Jason Smith

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, my grandfather always told me that actions speak louder than words. We have heard a lot of words about people standing up to China. This resolution will give every Member in this body the opportunity to stand up to China, and this is the way to do it. Mr. Speaker, I am so thankful that we have Democratic Senators-- including my counterpart, Senator Wyden--on the other side of the aisle who are willing to do the right thing for the American worker and to do what President Obama did in 2012 to make sure that the solar industry works for America and does not become beholden to China. Today, the U.S. Congress has the opportunity to send a direct message to China, and really any country that thinks about violating trade policies or attempts to cheat American workers, that the U.S. will not tolerate such behavior. I appreciate the fact that this can be a bipartisan message. The White House made a very misguided decision when it chose to lift additional tariffs from China for 2 years. That action, in my view, sends the wrong message to the world, particularly when we know, based on findings by the President's own Commerce Department, that China is cheating American workers and consumers by circumventing tariffs right now. We have the opportunity today to act on bipartisan legislation that will turn out the lights on that decision and hold China accountable. To be clear, U.S. purchasers of fairly traded solar products will not pay a single penny of additional tariffs if this resolution is enacted. This is about protecting American workers and American jobs and holding China accountable. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for introducing this resolution and fighting to protect American workers and American jobs. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I also want to highlight another member of the House Committee on Ways and Means that is a cosponsor and a supporter of this resolution, Ms. Terri Sewell from Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from the Auxin Solar founder and CEO thanking Speaker McCarthy and House Republicans for bringing this resolution to the House floor. Auxin is a small California company with 37 full-time employees that filed a petition last year asking the Department of Commerce to investigate whether Chinese firms were circumventing existing tariffs. Auxin strongly supports this resolution so that the company and its workers can get relief from unfair Chinese competition and end what it calls the get- out-of-jail-free card that President Biden gave to duty evaders. Auxin Solar, San Jose, CA, April 27, 2023. Hon. Kevin McCarthy, Speaker, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Speaker: I'm writing to you on behalf of myself, my business partner Sherry Tai, the 37 full-time employees of Auxin Solar, and our families to thank you for bringing to the floor for a vote H.J. Res.39, the Congressional Review Act resolution. By just bringing this resolution to the floor for a vote, you are sending a strong signal that the United States Congress will stand up against the Chinese Communist Party and their unfair trade practices on behalf of American manufacturers and our workers. More importantly, when we see Congress vote on this resolution, you will be giving me and Sherry the strength to continue our fight against unfairly traded solar imports and the confidence to continue to reinvest our personal finances into making Auxin Solar a leader in U.S. solar manufacturing. Sherry and I co-founded Auxin Solar in 2008 and, since that time, we have been providing high-paying jobs to our employees in Silicon Valley, California. In 2008, we forecasted that solar cells and solar modules would eventually become commodity products that could compete on a cost basis with traditional energy sources. That has come true. Solar deployment is reaching year-over-year all-time highs because of the cost parity with traditional energy sources. With our low overhead, competitive costs, and high employee retention rates, we should have been printing money in a growing demand environment. But what we didn't forecast when we started Auxin Solar was the anticompetitive behavior of China and the success that China would have in dominating the solar supply chain. In the early 2010s, China was so far behind the United States in solar technology and know-how. To catch up, CCP agents stole our intellectual property. Then the CCP used draconian duties to effectively prohibit U.S. polysilicon companies from selling into the Chinese market. When the U.S. imposed duties to offset predatory pricing in solar, China used its industrial policies to assist major Chinese CCP- connected solar companies in their move out of China to circumvent U.S. trade laws. It took just ten years but now, China dominates the entire solar supply chain. They use forced labor practices to mine polysilicon. They use coal- fired energy to power ingot and wafer-making. And they use Southeast Asia as screw-driver operations to circumvent trade laws. In the face of predatory Chinese pricing in the United States, and when our domestic competitors closed, Auxin continued to operate. Sadly, what we've learned in the last five years is that the trade remedy laws are not designed for medium-sized enterprises like Auxin. Take for example what happened during the initial solar safeguard. Although demand continued to grow with duties in place in 2018, major energy companies complained and lobbied to attain an exclusion for bifacial panels. Bifacial panels are solar modules that generate electricity using both sides of the panel. Since 2016--well before the safeguard even started--Auxin Solar was one of the only companies to produce bifacial panels in America. Our bifacial panels were used in major utility-scale projects in Lumberton, New Jersey and by Georgia Power at the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. They were also used in Columbus, Ohio on the largest ever commercial rooftop solar array ever installed. Since an exclusion for bifacial panels