Richard Neal

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. With that, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey, who has been a longtime advocate of repealing the AMT, Mr. Pascrell.

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, there are only two ways to respond: Either you borrow the money or you ask people who are hiding money in offshore accounts to pay for it, and that is what we are doing. People who are hiding money in island communities are being asked to give tax relief to 23 million people. And with that, I yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin), the chairman of the Trade Subcommittee of Ways and Means. (Mr. LEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, we cannot predicate our actions in the House of Representatives on the basis of what the President might or might not do. Article I of the Constitution mentions Congress as the first branch of government for good reason, to keep a check on the executive, not vice versa. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Becerra).

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, what my friend, Mr. Ryan, just said, he's really a good guy here. He simply said that our priority was a bit confused. Our priority is clear. Cut taxes for 23 million Americans and close an offshore account. With that, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I make a point of order that the motion to recommit violates clause 10 of rule XXI because the provisions of the measure have the net effect of increasing the deficit over the requisite time period. The cost of 1 year of AMT relief is $50 billion, and the motion contains no provisions to pay for that relief.

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I need to quickly correct the record. In 1969 when the alternative minimum tax was put in place, it was not a Democratic scheme. The vote was 389-2 in this House of Representatives. With that, I would like to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Scott).

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, without this bill passing, there are 74,000 people in Mr. Cantor's district that will pay alternative minimum tax next year. With that, I would like to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson).

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I would like at this time to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Berkley).

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley) for 1 minute.

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of making a unanimous consent request to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney). (Mrs. MALONEY of New York asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for clarifying the issue of why we should borrow the money. With that, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, let me clarify what the gentleman just said. He came the same day that I did. He is one of the better Members to serve here, and I personally and professionally am going to miss him. Let me clear up what he just said. He said let's borrow the money to pay for this issue. We are saying let's pay the bill now. Mr. Speaker, with that, I would like to introduce the Speaker of the House of Representatives for a long 1 minute.

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume. I rise in support of the AMT Relief Act of 2007. We are here again in an effort to protect 23 million American taxpayers from higher taxes on April 15. Almost 19 million of those taxpayers have never paid AMT before, and some indeed have not even heard of AMT. With this bill, we can ensure that it stays that way. My district alone will see an increase from 7,300 families hit by AMT to 67,000 people hit by AMT. We have individuals across this country, including Maggie Rauh from my district who is a CPA and who testified that her family income is at $75,000. She takes the standard deduction. They have three children. She is going to pay AMT. That family trip to Disneyland next year is on hold. Joel Campbell of Loudoun County, Virginia told the committee that his family had to choose between saving more for retirement or paying for college. Higher taxes because of AMT are forcing middle- and upper middle-income families to make these difficult choices. So we all agree that AMT should not be affecting these working families, but we cannot agree on how to do it. And that is the point: Everybody agrees that it has got to be fixed. The Republicans propose to borrow $50 billion; we intend to proceed with paying for this issue. When I hear the argument that we should forget about it because it was never intended to hit middle-income people, as Mr. Rangel noted, I would like to try that on my creditors. The Republicans believe that we should not offset this tax increase for middle-income people. Indeed, the President's budgets for the last few years have all counted on this revenue, and he projects next year precisely the same thing. We made a pledge earlier this year to the American taxpayer that we would do no harm to the Federal budget. So if we lower tax revenues, we have to make up for that loss and not add to the deficit. That PAYGO pledge is difficult and painful, but most sensible. The bill that we bring before the House today is a smaller package than before. The expiring provisions and the carried interest revenue raisers are gone. In the face of opposition to our offsets, we cannot retain this package because of the expiring tax provisions. It is my hope that we can turn to these provisions again in the near future and perhaps, if necessary, make them retroactive, indeed. This bill provides that offshore hedge fund managers not enjoy unlimited deferral from any taxation on their compensation. We have all seen the news reports of these hedge fund people deferring hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation offshore because of a tax loophole. This bill closes that loophole, and it gives tax relief to 23 million families. The bill also provides that a corporate tax shelter abuser be subject to new rules requiring economic substance in transactions. Let me interpret. It has to be for real. By cracking down on tax shelter abusers, we are able to provide tax relief to the families of 13 million children in minimum wage households who get little or no refundable child tax credits. The bill is simple. The bill is straightforward. Despite some opposition, we are going to persevere in our path to responsible tax cuts. Ecclesiastes teaches us that the race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong. That does not affect our conviction here that we intend to persevere on the right path. We stand by our pledge to the American taxpayer and hope to convince others to join our battle today. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Schwartz).

