Peter Roskam

Mr. ROSKAM

Mr. ROSKAM. Madam Speaker, my friends on the other side of the aisle need to make a decision: Do they want to lionize Ronald Reagan or criticize Ronald Reagan? I will leave it to them to decide which. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr).

Mr. ROSKAM. Madam Speaker, as you know, the good news is, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation, 70 percent of the individual tax relief goes to families earning under $200,000, according to their publication on November 13. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rutherford).

Mr. ROSKAM. Madam Speaker, the good news is it is not $1,200. It is not $1,700. It is $1,900 for the median household in California's Ninth District. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith), a great friend of agriculture and a great friend of small business.

Mr. ROSKAM. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman.

Mr. ROSKAM. Madam Speaker, if you are in California's 36th District and your median household income is $58,000, it looks like a tax cut of $1,090. I am informed that our friends on the other side have more time, and my suggestion is that our friends use some of their time to get back in balance. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROSKAM. Madam Speaker, there is a message for California's 43rd District, and that is a benefit of $1,395 if H.R. 1 is passed into law. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood).

Mr. ROSKAM. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds to just do a quick, little cleanup. There was a discussion a minute ago by the gentlewoman from Alabama where she was talking about teachers, for example. Let's get right to that. Teachers won't be harmed by shifting the status quo because what they are getting right now is a $250 deduction which is worth about $37 at the 15 percent tax rate, receipts that they have to keep all year long in an envelope and apply it at the end in terms of doing their taxes. We say: Dump that. Let's get away from that. Let's double their standard deduction, lower their rates, and give them some real money. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Mimi Walters). Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady) control the balance of my time.

Mr. ROSKAM

Mr. ROSKAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the long and distinguished career of Barbara C. Higgens on the occasion of her retirement. After 19 years of dedication and commitment, she is stepping down as CEO of Plumbing Manufacturers International (PMI). Since its founding in 1998, Ms. Higgens has nurtured and grown PMI's visibility and influence within the United States and abroad. Ms. Higgens revamped the organization from her kitchen table as its first employee. She went on to hire dedicated professional staff and significantly enhanced the association's advocacy, technical, water conservation, environmental, and trade initiatives. Today, PMI is the nation's leading plumbing manufacturing trade association representing 90 percent of all the plumbing fixtures and fittings sold in the United States. Under her leadership, PMI has grown into an advocate for water- efficient products meeting high safety and performance standards. She was instrumental in the introduction and passage of a federal nationwide law to reduce lead in plumbing products, known as the Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act, which was designed to safeguard all Americans. Mr. Speaker, please join me in celebrating this special occasion and wishing Barbara Higgens every happiness in her well-deserved retirement.

Mr. ROSKAM

Mr. ROSKAM. Mr. Speaker, cruelty to animals is a scourge, and there is no worse example than animal fighting that is for so-called pleasure and definite profit. I am pleased today to introduce the Parity in Animal Cruelty Enforcement Act, which is to close a loophole. Animal fighting is prohibited in the United States, but it is allowed in some U.S. territories. This is important for us because what we have is a situation where animals are manipulated, drugged, and put into situations where their aggression is heightened. It is disgusting. I am pleased to join with friends on the other side of the aisle-- Messrs. Blumenauer and Nolan--and Representatives on the Republican side--Messrs. Rodney Davis, Yoder, and Knight--to come together on a bipartisan basis to address this trouble. I ask for cosponsors.