was granted, bifacial panel pricing premiums collapsed and bifacials quickly became the majority of imports. In fact, just to avoid duties, companies will go so far as to put bifacial panels on residential homes even though only one side of the panel is used. This is done simply to avoid duties and has the direct result of undermining Auxin's business. The same thing happened again when Auxin tried to stand up and combat the surge in panels from Southeast Asia, which consist almost entirely of Chinese content. Had these exact same panels come directly from China, they would have been subject to duties put in place by the U.S. International Trade Commission. Although others in the domestic industry wanted this circumvention loophole closed, we were the only ones willing to publicly put our name on a filing. We were immediately subjected to online harassment, cyber intrusion, and attempted physical break-ins to our facility. Our stellar Google reviews, which we use to pitch to potential employees, became single star reviews accompanied by hateful language. A website called ``ExposeAuxin.com'' was created to spread lies and disinformation about us. Against it all, we continued to have faith that the Commerce Department's quasi-judicial process would work to instill price discipline in the market and close the duty evasion loophole. But President Biden mistakenly intervened in our circumvention case because of a loud misinformation campaign lead by Chinese special interests. The resulting tariff-free holiday for all imports from Southeast Asia is bad policy because it acts as a ``get out of jail free'' card to duty evaders and sends a signal to law-abiding importers that it doesn't pay to follow the law and pay a fair price for a solar panel. Today at Auxin Solar, we're operating at a fraction of our capacity utilization because of the concerted effort to silence us and scare us into withdrawing our trade fight. Our ability to raise capital, hire new employees for expansion, and secure new sales opportunities continue to be hampered. Sherry and I are first generation immigrants. We are a minority- and woman-owned medium sized business. When politicians talk about how Washington should work better for middleclass Americans, the ``tariff holiday'' does not do that. Instead, it provides a windfall for Wall Street and doesn't give a fighting chance to American workers to compete against Chinese solar. On broad policy, we must counteract the Chinese dominance of the solar supply chain for our energy security. We should be asking ourselves whether we want the Chinese Communist Party to control our electricity grid. We should be asking ourselves if the Chinese Communist Party will stifle our ability to meet our carbon-neutral goals by imposing export restraints on key technology or halting sales of solar to the U.S. And we should be asking if we are okay with meeting our carbon objectives on the back of forced labor, from massive expansions in coal-fired power plants, and from intellectual property theft. I've been in the solar business for 15 years and solar deployment is good for business. But there are bigger issues here than quarterly profits and investor returns. This is why I strongly support your creation of the bipartisan Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, which should continue to shed light on these issues for the American people to understand. At Auxin Solar we've withstood Chinese predatory behavior for 15 years. I refuse to let the Chinese prevail and put Auxin Solar out of business. Right now we're in the midst of a major capacity expansion at Auxin Solar funded by me, Sherry, and our families. Once we have our expansion online, we would be pleased to welcome you to visit so that we can thank you in person for bringing H.J. Res. 39 to the floor for an up-or-down vote. Sincerely, Mamun Rashid, CEO.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 327, I call up the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 39) disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of Commerce relating to ``Procedures Covering Suspension of Liquidation, Duties and Estimated Duties in Accord With Presidential Proclamation 10414'', and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record an article from Politico called ``Trio of Democratic senators back resolution to undue Biden's solar tariff pause.'' [From POLITICO PRO, Apr. 26, 2023] Trio of Democratic Senators Back Resolution To Undo Biden's Solar Tariff Pause (By Kelsey Tamborrino) Three Democratic senators said Wednesday they'd vote to rescind President Joe Biden's two-year pause on new solar import tariffs from four Southeast Asian countries--raising the stakes on the measure that is set to force Democrats to weigh both trade and climate considerations. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) announced Wednesday that he'd sign on to the resolution, marking another rebuke of the Biden administration's energy agenda from the West Virginia Democrat. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) separately also said Wednesday they'd support the measure should it get a vote on the Senate floor. The House is poised to vote this week on the measure, which Biden has promised to veto should it reach his desk. The resolution would undo the president's 24-month pause on new import tariffs on solar cells and modules from Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam following the start of a Commerce Department probe that roiled the solar industry. Commerce released initial results in December that found companies were circumventing tariffs on Chinese solar equipment by routing them through the four nations. A final determination is expected next month. Lawmakers, led by Reps. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) and Bill Posey (R-Fla.) in the House and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) in the Senate, introduced a resolution to rescind the rule enacting Biden's two-year moratorium. Manchin said Wednesday he would join the Senate resolution as a co-sponsor, Scott's office and a Manchin spokesperson confirmed. While the Congressional Review Act resolution has bipartisan support in the House, it so far had only Republican cosponsors in the Senate. ``The United States relies on foreign nations, like China, for far too many of our energy needs, and failing to enforce our existing trade laws undermines the goals of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act to onshore our energy supply chains, including solar,'' Manchin said in a statement. ``I cannot fathom why the Administration and Congress would consider extending that reliance any longer and am proud to join this CRA to rescind the rule.'' Manchin on Wednesday also joined all 49 Republicans in support of a separate CRA resolution that would overturn EPA's recent rule limiting emissions of nitrogen oxides. Wyden, the chair of the Finance Committee, told reporters that he too would vote in favor of the solar resolution, should it come to a vote on the floor. ``I have told the administration that over the 10-year period, when I was writing the clean energy bill, it was always about manufacturing. Red, white and blue. Got to get the jobs here.'' he said. ``So I'm going to be supporting the manufacturing proposal.'' Brown shortly after released a statement that he was in favor of the resolution. ``My whole career--I don't care what presidents think about this--I've taken on presidents of both parties, starting with Clinton on [North American Free Trade Agreement]. And when they're wrong on trade, it costs American jobs, and this is the right decision,'' he said in an interview. The solar tariff resolution is expected to put Democrats in a tricky position, given supporters' argument that the resolution is meant to enforce U.S. trade laws and combat Chinese influence, while those opposing it argue it will undercut solar energy progress. Brown and Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania previously called on the president to terminate the two-year suspension, and Casey told POLITICO last month that he was inclined to support the resolution should it come to the floor. Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana, who has previously voted to undo another Biden rule, told POLITICO he has not yet made a decision on the solar resolution. The resolution advanced out of the House Ways and Means Committee last week with Democratic support and is poised for a floor vote later this week in the House.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Posey), the original sponsor of this resolution.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, today, we take a bipartisan step toward holding China accountable for its trade abuses. These trade abuses are well known to all of us in this Chamber. Most recently, this past December, President Biden's Department of Commerce found that China is circumventing tariffs on imports into the U.S. by shipping solar products through, not one country, not two countries, not even three countries, but in fact, four countries in Southeast Asia. These tariffs were put in place by President Obama since 2012 to provide a level playing field for American manufacturers who were facing unfair competition in the U.S. market from solar products that China was subsidizing and selling at unfairly low prices. By circumventing these tariffs by shipping its products through Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, China has set up a solar panel export scheme that cheats American workers and consumers. So we know there is wrongdoing going on. We know China is cheating. That is precisely why Members from both parties were stunned and disappointed when the White House made the misguided decision to halt for 2 years additional tariffs on Chinese solar products being sent through these four countries. At a time when China has a dominant position in solar production, despite longstanding American innovation in this sector, should we really be telling the world that there will be less accountability for unfair trade practices? The answer is not just no. Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely no. But the President's proclamation to halt any new countervailing duties and tariffs does just that. What is worse, it establishes a lesser standard of accountability for China than the rest of the world. The legislation before us today, H.J. Res. 39, Congressional Review Act legislation on solar tariffs, will stop President Biden's proclamation that has given a free pass for 2 years to unfair solar imports from China that circumvent our trade laws. The United States must maintain crucial protections for American workers and our economy as a whole. We cannot surrender to China or any other country and put American workers at a disadvantage. This resolution has bipartisan support. I thank Representative Posey for leading this initiative, and Committee on Ways and Means members Dan Kildee of Michigan, Greg Murphy of North Carolina, Bill Pascrell of New Jersey, Nicole Malliotakis of New York, and Claudia Tenney of New York. The fact that Democrats and Republicans on our committee are original cosponsors of this resolution shows just how bipartisan the issue is. We have to confront the Chinese Communist Party's bad behavior. We have to hold it accountable. Mr. Speaker, I urge votes in favor of this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Murphy).

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, this article notes that three Democratic Senators, including the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Wyden, Senator Manchin from West Virginia, and Senator Brown from Ohio, have publicly supported rescinding President Biden's action to pause tariffs on Chinese solar panels, even before the CRA has even passed the House. Mr. Speaker, I understand that at least one more Democratic Senator has also expressed support. I thank my Democratic colleagues in the House and in the Senate for joining me in standing up for American workers by supporting consistent enforcement of our trade laws against China's unfair trade practices. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta).

