange across the top is what will be added. We don't deal with the deficit directly. So here is the deal, folks: cut taxes now so that the superwealthy, five of which are in President Trump's administration--oh, yes, eliminate the estate tax. Great idea. Do you know what that means to the Trump family? If his wealth is $10 billion, as he says, what it means is that somewhere around a $4 billion tax avoidance. Eliminating the estate tax and the Trump family immediately saves $4 billion. But maybe his net worth is really only $4 billion. So maybe it is just a $1 billion tax savings. That is just on the estate tax alone. This is a bad deal for Americans. It will increase the deficit and it will create what we call the Texas two-step. Or maybe we should call it the Speaker Ryan two-step. Mr. Speaker, let me introduce a couple of my colleagues who have joined us today from the State of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Suozzi) to comment on this piece of legislation and what it means to his constituents.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Chairman, February 17, Oroville Dam, California, a 30-foot potential tsunami coming down on the cities of Oroville and further down the river in Marysville and Yuba City. 200,000 people evacuated. Thankfully, the rain did stop and the levee, or the spillway, that had failed did not become a catastrophe. FERC is now in the process of relicensing the dam, and a complete environmental impact statement is now more than a decade over, 2007. However, there have been very significant changes like, you know, maybe the dam could collapse, or the spillway. We know that the river has been further congested with the material that came from the broken spillway. There are serious negative environmental impacts that have resulted from the damaged spillway. The river can't carry the same capacity. It has been silted. Bottom line, it is for these reasons that a failure by FERC to require a supplemental environmental impact statement would be a serious abdication of FERC's responsibility. Unfortunately, a proposed amendment by Mr. LaMalfa, my good Republican colleague, and me to require such a supplemental impact statement was not included in the bill. Nevertheless, my message to FERC is clear: you must do this so that there is full protection and full understanding of the potential impact that this dam will have on communities, our water supply, as well as flooding.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Ms. Robin Dewey, a dedicated advocate for individuals living with disabilities in Davis, California, who is committed to serving her community. As President of Team Davis, a nonprofit organization established to help enrich the lives of children and adults with developmental, cognitive, and physical disabilities, Ms. Dewey has demonstrated her devotion to an underserved community. Thanks to her dedication, people with disabilities have been provided opportunities for experiences that give them a sense of accomplishment, purpose, and belonging. Ms. Dewey has brought to life the mission of her organization, helping disabled individuals build physical skills, a sense of camaraderie, and a stronger connection with the Davis community. For decades Ms. Dewey has served her community by advocating for equity, social justice, and opportunity for disabled individuals. Not only does she serve a typically isolated community with compassion, consistency, and authenticity, but she also ensures that her volunteers do the same. Ms. Dewey's service to her community does not end with the disabled people she helps, but continues with the compassionate service she teaches to everyone in her organization.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Dr. Ronda DaRosa of Woodland, California, who has dedicated her 33-year career to Education. Her broad educational experience includes 12 years of private and public classroom instruction at the intermediate to adult education levels, 21 years in an administrative role at schools and county office levels implementing programs focused on alternative and special education, developing curriculum for college preparatory and career technical programs, designing and implementing professional development opportunities for K-12 teachers and administrators, and facilitating school reform at the secondary and middle school levels. Dr. DaRosa currently serves as the Deputy Superintendent for the Yolo County Office of Education; a position that is well deserved. In her capacity as an administrator, she is committed to providing quality education and delivers a wide range of services to the children, parents and K-12 school districts in Yolo County. Dr. DaRosa holds credentials in the areas of Life Sciences, Introductory Mathematics, Language Development Specialist and Educational Administration. She received her master's degree in educational administration from Sonoma State University and her doctoral degree in educational leadership from the University of Southern California.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Sakari Lyons, a strong advocate for women in Solano County, California as a Fellow with the Essie Justice Center. A social worker by profession, Sakari embodies the qualities and the desire to advocate for women and families in need of compassion, empathy and guidance due to the incarceration of their loved one. Inspired by her own situation, Sakari worked full time for Health and Social Services providing resources to children and families when she joined the Essie Justice Center. Through the organizations Healing to Advocacy program, Sakari has helped many women find strength to heal from their wounds through guidance, compassion and faith. She empowers and encourages them to be advocates for themselves and their children. As a single parent of four children, Sakari was able to pursue her education and holds both a B.A. and M.S. degree.