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, one of the reasons I like Mr. McCrery is because I think he's one of the smartest guys that serves here in this institution, and let me just say this. I agree with what he said. If you stop 23 million people from getting a tax increase, that is tax relief. There are 33,000 people tonight in Mr. Hensarling's district that are going to pay alternative minimum tax if we don't pass this legislation. Mr. Speaker, with that, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Pomeroy).

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Once again, what the gentleman said is we should borrow the money. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Davis), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3996.

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I would like to recognize the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Emanuel) for 1 minute.

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. There shouldn't be any confusion, Mr. Speaker, this bill cuts taxes for tens of millions of people. At this time, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Washington State (Mr. McDermott). (Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, we appreciate that epiphany, that after 6 years of a Republican Congress and a Republican President, they are blaming spending on the Democratic Party. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), a thoughtful member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, 94,000 teachers in Virginia are going to benefit from this proposal today and 133,000 families are going to take advantage of the college tuition deduction in the State of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), a member of the Ways and Means Committee. (Mr. PASCRELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, one of the things I'm going to do today after listening to my friend, Mr. McCrery, is to go back to my office and call Citigroup, that holds my mortgage, and I'm going to apply that logic when I tell them that I'm no longer going to bother paying the principal, because I just want to forget about the bill; that the bill is just gone. And I expect them to say to me, we're going to use the logic that Congress uses when it comes to paying the Nation's bills. I'm in full support of this legislation, and I think we need to stand up to theology today and address it with fact. Without the extension of these important tax provisions, there's going to be a real impact back home. Ninety-four thousand Massachusetts teachers who took the deduction for out-of-pocket classroom supplies totaling $23 million in expenditures, they're going to lose that deduction. Without this bill, 121,000 Massachusetts families who took the tuition deduction for higher education costs, totaling $317 million in expenditures, they're going to lose their incentive for higher learning. If we don't pass this bill, 1,000 businesses in Massachusetts that took the research and development tax credit totaling $10 million, they're going to lose this credit. We have to pass that bill so that 192 low-income military families in Massachusetts who claimed the earned income tax credit while in the combat zone, totaling $2 million in earnings, are going to keep that credit. And further, Massachusetts school districts which receive $6.5 million in bond authority for school construction, they're going to lose their assistance without this bill. And let me speak briefly to the issue of AMT. For a decade and more, I've been at this issue. The Republicans have said to me time and again, you're absolutely right in what you're trying to do. We're quibbling over the solution today. But there's a reality, and the reality is that if we don't do this, 125,684 taxpayers subject to AMT in Massachusetts will increase to, listen to this number, 770,336 people for the 2007 tax year. This means in my district alone 7,000 families to 67,612 will begin to pay AMT if we don't undertake this action today. And half of those 60,000 paying AMT this year will earn between 100 and $200,000. And another third will earn between 75 and $100,000. This legislation is middle-class tax relief. These are the people that need our help. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, 284,000 teachers in the State of Texas will benefit from the proposal that is before us today. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Berkley), another member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, 619 businesses in the State of New Jersey will take advantage of the research and development tax credit. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Van Hollen), a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, there are 1,462 businesses in the State of New York who will take advantage of the research and development tax credit that we extend today. Mr. Speaker, with that, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished majority leader.