Mr. ROSKAM

Mr. ROSKAM. Mr. Speaker, I am almost tempted to continue to yield time to my friend from the other side of the aisle. Just keep driving the expectations of any tax relief further and further into the ground, and I think people are going to be surprised and delighted with ultimately what the House ends up considering. Mr. Speaker, this is why I am here. This is a prelude to tax reform. We vote on this. We then make it so that no single political party is able to deny a vote on tax reform, and both parties can come to the table and try and negotiate something that is thoughtful, because here is what we know: it is the current Tax Code that is benefiting people that everybody is scandalized that they are benefiting. It is the current Tax Code that allows corporations to lock trillions of dollars offshore. It is the current Tax Code that is really stifling and so difficult. And it is the current Tax Code that nobody can defend. There is not a single person on this floor that is going to say: Oh, the Internal Revenue Code? I love that, Mr. Speaker. Just leave it the way it is. It is a disaster, and nobody likes the IRS. So rather than moaning and groaning and having posters and this and that, let's do this: let's dump the current Tax Code and let's have a transformational moment. Mr. Speaker, that is what our country and our constituents are yearning for, not old bumper stickers, not old shabby phrases from the past, but they are looking for us to lead and to bring people together, and that is what we are trying to do. There is a meddlesome issue that affects my district as a high tax State, and it affects a lot of other folks, and that is how we deal with State and local tax deductibility. I am of the view that tax reform does not mean simply the redistribution of a tax liability from one part of the country to another, but it means tax relief for everybody. Mr. Speaker, I think what we are looking for is to create middle class tax relief. And if the gentleman's expectations are that low, I think he is going to be pleased with what we ultimately are able to come up with. Mr. Speaker, I urge an ``aye'' vote. I thank the gentlewoman for the time, and I look forward to passing this resolution and moving forward to changing our Tax Code.

Mr. ROSKAM

Mr. ROSKAM. Mr. Chairman, I thank Chairwoman Black for yielding. Imagine what our opinion would be of a movie review where the reviewer simply looked at a movie poster and then wrote the review and came to a conclusion that they didn't like the movie. They didn't listen to the music. They didn't see the direction. They didn't see the pacing. They didn't see the acting. They didn't see the script. They didn't see the cinematography. They saw nothing other than a movie poster and they came to a conclusion. We would dismiss that and we would say: How ridiculous. How absurd. Mr. Chairman, that is exactly what the Tax Policy Center did this past week. They wrote a review of a proposal as it relates to tax reform, and they didn't have the details. Why didn't they have the details? Because many of these details don't exist. Specifically, they wrote a review which was very pejorative, which the Wall Street Journal completely trashed. They made this finding, and they had no notion of what the income brackets are like in our proposed tax reform plan. They had no notion about the anti-abuse rules that the Ways and Means Committee is working through to make sure there is not an abusive situation as it relates to pass-through entities. They had no notion about some of the offshore protections that are being contemplated. Let's avoid the hyperbole. Let's avoid the hackneyed, old, tired, and faded bumper sticker that says that any kind of pro-growth tax reform is a sop to the rich. It is complete nonsense. I think the proof will be in a tax reform proposal that this House hopefully will be considering in the coming weeks and months that will bring buoyancy, optimism, and a real opportunity for us to take advantage of a once-in-a-generation opportunity for a Tax Code that nobody can defend and nobody likes. But let's get real and evaluate real numbers and not just look at posters and bumper stickers.

