David Reichert

Mr. REICHERT

Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, after listening to my colleague's comments, Mr. Doggett's a little earlier, there are a lot of things that Mr. Doggett said that I agree with, and I know he knows that. We have known each other for a while. He is the ranking member on the Human Resources Subcommittee, and we have been working together on lots of legislation that help address foster care and families and welfare and food stamps and aid to needy families. Those are things that he knows that I care about passionately. And I know that the Republican party, even though tonight you may not think so, cares about people passionately and wants to solve these issues to help our most needy find employment, find an opportunity and hope in this country to provide for their family. That is what both sides I think really want. As my colleague knows, we spent hours earlier today debating the continuing resolution for 2015. That debate will continue tomorrow. The reason we are not debating TANF reauthorization right now is because the CR includes a provision that will extend the TANF program at the Congressional Budget Office baseline level through December 11 of this year. So that bill, not the one before us, provides for the extension of the program that the gentleman had earlier talked about. I would also like to point out a letter that is dated July 31, 2014, date stamped, to Senator Sessions from Secretary Burwell. And it says, in just the first paragraph, Mr. Speaker: Thank you for your letter to former Secretary Kathleen Sebelius expressing concern that Temporary Assistance for Needy Families cash assistance is being used to create an increase in drug dependency. I am aware of the media reports related to individuals withdrawing cash at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) located in establishments selling marijuana in Colorado, which has legalized the use of marijuana. I agree that any inappropriate expenditure of public funds is a cause for concern and should be addressed immediately. This is a commonsense fix so welfare funds are used as intended to help needy families temporarily, to help them find jobs, get back on their feet, provide for their families. Mr. Speaker, I urge support, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. REICHERT

Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the words of Mr. Hoyer. As most of you know in this Chamber, my previous career was in law enforcement, 33 years. And there are some Members in here who have served their community as a police officer. In my experience in 33 years, I felt the pain of the loss of a partner and a best friend. I felt the pain of the loss of a neighbor and a very good friend and academy graduate friend. As the sheriff, I lost officers during my term, 8 years as sheriff in Seattle. I appreciate the time that we take today to honor those who have died to protect Members of this body, and to recognize all of those law enforcement officers across the country, across the world, for that matter, who are protecting us each and every day. But I think one of the most important things we can do, ladies and gentlemen, is not only remember them and their service, but remember their families. Their families lost a husband. They lost a father, a brother, an uncle, a grandpa. This is real life-and-death stuff that these folks face every day.

Mr. REICHERT

Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor), the majority leader.

Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I would like to also add my compliments to Chairman Camp. Not to be repetitive, I think it is important to mention some of the fine work that Chairman Camp has done in his time here in Congress, which has inspired all of us, I think, to move the legislation that we are discussing today. He has left an indelible stamp on our Nation's child welfare policy during the years he has served in Congress, and especially throughout his service on the Ways and Means Committee. He has a whole list of bills and initiatives and amendments that he has been associated with to champion this cause, but I think, suffice it to say, Mr. Camp has probably done more than most in the last 20 years of his service here for the people of America to help children, and especially focused on foster care and adoption. Again, I want to join in praising and thanking the chairman for his service and dedication to the children of this country and families in general. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge support of H.R. 4980, the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act. This bill, as the chairman said, reflects bipartisan agreement and bicameral agreement. So, after we pass this bill tonight, it goes back to the Senate, and this will go to the President's desk, I am sure, and be signed within, I hope, the next month or so. This bill is designed to prevent sex trafficking involving youth in foster care. It is designed to strengthen families by increasing adoptions from foster care, and it is designed to improve child support collections. This issue is a very personal issue for me. I have listened to the speeches tonight, and I appreciate the enthusiasm and the dedication and the focus that Members of Congress have put on this issue over the last year especially. This is our second week this month, I think, that we have focused on human trafficking in foster care. Mr. Speaker, some people know that my previous career was in law enforcement. I spent 33 years in the sheriff's office. Many of those years were spent investigating a case that has been entitled the Green River murder case. We finally arrested that person. He says that he killed somewhere between 60 and 70 young girls in Seattle--60 to 70 children's lives taken. I collected a lot of those bodies, Mr. Speaker. I remember them, where they lay, 15-year-old girls. We are not talking about a bill today, ladies and gentlemen and Mr. Speaker. We are not talking about a bill--legislation--that is just a piece of fluff, that is just a piece of legislation, that is just words. We are talking about the lives of children and the monsters who are out there--and they have been discussed tonight--who are ready to prey on them, who are ready to take their lives, even if it is just to take a piece of their lives away from them for a moment, or maybe 20 times a night they take a piece of their lives. They survive physically, but mentally and emotionally, their lives have been ripped apart and so have the families'. If you were to just drive down this street and see 10 young ladies standing on a street corner, Mr. Speaker, who were involved in human trafficking, six out of those 10 would be foster kids. These are kids we have responsibility for, whom we as a nation have the responsibility for--all of us in each one of our States who take care of foster children. We place them in foster homes, and they run away, and we don't find them, and we don't search for them, and they go on the streets, and they get scooped up by somebody who says: I love you. Stay with me. I will buy you clothes. I will buy you jewelry. I will put you on the street, too, and that is how you are going to make the money to buy those things--and guess what. You are going to provide me with some of those things, too. It just makes me sick. It should make every American sick to his stomach. We need to stop this. I have seen it with my own eyes for 19 years in having been involved in this case, trying to bring this monster, who not only took away their souls, but who also eventually ended up taking away their lives. He ripped those lives out of the families' hands--gone. My 15-year-old daughter--gone. Can you imagine? That is why we need to help folks. This is such an important piece of legislation. One of the young ladies who was one of the first victims in this case was Wendy Coffield. She was a foster kid. She ran away from her foster home, and she ended up on the street, but nobody looked for Wendy Coffield until we found her one day, floating in the river just south of Seattle--dead. One of the things that I wanted to do as the chair of the Human Resources Subcommittee was to help educate this country and other Members about this issue. We held hearings, and we had experts from DSHS and the State of Washington and human resources all across the country who were directors of DSHS, and we had social workers. They all provided great information. But do you know? One of the most powerful witnesses and speakers we had was a young lady named Miss Ortiz Walker Pettigrew. She goes by the name of ``T.'' She was recently named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. She is a young lady who spent the first 18 years of her life in foster care, and 7 of those years were in human trafficking. She is now one of the most 100 most influential people in the world. She was trafficked on the streets. She was trafficked on the Internet. She was trafficked on the back pages of newspapers. Now she is speaking out, and she is the one--and people like her are the ones--who provides us with that information. I think that we can all agree that our Nation's children deserve better, because her statement was and her comment was: I felt like I was part of a family. I identified with my pimp and with the other young ladies who were out working the street. That was my family-- versus having a family that could hold them and love them. This bill requires States to identify victims of sex trafficking and provide them with the services they need to heal. It will also improve data on instances of child sex trafficking so better policies can be developed to prevent it. Also, on the prevention front, this bill makes sure that kids can be kids, that foster kids can participate in after-school events, which would, I think, make them less vulnerable, anyway, to getting involved in street activity and getting sucked into the life of human trafficking. It encourages States to move children out of the foster care system and into loving families more quickly. The approach we are taking is practical. It is bipartisan. It is based on experiences from States around the country. It is evidence- based, and it is also real life experience-based. This bill incorporates a wide range of ideas gleaned from bills introduced by members of the Ways and Means Committee--like from Mr. Paulsen, who will speak soon--and by other Members of the House and from over 150 pages of public comments received on our December 2013 discussion draft. I want to thank the subcommittee's ranking member, Mr. Doggett, who joins me on the floor today, as well as to thank the chairman, Mr. Camp, and the ranking member, Mr. Levin, for their support of this legislation and for their help throughout its development. I also want to thank the many outside groups that offered their feedback and their support. As of today, we have received support for this bill from 48 child welfare groups, which is an indication of the high importance of this legislation. I can't think of a more important or a more bipartisan topic than protecting vulnerable children in foster care and working to find loving homes for each of them. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.

Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Paulsen).

Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I will insert in the Record a list of the organizations in support of this legislation. Organizations in Support of the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act (H.R. 4980) 1. American Academy of Pediatrics (letter) 2. American Psychological Association (letter) 3. Association on American Indian Affairs (email) 4. Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (letter) 5. Cherokee Nation (letter) 6. Children Awaiting Parents (Senate) 7. Children's Defense Fund (letter) 8. Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption (letter) 9. Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (letter) 10. Eastern Shashone Tribe (letter) 11. First Focus Campaign for Children (letter) 12. Fort Belknap Child Support Program (letter) 13. Foster Club (letter) 14. Foster Family-Based Treatment Association (letter) 15. Generations United (letter) 16. Holt International (letter) 17. Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (letter) 18. Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa 19. Love 146 (letter) 20. Menominee Tribal Child Support Agency (letter) 21. Mescalero Apache Tribe (letter) 22. Meskwaki Nation Child Support Services (letter) 23. National Adoption Center (letter) 24. National Child Support Enforcement Association (letter with concerns) 25. National Children's Alliance (letter) 26. National Foster Parent Association (letter) 27. National Indian Child Welfare Association (email) 28. Nebraska Families Collaborative (letter) 29. Nez Perce Tribe (letter) 30. North American Council on Adoptable Children (letter) 31. NYS Citizens' Coalition for Children (letter) 32. Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin (letter) 33. Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center (letter) 34. Penobscot Nation Child Support Agency (letter) 35. Red Cliff Tribal Child Support Services Agency (letter) 36. Rights4Girls (letter) 37. Stockbridge-Munsee Community (letter) 38. Suquamish Tribe (letter) 39. The Adoption Exchange (email) 40. The Attachment and Trauma Network (Senate) 41. The California Alliance of Child and Family Services (Senate) 42. The Child Welfare League of America (letter) 43. The Donaldson Adoption Institute (letter) 44. The National Crittenton Foundation (email) 45. Tribal Child Support Enforcement, Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma (letter) 46. Voice for Adoption (letter) 47. You Gotta Believe (letter) 48. Yurok Tribe (letter).

Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, this legislation, as I said earlier, represents bipartisan, bicameral progress in protecting our Nation's most vulnerable children. So, in plain language, the House of Representatives cooperated together and developed a bill. The Senate cooperated together, Senators Hatch and Wyden worked together to develop a bill on the Senate side. They agreed and passed a bill, we agreed and passed a bill. This bill that we are talking about today is one of those rare moments in history where not only did Democrats and Republicans agree, but the Senate and the House agreed this was a good bill, and here it is today. After we pass this bill tonight, it will move to the Senate, and we already know we have agreement there. It will be passed in the Senate, hopefully, some time early next week, and move on to the President's desk for signing. We are focused tonight on this bill, with foster kids, because this is the jurisdiction that I have, as the chairman of the Human Resources Subcommittee, and that Mr. Doggett, as the ranking member, has too. We are focused on foster kids and human trafficking, and helping them find loving homes so they can have a productive life, so they can have hope, hope for the future. We need to pass this bill tonight. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. REICHERT

Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor a young man from my district who is truly a hero. On June 5, 2014, Seattle Pacific University was faced with tragedy when a shooter opened fire in one of the university's residence halls. A student was killed, and it was only thanks to the actions of Jon Meis from Renton, Washington, that more lives were not taken. Mr. Meis is himself a student at SPU and when he was placed in a dangerous situation, he gave no thought to his own life. Instead, he acted to protect his fellow students by pepper-spraying and tackling the gunman, allowing the police enough time to get to campus and take control of the situation. As a former police officer, I know just how critical Mr. Meis's actions were in apprehending the shooter and saving lives. I am so proud of this young man: for his courage, his dedication to his community, his selflessness. I am proud of the way our greater Seattle community has banded together to support the SPU community during this difficult time, and I mourn with them for the young man who died that day. As Mr. Meis himself pointed out, it takes a tragedy to make a hero. I know we all wish such an event had never taken place, but Mr. Meis ensured that further tragedy was prevented. So, once again, I thank him and I honor him.

