Gold Star Family Tax Relief Act

Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 389, I call up the bill (H.R. 1994) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to encourage retirement savings, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on H.R. 1994.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1994, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, or the SECURE Act. This is the most substantive promotion of retirement savings in the last 15 years, and we all should be pleased that we are part of it this morning.

One of my priorities since becoming chairman of the Ways and Means Committee has been helping American workers of all ages prepare for a financially secure retirement, so I am particularly pleased to be bringing this legislation to the floor this morning.

I also am very proud of the fact that I was able to collaborate with Ranking

Member Kevin Brady and our Republican colleagues in drafting this legislation. Both Republicans and Democrats have wins in this bill, and I would like to thank Mr. Brady this morning for all of his hard work in helping me to write this legislation.

Unfortunately, currently, Americans face a retirement income crisis with too many people in danger of not having enough in retirement to maintain their standard of living and avoid sliding into poverty.

Social Security benefits are modest; employer-sponsored pensions are disappearing; and too many people find it difficult to save for retirement. According to a recent study, one-third of American workers believe that they will either face a significant financial hardship during retirement or, in fact, will never retire. And the 2018 study found that almost two-thirds of workers have no retirement account assets.

The SECURE Act, which the Ways and Means Committee approved with unanimous, bipartisan votes, goes a long way in addressing this problem by making it easier for Americans to save.

For example, the SECURE Act includes a small employer automatic enrollment credit. Automatic enrollment is shown to increase employee participation and retirement savings opportunities. Our bill creates a new tax credit of up to $500 per year for employers to defray the startup costs for new 401(k) plans that include automatic enrollment.

The SECURE Act also increases the age for required minimum distributions from 70\1/2\ to 72. This age hasn't been adjusted since the 1960s. With Americans working longer, this will encourage them to continue saving.

The SECURE Act also allows long-term, part-time employees to participate in their employer's 401(k) plans. Women are more likely to work part-time than men, so this legislation is particularly important for women.

Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Murphy for her leadership here.

The bill would also make it easier for small businesses to offer retirement plans to their employees by eliminating outdated barriers to the use of multiple employer plans. As a result of this provision, it is estimated that 600,000 to 700,000 new retirement opportunities will be formed.

All of these are important, commonsense proposals that will improve our retirement system.

I also note that this bill has tremendous support from a diverse group of stakeholders: AARP, SEIU, the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement, Church Alliance, the Girl Scouts, the Boy Scouts, and the National Rural Electric Cooperative.

Finally, Madam Speaker, I want to highlight a provision that fixes an urgent problem affecting children of our fallen troops and first responders. Due to changes included in the Republicans' tax law, the amount of tax imposed on survivor benefits for children of veterans, Active Duty servicemembers, and emergency personnel increased significantly.

This bill eliminates that tax increase by repealing those changes. It also makes sure that all similar payments, like Tribal government payments to children, payments out of the Alaska Permanent Fund, and certain scholarships and fellowship grants will not be subject to this unexpected and unfair tax treatment.

These fixes could not have been accomplished without Mrs. Luria's leadership on behalf of our troops, along with many Members on both sides of the aisle who supported her efforts.

We should recognize Ms. Moore's leadership on Tribal payments and Mr. Horsford's leadership on the scholarship issue.

I am very proud that we were able to put together a bill that will help American families prepare for a financially secure retirement, and that it was done on a bipartisan basis, which we will acknowledge as the morning moves on, with significant stakeholder support.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1994, the SECURE Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from the Church Alliance.

Church Alliance,

April 1, 2019.

Hon. Richard Neal,

Chairman, House Committee on Ways and Means, Washington, DC.

Hon. Kevin Brady,

Ranking Member, House Committee on Ways and Means,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Ron Kind,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Mike Kelly,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Neal, Ranking Member Brady, Congressman Kind

and Congressman Kelly: The Church Alliance expresses our deep

gratitude for inclusion of a provision to clarify that all

church-affiliated organizations are able to participate in

church 403(b)(9) retirement plans in the recently introduced

Setting Every Community up for Retirement Enhancement

(SECURE) Act of 2019 (H.R. 1994). We are grateful for the

tremendous bipartisan work that has been done over the past

several years on retirement reform, and are hopeful Congress

will swiftly pass this legislation to ensure retirement

security for clergy, lay workers and their families across

the United States.