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a statement from the Uyghur Human Rights Project in support of H.J. Res. 39. Uyghur Human Rights Project, April 18, 2023. To the Members of the Committee: I write in strong support of H.J. Res. 39. This bipartisan bill would repeal the Biden Administration's Solar Emergency Declaration, a harmful rule issued in June 2022 that protects Chinese solar manufacturers that the Department of Commerce has determined are illegally avoiding U.S. tariffs. As you know, both the President Biden and President Trump administrations have determined that the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) is committing genocide and crimes against humanity against the Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples, including state-imposed forced labor, mass forced sterilization, and mass enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) found in its authoritative August 31, 2022 report (the ``Bachelet Report'') that the PRC is responsible for ``serious human rights violations'' that ``may constitute crimes against humanity.'' In response to the Uyghur human-rights crisis, the U.S. government has taken action to ban products made with forced labor from China, including solar equipment, among 100+ human-rights sanctions including export bans, investment bans, visa bans, and Global Magnitsky targeted human rights OFAC SDN designations. Under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which came into force on June 21, 2022, no products are exempt from the ``rebuttable presumption'' that all products mined, grown, or manufactured in the Uyghur Region are banned under Section 307 of the U.S. Tariff Act. The law is applicable regardless of the needs of particular industries or the scarcity of alternative supplies. No economic or environmental imperative can justify profits from the genocidal state-imposed forced labor of Uyghurs. The reality is that the Chinese polysilicon and solar- component industries are highly dependent on mining and manufacturing in the Uyghur homeland, using central government subsidies and incentives, and under the auspices of the government of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. In our view, it is clear that an increase in solar imports from Chinese solar manufacturers--regardless of whether these imports are from China or Chinese controlled factories in Southeast Asia--directly supports the Chinese solar industry's use of Uyghur forced labor. According to government data, imports of solar cells and modules from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam have risen 69 percent since 2019. It is unconscionable to believe that the U.S. should build a clean-energy future that relies on products made under the combination of dirty coal plants and China's genocidal forced-labor inputs. As the AFL- CIO pointed out in a major statement in October 2021, the ``solar industry and its entire value chain, should exemplify how the United States meets the climate, equity and economic challenges of the 21st century.'' It's a false choice to think we can achieve climate goals by abandoning our core values. As H.J. Res. 39 comes before the Ways and Means Committee, we urge you to support this bipartisan, common-sense measure. It is indefensible to allow Chinese solar manufacturers that profit from Uyghur forced labor to be exempted from compliance with U.S. trade law. Louisa Greve, Director of Global Advocacy.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, the statement highlights the close connection between the CCP solar industry and the ongoing human rights abuses and forced labor being perpetrated against the Uyghurs. This is bipartisan consensus that these practices are unacceptable and must be stopped. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Tenney).

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a press release from President Biden's Department of Commerce that states the Department determined in December 2022, after a thorough investigation, that Chinese solar companies are circumventing U.S. tariffs on solar products. [From U.S. Department of Commerce, Dec. 2, 2022] Department of Commerce Issues Preliminary Determination of Circumvention Inquiries of Solar Cells and Modules Produced in China (Office of Public Affairs) Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced its prelimiary determinations in the circumvention inquiries of solar cells and modules from the People's Republic of China (PRC). Commerce examined a complaint alleging that eight solar companies that manufacture solar cells and modules are manufactured the components in the PRC, then sending those cells and modules to Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and/or Vietnam for minor processing before being exported to the United States. Such actions amount to an effort to evade the existing antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) orders on solar cells and modules from the PRC. Today's preliminary determination underscores Commerce's commitment to holding the PRC accountable for its trade distorting actions, which undermine American industries. Under U.S. law, Commerce may conduct a circumvention inquiry when evidence suggests that merchandise subject to an existing AD/CVD order is completed or assembled in third countries from parts and components imported from the country subject to the order. AD/CVD orders are designed to provide relief to the U.S. domestic industries when they are facing unfair competition. Circumvention of these duties threatens to undermine American industries, workers, and businesses. After a thorough, transparent, and data-driven investigation of eight companies across the four countries, Commerce preliminarily found that four of the eight companies being investigated are attempting to bypass U.S. duties by doing minor processing in one of the Southeast Asian countries before shipping to the United States. The