Mr. REICHERT

Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 394, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. REICHERT

Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Ellensburg High School Varsity Baseball Team. On Saturday May 31, 2014 the team won the Class 2A Washington State Championship, the first baseball state championship in the school's history. This group of young men overcame adversity and, through extra practices and hard work, came to finish their season with a 10 game winning streak and winning 14 of their last 15 games. It is this perseverance that earned them this incredible championship. None of this would have been possible, of course, without the exemplary leadership of the Bulldog's Head Coach Todd Gibson, who has inspired and directed these student athletes for the past 5 years. The young men on the team deserve individual recognition as well. They are: Xander Orejudos, Travis Lyman, Cameron Curtis, Cameron Campbell, Kyle Hickman, Bobby Ward, Tyler Wyatt, Dalton Mandelas, Garrett Hull, Junior Ledgard, Tyrel Panter, Alex Ponchene, Alonso Bibiano, Ceanu Strom, Kyler Watts, Taylor Smith, and Million Zimmerman. The coaching staff also: Brian Kelley, Travis Gibson, Casey Kelley, DJ Smith, Ryan Kellogg, and Gage Gibson. I am honored to have Ellensburg High School as part of the Eighth Congressional District of Washington and I congratulate them on their success, and earning the 2014 Class 2A State Championship. Thank you.

Mr. REICHERT

Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 356, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. REICHERT

Mr. REICHERT. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 616, I call up the bill (H.R. 4453) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make permanent the reduced recognition period for built-in gains of S corporations, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. REICHERT. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 4453.