The Church Alliance is a coalition of the chief executive

officers of 37 church benefits boards which are affiliated

with mainline and evangelical Protestant denominations, three

Jewish groups, and some Catholic schools and institutions.

Church Alliance members provide employee benefits to

approximately one million clergy, lay workers, and their

families, serving over 155,000 churches, synagogues, and

affiliated organizations such as schools, colleges and

universities, nursing homes, children's homes, homeless

shelters, food banks, and other ministries.

Section 110 of the SECURE Act seeks to clarify a recent

positron by the Treasury Department and IRS to disregard more

than 30 years of practice, precedent, and clear statutory

language to bar employees of certain church-affiliated

organizations from participating in retirement income account

plans offered under section 403(b)(9) of the Tax Code. As a

result, employees of church-related nursing homes, daycare

centers, summer camps, preschools, colleges, universities,

hospitals, and other social service organizations stand to

lose access to the unique plan features they have come to

depend upon. In addition, the Treasury and IRS position would

cause church 403(b)(9) plans to incur significant transition

costs, which would unfortunately siphon resources away from

our core mission of supporting clergy and church lay workers

and lead to higher costs for these plan participants.

We are encouraged by the introduction of the SECURE Act and

its upcoming markup on April 2. We hope the House votes on

passage of this important legislation as soon as possible. On

behalf of the Church Alliance, thank you for your

consideration of and attention to this important matter. We

look forward to continuing to work with you to promote the

retirement security of people of faith nationwide.

Sincerely,

James F. (Jim) Sanft,

Chair of the Church Alliance.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson), who is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures.

Madam Speaker, that is one of those moments when I didn't mind the gentleman's time running over.

Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a letter of support from diverse coalitions across the country, including the Girl Scouts, the Jewish Federation, the Boy Scouts of America, the Christian Schools International, The Rural Broadband Association, and the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives.

April 1, 2019.

Charities & Co-ops Endorse ``SECURE Act'' Retirement Package--Stops

PBGC From Grossly Overcharging Our Pension Plans

We endorse the bipartisan ``SECURE Act'' retirement package

introduced by Ways & Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA),

Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-TX), and Reps. Ron Kind (D-WI)

and Mike Kelly (R-PA). The ``SECURE Act'' stops the Pension

Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) from grossly overcharging

``Cooperative and Small Employer Charity'' defined benefit

pension plans, i.e., plans covering multiple charities or

rural cooperatives (``CSEC Plans'') by including critical

provisions of H.R. 1007, the ``Retirement Enhancement and

Savings Act'' and H.R. 1993, the ``Providing Retirement

Security to Workers in Small Businesses, Cooperatives, and

Service Organizations Act'' championed by Reps. Kind and

Kelly.

Our core missions are to provide food, electricity,

broadband, and other necessities of life, educate and empower

children, care for the most vulnerable, and promote the

sustainable development of the communities in which our

millions of members, volunteers and beneficiaries live.

However, current PBGC rules designed for large ``single-

employer'' for-profit companies inappropriately require us to

divert scarce resources from our core missions. These bills

fix this inequity permanently.

The same facts that led Congress to adjust funding rules

for CSEC Plans in 2014 strongly support adjusting PBGC

premiums charged to CSEC Plans today. (See Cooperative and

Small Employer Charity Pension Flexibility Act of 2014 (Pub.

L. No. 113-97). It does not make sense for CSEC Plans to be

subject to premiums designed for large ``single-employer''

for-profit companies.

It's time to stop forcing charities and not-for-profit

cooperatives to subsidize the PBGC premiums of large

``single-employer'' companies. PBGC's own data supports

reducing premiums for CSEC Plans; in fact, PBGC projects

making more than a 3,000 percent return on CSEC plans for the

2014-2018 period.

Congress should include these provisions in any retirement

package sent to the President's desk.