Mr. ROSKAM

Mr. ROSKAM. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. ROSKAM. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of amendment No. 190, which would help prevent companies from weaponizing the Iranian regime and help stop the flow of troops and armaments to Assad's murderous regime. This amendment would prohibit the Office of Foreign Assets Control from authorizing the sale of aircraft to Iran. Western companies are in the process of trying to sell dozens of planes to Iran Air--that is Iran's flagship carrier--and other Iranian airlines with deep ties to hostile Iranian actors. Iran's aviation sector, led by Iran Air, has a long history of illicitly transporting militants, weapons, and explosives on commercial aircraft to terror groups and rogue regimes. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps--the IRGC--and Iran's Ministry of Defense use commercial aircraft to directly support Iran's campaign of terror around the Middle East. In recent years, both before the Iran nuclear deal and after, Iranian airlines have served as a lifeline to the Assad regime, transporting weapons and troops to the embattled dictator. Iran Air was recently designated by the U.S. Treasury for such activity. Numerous Iranian airlines remain sanctioned. Last year, while speaking on the floor in support of these same amendments, which passed the floor, I had on display this map beside me exhibiting the route of an Iran Air flight in the middle of the night from an IRGC hub to war-torn Damascus. This midnight flight was unscheduled and flew on a routine Iranian arms supply path to Syria. Hundreds of these flights are documented, showing a sophisticated Iranian arms supply system using commercial jets. On display now is even more compelling evidence of Iran Air's nefarious activity. These recently taken photos display Iran-backed Afghani militiamen flying Iran Air to Syria. You can see these same militiamen holding AK-47s on the ground in the Syrian war zone and prepping heavy artillery. These fighters are reported to be part of an IRGC training Afghan Shiite militia actively fighting for the Assad regime. Iran Air and the IRGC transport these jihadis to Syria to fight for a dictator responsible for the deaths of almost a half a million people, Mr. Chairman. Until Iran ceases using commercial aircraft to support terrorists and war criminals, Western companies ought not be allowed to sell Iranian airlines more aircraft that they can use to fuel Assad's brutal war. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROSKAM. Mr. Chairman, may I inquire how much time remains?

Mr. ROSKAM. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade of the Financial Services Committee.

Mr. ROSKAM. Mr. Chairman, my friend from Oregon acknowledges that there are bad people doing bad things in Iran. Well, let's not help them. Let's not be complicit. And as to the candlelight vigils, none of the mullahs, none of the leadership, were involved in candlelight vigils for the United States. These are the people that are chanting and provoking: Death to America. This does no violence to those who were supporters of the JCPOA. They like it. This has no impact on it whatsoever. Furthermore, it doesn't put American companies at any other disadvantage than other companies have. In other words, the two big players here are Airbus and Boeing, neither of whom, if we are successful with this amendment, would be able to sell into that marketplace. Why? Because Airbus has the same level of technology, they get caught up in the same net that we do. We have got to ask the question: Do we step back and say, ``Wow. It is just complicated and it is overwhelming, and, inshallah, let's do nothing''? No. Let's lean in. Let's make a decision. Let's be articulate and let's say that we are choosing not to be complicit with what we know is outrageous, and that is the use of commercial aircraft supporting the world's largest state sponsor of terror. This is fairly intuitive. The House has come together on these issues in the past. Mr. Chair, I urge its passage, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ROSKAM. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. ROSKAM. Mr. Chairman, this amendment is similar to the previous amendment debated. Specifically, it would prohibit the Office of Foreign Assets Control from authorizing U.S. financial institutions-- that is the distinction--from financing aircraft and sales to Iran. It is the same reasons. It is all the same facts. It is fairly straightforward. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROSKAM. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn), a member of the Armed Services Committee.

Mr. ROSKAM. Mr. Chair, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Zeldin).

Mr. ROSKAM. Mr. Chairman, to close, as to the argument about ideological riders, this is the Article I branch. It is the prerogative of the House of Representatives and the Congress to speak and decide how money is to be spent. As to the notion that, the accusation that this breaches the JCPOA, as much of a critic as I am of that deal, this doesn't breach it. So it is in compliance with it. The notion of jobs is an interesting one, and it kind of creates a moral quandary until, Mr. Chairman, you balance out these two things: jobs versus lives. Is that really a question here? Aren't lives more important than jobs? Isn't it an interesting thing that several Members of the Washington State delegation where Boeing, in particular, is headquartered have actively written to the leadership of the Boeing Company saying, don't do this, essentially, and don't put our employees in the moral quandary of having to move forward on this? Finally, Mr. Chairman, how would we be feeling if the debate were happening in 1938 in this country, and the question was: Are we going to loan money to some commercial operation that can be used by the regime in Hamburg, Germany, for example? We would be scandalized by it. We need to recognize with a sense of clarity where we are in history. We ought not to be complicit with this. This House can make a great deal of difference in the future of this fight. Mr. Chair, I urge the passage of this amendment, the adoption of it, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ROSKAM