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Ms. Sharon Phippens of Orland, California, who has led an exciting, dynamic life, never straying from a desire to serve. The wife of a Foreign Service Officer, Ms. Phippens travelled the world and adapted to unknown situations, all in service to her country and her family. Ms. Phippens was a first-hand witness of some of our country's most interesting history through her work for two American embassies and her service in the United States Justice Department during President Nixon's resignation. Ms. Phippens later pursued an extensive and varied education which she has put to use serving her community. Ms. Phippens has worked in law enforcement, patient advocacy, education, and social work; all fields which allowed her to work serving others. In every role, Ms. Phippens distinguished herself as someone who would go above and beyond. She has also served on the boards of organizations that provide support to people in times of need. Ms. Phippens has used her many talents to the benefit of her community, lending her skills to a wide variety of fields.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Ms. Tranine Chisom of Fairfield, California, who has dedicated her career to community service and improving support for people with mental health disabilities and those who experience housing challenges and homelessness. As the Director of Supported Housing of Caminar in Solano County, Tranine has tirelessly worked with property owners, and city and county officials to increase and leverage affordable housing resources for our most vulnerable citizens. Annually, Tranine and her team provide supportive housing services to over 100 residents who might not otherwise be able to obtain or maintain affordable housing on their own. Ms. Chisom also serves as the Board Chairwoman for Housing First Solano, a coalition of service providers in Solano County working together to end homelessness. She has been instrumental in the development and now the implementation of Solano County's Neighbors Helping Neighbor-Forward Together 5-Year Strategic Plan to address homelessness. Tranine is also active in the Solano Napa Habitat for Humanity program where she actively participates as a crew member on community building days, as well as serves on the Family Selection Committee to identify families most in need of a Habitat Home.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Rita Montes Martin, a lifelong entrepreneur and community activist in the Davis, California community. At 95, she's led an extraordinary life and has no desire to retire. She embodies the true meaning of a public servant and community activist. Rita is an iconic personality in the Davis community, having developed many relationships with community organizers, business leaders and elected officials; you will always find her advocating for a local initiative or even take on a national policy. If it's good for the community then Rita will be involved. Rita is also active with Davis Media Access, a media company focused on education programming as a way of strengthening community. Rita has worn many hats, but the preponderance of her career has been in real estate. She was a loan officer and the only female appraiser for Great Western, as well as other financial institutions, and worked closely with builders and developers throughout her career. She held a leadership position as executive vice president, property management of Pegasus group. Rita has several irons in the fire, a serial entrepreneur and problem solver, Rita is also involved in political activism and is considered an author, screen play writer and friend to many in the Davis community.

Mr. GARAMENDI

Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Ms. Susan Schwartz of Vacaville, California, who is passionate about helping young people grow, helping small businesses prosper, and helping in the community. Susan is known as the ``volunteer extraordinaire'' at the Vacaville Neighborhood Boys and Girls Club where she lives by the motto ``children don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care.'' Her genuine concern for the club youth is evident in everything she does which earned her recognition as the organization's 2013 Volunteer of the Year and the 2016 Champions for Children Award by the Solano Kids Insurance Program. Ms. Schwartz has launched multiple projects at the club to include the Holiday Give Back for toys and donations for the needy, as well as the Garden Project that helps teach, grow, prepare, and consume meals from grown for themselves as well as the needy and homeless. Susan has taken her advocacy for children, and expanded it into the community by working as the driving force in a group to bring the Miss Representation Project to Solano County. Partnering with the Kroc Center and Brenden Theater, she helped sponsor the showing of the films The Miss Representation Project and The Mask You Live In. Ms. Schwartz's commitment to service has brought these films that raise awareness of gender stereotypes, and help young people better understand the issues we all face to over three hundred children and their parents.