Girl Scouts of the USA; UJA--Federation of New York, Inc.;

National Rural Electric Cooperative Assoc.; Boy Scouts of

America; United Benefits Group; NTCA--The Rural Broadband

Association; The Jewish Federations of North America;

Christian Schools International; Jewish United Fund/Jewish

Federation of Metropolitan Chicago; Hawkeye Insurance

Association; National Council of Farmer Cooperatives.

Madam Speaker, I acknowledge the good work that Mr. Kelly and Mr. Kind did on one very important amendment on this as well.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).

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

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Danny K. Davis).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Sanchez), who was very instrumental in the provisions that will simplify the Form 5500 filing process for small business.

Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a letter of support for the SECURE Act from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

National Association of

Insurance Commissioners,

May 7, 2019.

Hon. Richard E. Neal,

Chairman, Ways and Means Committee, House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Kevin Brady,

Ranking Member, Ways and Means Committee, House of

Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Neal and Ranking Member Brady: On behalf of

the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC),

we would like to express our support for H.R. 1994, the

Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement

(SECURE) Act. Recognizing the retirement savings crisis that

exists in the United States, state insurance regulators have

worked to make improvements to regulation and guidance

impacting product delivery, compliance, and innovation of

insurance products designed to help mitigate this crisis

under the NAIC Retirement Security Initiative. Given the

unique products and features of our sector, state insurance

regulators have embraced a broader public policy

responsibility to not only ensure consumers remain protected

by a solvent industry, but to help foster an environment

where they have greater flexibility and more options to take

informed steps to secure their retirement. The SECURE Act is

aligned with the goals of this initiative as it seeks to

provide greater consumer options for retirement plans.

Several of the provisions contained in the SECURE Act also

complement our own consumer financial literacy and disclosure

efforts and will make it easier for consumers to save for

retirement. First, the legislation makes it easier for

consumers to engage in a tax-free rollover of an annuity to

another employer-sponsored retirement plan or IRA and avoid

surrender charges and fees, making these products more

portable and providing consumers more flexibility. Second,

the bill would encourage plan participants to think in terms

of lifetime income by requiring benefit statements to break

down the total account balance into estimates of monthly

annuity income at least once a year. Third, the legislation

makes it easier for ERISA plan sponsors to select companies

to offer annuity products by creating a safe harbor that

relies on the conservative solvency regime of the state

insurance regulatory system, which is specifically designed

to ensure that an insurance company's obligations will be met

both today and many years into the future.

We applaud your leadership in this effort to assist savers

in making more-informed decisions to prepare for their

retirement and allowing defined contribution plans to become

a more effective vehicle for providing lifetime income.

Sincerely,

Eric A. Cioppa,

NAIC President, Superintendent, Maine Bureau of Insurance.

David Altmaier,

NAIC Vice President, Commissioner, Florida Office of

Insurance Regulation.

Michael F. Consedine,

Chief Executive Officer, National Association of Insurance

Commissioners.

Raymond G. Farmer,

NAIC President-Elect, Director, South Carolina Department

of Insurance.

Dean L. Cameron,

NAIC Secretary-Treasurer, Director, Idaho Department of

Insurance.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind), who was very instrumental in provisions which will help small businesses sponsor retirement plans, including multiple-employer plans.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), chairman of the Trade Subcommittee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. DelBene), who was very instrumental in the provisions providing pension funding relief for community newspapers and home healthcare workers as they attempt to maintain their retirement plans.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore), who was a leader on the kiddie tax issue addressing Tribal distributions.

Will the gentlewoman yield?

Madam Chair, I yield myself 30 seconds.

I want to thank the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore) for her support of the bill before us and her leadership on addressing the unfair tax that has plagued Tribes making taxable distributions to their children and young adults.

The kiddie tax was enacted to prevent wealthy families from shifting family income to minor children.

The rationale for this new law does not apply to funds distributed by Indian Tribal governments because Indian Tribes are not taxable entities and their distributions could never be intended for the purpose of a tax deduction.

The Ways and Means Committee will work to address this problem, with the goal of excluding such Tribal government distributions from the kiddie tax provisions.

Madam Speaker, I yield 15 seconds to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore).

Madam Speaker, how much time is remaining on both sides?