Mr. REICHERT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge support for H.R. 4453, the S Corporation Permanent Tax Relief Act of 2014. Since we started the tax reform process in January of 2011, one of the main themes coming up again and again is the need for certainty for individuals to plan and businesses to thrive. Nowhere is this more true than for small businesses. Pass-through businesses, like S corporations, account for more than half of all jobs in the United States. In my home State of Washington, they are particularly important, providing 1.4 million jobs, with S corporations providing more than one in four private sector jobs. Permanence in the tax law is especially important for these privately-held businesses because they can't go to the public markets every time they want to invest in new equipment or hire workers. They need certainty to plan how to most effectively deploy their capital. A perfect example of an area of the Tax Code that is ripe for permanence, so that S corporation businesses can plan to access and redeploy their own capital, is the built-in gains, or BIG, relief provision that is before us today. The BIG tax, as it is called, is a double tax on S corporations that want to sell their assets after converting from C corporation status. Currently, S corporations have to wait 10 years after converting before selling their assets to avoid the punitive double tax. Traditional year-to-year tax extender legislation has reduced this holding period to 5 years, holding to the original antiabuse intent of the rule, yet providing significant relief for businesses nationwide. H.R. 4453 would permanently reduce that holding period to 5 years. As we heard from Jim Redpath, a small business witness who is an accountant--he testified before one of our Ways and Means hearings several weeks ago--the BIG tax causes S corporations to hold on to unproductive or old assets that should be replaced. He gave the example of a road contractor that is holding onto old equipment and trucks that are sitting in the junkyard that he can't sell. He can't even sell them for parts. Rather than selling them, if he did, they would be subject to the BIG tax, the double tax that I talked about earlier. The other impact here is, if businesses are allowed to sell these assets and used equipment, it would benefit other small businesses, starting businesses, for example, that may not be able to afford the newest and the latest equipment and technology, but they can start their businesses with used equipment. Instead of selling assets and using the proceeds to hire new workers or invest in new equipment, businessowners sit on the sidelines. This is a perfect example of Tax Code influencing business decisions, and this needs to stop. According to the IRS, tens of thousands of corporations convert to C corporations each year. We can't continue to leave this capital locked up. We need to give it back to the small businesses that make this country thrive. The second part of this bill is also a commonsense provision that will give S corporations certainty in the value of their charitable donations. The S corporation charitable basis adjustment provision simply ensures that S corporations get the same value for their deductions as all other small businesses. These two commonsense provisions will give S corporations the certainty they need to create jobs and grow our economy in this country. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. REICHERT. Madam Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp), the distinguished chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. REICHERT. Madam Speaker, I yield as much time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Kansas (Ms. Jenkins), who is also a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I insert in the Record a letter of support signed by 35 different organizations in support of this legislation. These signees include organizations as diverse as the National Grocers Association, the National Electrical Contractors Association, and the Association for Manufacturing Technology. June 11, 2014. Pass the S Corporation Permanent Tax Relief Act of 2014 Dear Member of the U.S. House of Representatives: As representatives of America's closely-held businesses, we ask that you support legislation (H.R. 4453) making permanent the 5-year recognition period for built-in gains, as well as the basis adjustment for charitable giving by S corporations. Small businesses are the engine of America's economic growth and S corporations are the cornerstone of the small business community. There are more than 4.5 million of them nationwide. They are in every community and every industry and, according to Ernst & Young, they employ one out of every four private sector workers. Unlike public corporations, these closely-held businesses have little or no access to the capital markets. Instead they rely on banks, relatives, and their own savings to fill their investment and working capital needs. An overly long built-in gains recognition period makes this disadvantage worse by preventing companies that have chosen to become S corporations from accessing their own capital and putting it to better use. Locking up a company's capital for an entire decade is simply unreasonable. Past Congresses have recognized that a decade is too long and voted to reduce the recognition period on three separate occasions, but those temporary measures have expired and the 10-year rule is back in effect. Enacting a permanent shorter recognition period would sustain the original intent of the rule while providing S corporations with much needed certainty. It would allow them to make decisions based on what is best for the company rather than the dictates of the tax code. At a time when our economy badly needs increased investment, allowing more companies to access their own, locked-up capital is an important step. Furthermore, making permanent the basis adjustment to stock of S corporations that make charitable contributions of property would help bring consistent treatment among flow- through businesses, and would allow America's S corporations to be more active and supportive of much-needed charitable activities. On behalf of America's Main Street business community, we respectfully ask that you vote in favor of the S Corporation Permanent Tax Relief Act of 2014. Thank you for your consideration. Aeronautical Repair Station Association, Air Conditioning Contractors of America, Agricultural Retailers Association, American Council of Engineering Companies, American Institute of Architects, American Rental Association, American Supply Association, American Trucking Associations, Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., Associated Equipment Distributors, Associated General Contractors of America, Auto Care Association, Financial Executives International, Food Marketing Institute, Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Distributors International, Independent Community Bankers of America, Independent Electrical Contractors. Metals Service Center Institute, National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, National Beer Wholesalers Association, National Electrical Contractors Association, National Federation of Independent Business, National Funeral Directors Association, National Grocers Association, National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association, National Roofing Contractors Association, National Small Business Association, S Corporation Association, Small Business Council of America, Small Business Legislative Council, Subchapter S Bank Association, The Association For Manufacturing Technology, Truck Renting and Leasing Association, United States Business and Industry Council, Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America.

Mr. REICHERT. Small businesses across the country recognize just how crucial it is to give access to capital to businesses in our struggling economy today. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The gentleman from Maryland spoke very eloquently on this topic. I just want to note that his past action shows something a little bit different. He has voted for this provision three times in the past.

Mr. REICHERT. No, I will not.

Mr. REICHERT. I will not yield my time. Point of Order

Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I would still say that the gentleman from Maryland--to clarify my point--has voted for the extension of these policies three times for a total of 8 years, and that is a fact. That is part of the voting record.

Mr. REICHERT. I do not yield.

Mr. REICHERT. Mr. Speaker, I would just reiterate that the gentleman has voted for this extension of this policy three separate times for a period lasting 8 years. I reserve the balance of my time.