preliminary findings are as follows: Third Country, Company, Finding: Cambodia: BYD Hong Kong, Circumventing; New East Solar, Not Circumventing. Malaysia: Hanwha, Not Circumventing; Jinko, Not Circumventing. Thailand: Canadian Solar, Circumventing; Trina, Circumventing. Vietnam: Boviet, Not Circumventing; Vina Solar, Circumventing. Further, some companies in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam did not respond to Commerce's request for information in this investigation, and consistent with longstanding practice, will be found to be circumventing. Because Commerce preliminarily found that circumvention was occurring through each of the four Southeast Asian countries, Commerce is making a ``country-wide'' circumvention finding, which simply designates the country as one through which solar cells and modules are being circumvented from the PRC. This does not constitute a ban on imports from those countries. Companies in these countries will be permitted to certify that they are not circumventing the AD/CVD orders, in which case the circumvention findings will not apply. With regard to the companies under investigation that were not circumventing the AD/CVD duties, no action will be taken as long as their production process and supply chain do not change. These findings are preliminary, and as a next step, Commerce will conduct in-person audits in the coming months to verify the information that was the basis of its finding. Furthermore, all parties will have an opportunity to comment on Commerce's finding, which Commerce will fully consider before issuing its final determination, which is currently scheduled for May 1, 2023. Independent of Commerce's final determination, the Presidential Proclamation issued on June 6, 2022, provides that duties will not be collected on any solar module and cell imports from these four countries until June 2024, as long as the imports are consumed in the U.S. market within six months of the termination of the President's Proclamation. This provides U.S. solar importers with sufficient time to adjust supply chains and ensure that sourcing isn't occurring from companies found to be violating U.S. law. Solar cells made in one of the four Southeast Asian countries, even if made from wafers from China, that are then exported to a non-inquiry country and further assembled into modules or other products there, are not subject to Commerce's preliminary circumvention findings.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, the evidence is clear. Chinese companies have set up shop in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam to get around U.S. tariffs that were put in place in 2012 by President Obama, yet the Biden administration is turning a blind eye on American workers and American manufacturers by waiving additional tariffs while it acknowledges cheating by Chinese companies. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, we have heard a lot of comments just recently about tax provisions that helped the wealthy, the well- off, and the well-connected. Let's point out the Democrats' tax policies that we are ripping out from the roots are helping the wealthy, the well-off, and the well-connected. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record analyses from the Joint Committee on Taxation, showing that big corporations with more than $1 billion in sales receive over 90 percent of all special interest electricity subsidies, and that financial institutions receive three times more benefits from these tax credits than any other industry where the wealthy, the well-off, and the well-connected benefit. Congress of the United States Joint Committee on Taxation, Washington, DC, March 31, 2023. From: Robert Harvey. Subject: Distribution Data. This memorandum is in response to your request of March 28, 2023, for data on the distribution of claims for certain energy credits by the gross receipts of the taxpayer. Below we report the tentative claims for credit under Code section 45, the credit for electricity produced from certain renewable resources, and the tentative claims for credit under section 48, the energy investment credit, by C corporations for the 2019 tax year and 2020 tax year. The amounts reported are the tentative claims for credit before any limitation that the taxpayer might face and before any audit adjustment that might occur. For each of section 45 and section 48 we report the dollars of credit claimed categorized by gross receipts reported on line 1c of Form 1120, U.S. Corporation Income Tax Return.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, we have heard the other side numerous times today say that we need to just pick up and pass a blank-check debt limit increase. The United States Senate, which is controlled by the Democrats, couldn't even pass what President Biden and the House Democrats have been suggesting on this floor. If they could, they would have already passed it. Even Democrat Senators on the other side of the building said they will not support an absolute blank-check debt limit because they are concerned about the fiscal state of America. Today, the contrast could not be clearer. On the one hand, we have President Biden and Washington Democrats who have proposed zero solutions for getting America's fiscal house in order or addressing the inflation crisis. For months, they have delayed and denied real discussions while they fought to preserve special interest tax breaks for big banks, corporations, and the Chinese Communist Party. On the other hand, Republicans stand with working families. We have an actual plan that will rein in runaway spending to fight inflation. It will save taxpayer dollars by canceling handouts to the wealthy and big corporations, and it will grow the economy. The American people are sick and tired of business as usual in Washington. With today's vote, we are sending a message to the President: It is time to stop your reckless behavior and negotiate and stand up and talk with Congress and deliver for the American people. The American people are demanding it. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, this article found that child poverty in the U.S. has fallen by more than half, 59 percent, since the early 1990s. When President Clinton signed the 1996 welfare reform bill implementing time limits and work requirements, the far left predicted terrible effects. Twenty-five years later, these predictions have been proven wrong. The simple fact is work requirements worked. Caseloads dropped, and families moved into the workforce and left the cycle of dependency. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Biden was one of 24 Democrat Senators who voted for the 1996 welfare reform bill that President Bill Clinton signed. That bill imposed time limits and work requirements for welfare recipients. In fact, Biden's Deputy Chief of Staff was a key architect of the 1996 welfare reform bill and helped coin Clinton's pledge to end welfare as we know it. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a March 8, 2021, Politico article titled: ``Biden's welfare flip-flop,'' which points out that President Biden was once an ardent supporter of commonsense welfare reforms, including work requirements. [From POLITICO, March 8, 2021] West Wing Playbook--Biden's Welfare Flip-Flop (By Alex Thompson and Theodoric Meyer with help from Allie Bice) Joe Biden, the young senator, would be surprised at Joe Biden, the elderly president. When he first ran for president in 1988, 44-year-old Biden was one of the Democrats challenging what he called ``liberal orthodoxy'' on issues like welfare. ``Our handouts are not enough,'' Biden said at Princeton University in a May 1987 speech meant to beef up his policy profile ahead of a June campaign launch. ``Government subsidy is not the ultimate answer to the problems of the poor.'' In November 1988, he penned a column in his local Newark Post: ``We are all too familiar with the stories of welfare mothers driving luxury cars and leading lifestyles that mirror the rich and famous,'' he wrote, parroting Republican critiques of the program. ``Whether they are exaggerated or not, these stories underlie a broad social concern that the welfare system has broken down--that it only parcels out welfare checks and does nothing to help the poor find productive jobs.'' In 1996, Biden was one of 24 Democratic senators who voted for the welfare reform bill that President Bill Clinton signed, but which progressives and much of Clinton's Cabinet opposed. ``The culture of welfare must be replaced with the culture of work,'' Biden said on the Senate floor. Bruce Reed, who's now Biden's deputy chief of staff, was an architect of the legislation. He helped coin Clinton's pledge to ``end welfare as we know it.'' And yet, the first piece of major legislation Biden is poised to sign as president represents the largest expansion of the welfare state in decades. It even undoes some of the reforms Biden, the senator, helped enact. The 1996 bill, for instance, imposed time limits and work requirements on money sent to parents to support their children. Biden's American Rescue Plan would at least temporarily resume sending money directly to impoverished parents without any strings attached--and some Democrats are already pushing to make the aid permanent. The bill would also send poor and middle-class parents checks of up to $300 per child each month--a provision that the Biden team believes could dramatically cut child poverty. The legislation won't recreate the welfare system that Biden voted to reform in 1996. Instead, it will expand the existing child tax credit for poor and middle-class families alike. The credit starts phasing out at $75,000 a year for single parents and $150,000 a year for married couples. Part of Biden's evolution on welfare spending is tied to the pandemic and the massive economic hole that it has caused. But another part of it reflects the evolution the Democratic Party has undergone in recent years. Once fearful of race-baiting rhetoric on supposedly lazy ``welfare queens,'' the party now is largely unapologetic about spending money to strengthen the social safety net. ``One of the side effects of the pandemic has been to change the profile of poverty in America,'' said Robert Reich, Clinton's Labor secretary who clashed with people like Reed over the welfare reform measure. ``It's no longer just `them,' people of color, people who conservatives accuse of taking handouts. It marks a huge shift in public policy from quite punitive welfare to giving needy families money.'' White House spokesperson Michael Gwin emailed a statement saying, ``As a Senator, Joe Biden worked to make welfare reform more progressive by supporting childcare and maintaining funding for children's health and safety, and as President, Joe Biden is meeting the unique crises we face by giving children and families a financial lifeline, reopening schools safely, and securing the resources we need to defeat the virus.'' Reed declined to comment. Donald Trump, during his presidency, seemed to usher in a Republicanism that was more comfortable with spending more money on things past Republicans would have bashed as handouts. But so far Republicans in the Biden era are making a different calculation. They unanimously voted against the plan and are betting that the pandemic hasn't changed perceptions around welfare programs so completely. On the Senate floor last Friday, Sen. Mitch McConnell blasted the welfare provisions in the package for paying ``people a bonus not to go back to work when we'll be trying to rebuild our economy.'' He added that: ``There's an effort to create a brand-new, sprawling cash welfare program--not the one-time checks, but constant payments--that ignore the pro-work lessons of bipartisan welfare reform and which the White House has already stated they want to make permanent.''