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Schneider), who is very knowledgeable about retirement issues.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Suozzi).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Beyer) and thank the gentleman for his valuable work on the kiddie tax issue that affects the children of fallen first responders.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Murphy), who was instrumental on a provision allowing long-term, part-time workers to participate in 401(k) plans.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson), who was very instrumental on a provision related to benefits to volunteer firefighters and emergency medical responders.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott). Chairman Bobby Scott is responsible for a number of very important provisions in this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Malinowski).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Luria) and thank her particularly for her critical leadership in preventing an unfair and unexpected tax burden from being imposed on the children of our fallen soldiers.

Madam Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman from Virginia an additional 1 minute.

Madam Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close. I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

As I close, I want to take a moment to celebrate this truly bipartisan process that brought this legislation to the floor today.

First, I want to thank the Democratic members and Republican members of the Committee on Ways and Means, and, in particular, I want to thank Mr. Brady for his good work along the way.

I also want to acknowledge that there is more work to be done in the leadership space in terms of retirement savings, and I am hopeful that we will be able to do that as well.

Let me acknowledge Mr. Roe, Mrs. Trahan, Mrs. McMorris Rodgers, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Mr. Walberg, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Banks, Mr. Pocan, Mr. Budd, Mrs. Luria, and Mr. Bacon.

Certainly, as I come down the home stretch in closing, I want to acknowledge much of the good work that has taken place by staff members on both sides as well. But let me cite on the Democratic side, if I could--this was a pretty big bill, and it required a team effort. The Democratic staff, including Kara Getz, Andrew Grossman, Beth Bell, Aruna Kalyanam, Mary Petrovic, and Lee Slater all did yeomen and

yeowomen's work in making sure that we would get to this day.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, for nearly 2 years, Republicans have been advocating for policies that help our families and Main Street businesses save more and save earlier for the future.

Following the historic rewrite of our Tax Code, Republicans knew the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was only step one. We knew that we changed the trajectory of our economy with our reforms.

Today in America, we are growing 50 percent faster than the Obama administration projected. Wages are surging for blue-collar workers and low-income workers for the first time in a decade, and our job market continues to be the envy of the world.

These are all encouraging signs, and Republicans are committed to building on this success for years to come, which is why last year, we set out to change the culture in Washington, where we only do, it seems, tax reform once a generation.

In Tax Reform 2.0, we passed three bills that offered permanent tax relief for families and small businesses, sparked American innovation, and went further and enhanced retirement and savings vehicles for our workers and our local, mainstream businesses.

That effort, the Family Savings Act, was led by Representative Mike Kelly.

Those reforms passed on a bipartisan basis, and our retirement proposals passed the U.S. House of Representatives not once but twice.

Unfortunately, time ran out on the calendar before we were able to get these reforms to the President's desk. But I was greatly encouraged earlier this year when Chairman Neal reached out to say he was committed to getting retirement-focused legislation signed into law this year. This area, retirement savings, is one that Chairman Neal has worked on for much of his career.

Right away, he and I, and many members of our committee worked together to develop the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, the SECURE Act, we debate today.

The SECURE Act builds well on the work that Republicans have championed throughout this Congress and the last. Our bipartisan legislation makes it easier for Main Street businesses to offer retirement plans for their workers by making it simpler, easing administrative burdens, and cutting down on unnecessary and often costly paperwork.

We make it easier for them to join together to pool their resources to offer these plans. We offer local businesses the flexibility to tailor retirement plans to best fit their workers, not necessarily what Washington may need.

Additionally, our reforms help Americans not only save earlier in their careers, but it helps families save longer, as well.

We know for a fact that people are choosing to work longer today than in previous generations. Our Tax Code should reflect that, which is why we make smart, needed changes to reflect today's workforce.

First, the age limit for contributing to IRAs is removed, as it should be.

Second, we increase the minimum age for forcing people to spend their savings from 70\1/2\ to 72 years of age. My hope is, someday, we can we remove it completely. We want Americans to save throughout their lifetime and use those savings when they need it most, not when Washington needs it.

This legislation is prowork and, equally as important, our bill is also profamily.