Mr. ROSKAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of United States Navy Petty Officer Charles Nathan Findley and his service to our nation. On August 20th of this year, Petty Officer Findley was killed after a collision between the USS John S. McCain and a merchant vessel in waters near Singapore and Malaysia. Respected by his fellow officers, Findley served as an electronics technician first class in the Navy. His friends and family will remember his love of rebuilding cars, Japanese culture, and foreign travel. Findley was a father and husband, leaving behind an 8-year-old daughter, 6-year-old son, and his beloved wife Riho. His contributions as a Petty Officer for the United States Navy and his sacrifice to our nation serves as a reminder to us all that our freedom exists because of the dedication of brave individuals such as Charles. Our country is at a loss without his loyal service. Mr. Speaker and distinguished colleagues, please join me in honoring Petty Officer Charles Nathan Findley and his distinguished service to our nation.

Mr. ROSKAM

Mr. ROSKAM. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in recognition of the long and distinguished service of Scott Franzgrote on the occasion of his retirement. On September 29th of this year, Mr. Franzgrote will conclude his loyal service as Fire Chief of the Rolling Meadows Fire Department. Chief Franzgrote has served the community for a total of 27 years, including the last six years as Fire Chief of the Rolling Meadows Fire Department. Since joining the department in 1990, his extraordinary leadership has earned him great respect among colleagues and members of the community. During his tenure, Chief Franzgrote led a consolidation effort for services with the Palatine and Palatine Rural fire departments. The ``Rural Palatine Meadows'' initiative has led to shared equipment, standardized training, streamlined responses to incidents, and has already saved the city of Rolling Meadows hundreds of thousands of dollars. Mr. Speaker and distinguished colleagues, please join me in celebrating this special occasion and wishing Chief Franzgrote every happiness in the well-deserved respite of his retirement.

Mr. ROSKAM

Mr. ROSKAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Becky McDowell for being selected to participate in the United States Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) 4th Annual National Summer Teacher's Institute on Innovation and Intellectual Property (NSTI). The NSTI is a week-long program designed to provide teachers with a comprehensive understanding of intellectual property, innovation, and entrepreneurship. The USPTO reviewed over 500 applicants for the program and accepted only 44 participants, highlighting Ms. McDowell's unique qualifications. Representing the schools of Roslyn Road, Barbara Rose, North Barrington, and Sunny Hill Schools in Wauconda, Illinois, Ms. McDowell worked with a group of fellow teachers to come up with their own invention. Ms. McDowell's group invented an animal care app where owners could update key information about their pets for use by kennels and animal caregivers to ensure the safety and well-being of pets. Mr. Speaker and distinguished colleagues, please join me in recognizing Ms. Becky McDowell for her outstanding service, and congratulate her on being selected to participate in the United States Patent and Trademark Office's 4th Annual National Summer Teacher's Institute on Innovation and Intellectual Property.

Mr. ROSKAM

Mr. ROSKAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Amy Schwartz for being named a 2017 Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators (PIAEE) honorable mention recipient. The PIAEE recognizes elementary school teachers who employ innovative approaches to environmental education and use the environment as a context for learning for their students. The PIAEE reviewed hundreds of applicants for the award and selected only 12 recipients, highlighting Ms. Schwartz's unique qualifications. Representing Edison Middle School in Wheaton, Illinois, Ms. Schwartz coordinated a project in which student, faculty, parents and Wheaton Park District staff worked together to transform an area behind the Edison Middle School into a native tallgrass prairie. Students complemented this hands-on project with a field trip to Fermilab, a local physics laboratory, to learn more about energy and ecosystems. Mr. Speaker and distinguished colleagues, please join me in recognizing Ms. Amy Schwartz for her outstanding service and congratulate her being named a 2017 PIAEE honorable mention recipient.