For the first time, we allow what we call the new baby savings provision. We allow parents to access their own retirement accounts on a penalty-free basis to use when welcoming a new child into their homes, whether by birth or adoption. This works well for working parents and stay-at-home parents, as well. It is allowed to be used for the things you need, whether it is medical equipment, medical expenses, or if you need to spend time at home with your new child in those opening weeks. We know all that is so important.

The bill also expands 529 plans to make sure you can use, tax-free, your savings for apprenticeships or to pay down college debt.

Our legislation lowers taxes for Gold Star families, ensuring that children of our fallen heroes have the certainty they deserve. This provision was first made public in 2014 in a draft that was widely praised by Democrats and Republicans alike.

It was brought to us by the Joint Committee on Taxation to make it simpler for families to file their kids' taxes and also to close some tax loopholes for the wealthy. Unfortunately, over 5 years, with scrutiny by both parties, tax experts, and the Joint Committee on Taxation, we still did not see one unintended consequence.

In this bill, we worked together, Republicans and Democrats, to make sure we honor our Gold Star families.

The time is right for these reforms. Workers' paychecks are rising; inflation is low; and businesses are expanding. What better opportunity to help folks save for the future?

Chairman Neal deserves a great deal of credit. The bill we brought to the Rules Committee earlier this week cleared our committee nearly unanimously. Members of the Progressive Caucus, Freedom Caucus, New Democrats, Problem Solvers, and Republican Study Committee, we all voted ``yes'' on these reforms.

This is a rare occurrence in Washington, and it speaks to what a committee can accomplish when we work together on reforms to positively impact our families and economy.

I have to admit, it is incredibly troubling that special interests-- in this case, teachers unions--forced changes on our bipartisan bill for absolutely no good reason at the eleventh hour.

These special interest groups forced Democrats to block two provisions.

One allows parents to use their educational savings tax-free for the expenses of homeschooling. Nearly 2.5 million families use parent- centered, child-centered homeschooling as the best way for their children to reach their potential. It is all types of Americans and becoming more mainstream. It is Christians and Jews and Muslims. It is all races. It is parents whose kids are exceptionally bright and parents whose kids have learning disabilities and severe special needs. That is why that was in the bill.

The second provision that was blocked would allow families with kids in grades kindergarten through 12 to use savings for books, tutors, and educational therapies for students who may need it, such as those with learning disabilities. How many of us in this Chamber have kids with special needs and learning disabilities, some with mental and physical challenges? This would have allowed our parents to save tax-free and to help their kids with the special tools they need to reach their full potential.

I want to talk a little more about this in the future, but my bottom line is that backdoor deals made in the dead of night without bipartisan knowledge or support are not the way to do business.

Nonetheless, as we begin the debate on this bill, I am very encouraged by the underlying bill we have in front of us. It will greatly benefit our workers. It deserves strong support, and I am asking my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support these reforms.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly), who has helped lead many of these retirement reforms.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Holding), a key member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith), a member of the Ways and Means Committee, who has been a champion for expanding education savings accounts for Americans.

Madam Speaker, I am very proud to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Schweikert), a key member of our committee who worked on this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Estes), one of our new members of the Ways and Means Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Smith).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg), who has worked on retirement and pension issues for many years.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Wagner), a leader who has worked for working moms and our veterans.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds.

Madam Speaker, I want to recognize those who worked in a bipartisan way to address the Gold Star issue: Representatives Bacon, Diaz-Balart, Herrera Beutler, Holding, Marchant, Wagner, Waltz, and Wenstrup.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Waltz), a veteran, a Green Beret, and a new Member of Congress.

Madam Speaker, I am very proud to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy), the leader for Republicans of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

I reserve the balance of my time, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds.

Madam Speaker, how sad it is that some are trying to make this a partisan, petty measure.

The truth is, in 2014, in an original draft of tax reform, this provision was included by the Joint Committee on Taxation to simplify the Tax Code and to stop tax loopholes. That draft was praised by my Democratic colleagues, by Mr. Neal, Mr. Kind, and Mr. Thompson.

In over 5 years, no one spotted this unintended consequence. When it surfaced, Republicans and Democrats came together immediately and resolved to not just fix it but to make it retroactive.

Why make this a petty, partisan issue? Our Gold Star parents deserve better.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am proud that, last session, Republicans and Democrats came together to pass a retirement security bill not once but twice because we knew how important this was. I was chairman, and I was proud to help lead that effort.

This year, I am the proudest leader of the Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee to work with Chairman Neal again to make it even better to try to help families save.

But I am disappointed in the process after it left the committee, through no fault of Chairman Neal's.

Just 2 months ago, we heard Democratic lawmakers sit in that seat and say they will work to restore the people's faith that government works in the public's interest. They said they will pass laws and make sure our government acts in the best interests of the American people, not entrenched special interests.

It is unfortunate that every word there was stomped on this week by special interest groups that forced our Democratic friends to make changes to a bill that would help children and parents with costs associated with schools.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act allowed parents to save tax-free for schools from kindergarten through 12th grade, and these bipartisan reforms that were stripped from this bill would have allowed parents to use their education savings dollars for homeschooling and additional kindergarten through 12 expenses at public, private, and religious schools.

This is money the families could have used for books, online education material, tutoring, AP classes, university exams, and educational therapies for students, including for kids with disabilities.

Every parent blessed with a special needs child or one who struggles to keep up in school knows the constant search to find the right learning tools, the effective therapies, and the trained tutors to help their challenged children learn.

Apparently, for our teachers' union, that was wrong. They moved effectively to block the ability of parents to help their kids, whether they are gifted, whether they have learning disabilities, whether they need that tutor, or whether a child is severely challenged, mentally and physically, and needs that help.

What do we have to fear from parents who want to help their kids and use their own dollars for it?

What would our Nation be if denied the genius of Steven Spielberg who overcame dyslexia as a child or CNN anchor Anderson Cooper whose parents hired a special instructor to help him overcome his learning disabilities?

Where we would be without business leaders like Steve Jobs, Charles Schwab, Richard Branson, or Henry Ford, all with learning disabilities, all who have made amazing contributions to our country?

Blocking these provisions is not proeducation, and there is no way it is prochild.

It is beyond me how an education association can oppose parents using their own savings to help their child reach their highest potential. But I don't fault them. I fault the lawmakers who are beholden to them, who removed these provisions.

This bill deserves support, and I will strongly support it, but I am terribly disappointed.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Before I begin, I want to thank both sides. I want to thank the chairman and I want to thank the ranking member, not for the bill that is on the floor today but for the bill that was put out of committee.

When we look across the country, we see division. Very seldom can we ever find a bill that gets every Democrat's and every Republican's support, but that is what we look for, that committees can work together.

The whole reason bills go through committees before they come to the floor is this is where the expertise is, this is where the debates happen, this is where it is combined together.

But now I want to apologize to the chairman. I don't know what the gentleman's leadership did or why. But why would they change the moment that we have for the country to see something that they haven't seen in a while? Why would they do something that a chairman and a ranking member and every member on that committee, regardless of where they come from across this country, regardless of party, agreed to?

Special interest has power. Special interest is more powerful than the members who are in that committee with the expertise. Special interest is more powerful than Members of Congress finding common ground. Special interest is more powerful with the leadership on the other side.

They should not treat their Members this way. They should not treat America this way.

So let's talk about this bill. Because what it really goes to is, how powerful is this special interest, and who are they hurting?

Many parents choose to use a 529 savings account to help them save money for their children's education. We all agree on each side of the aisle that the most important thing that happens when you have a child is the opportunity that they will have. It is no longer about what you will become; it is what your children's opportunities will be.

We all agree that education is the great equalizer. It doesn't matter where a person grows up or what side of the street they live on, but education will give everybody that opportunity.

As a Republican leader, when I watched this committee work, I was proud. I was proud of both sides. I was proud that they were able to come together. And where they came together was on 529 accounts. These plans allow them to invest in a tax-free account, incur interest, and spend it on educational expenses like tuition.

For many years, these accounts only applied to college-related expenses, but, today, thanks to the Republican-led tax reform law in 2017, families can now use those funds to pay K-12 costs too.

Because why would we want to hurt somebody? Maybe they were in a bad school district or have other reasons. We want everybody in America to have that opportunity. That was a big win for all families--Republican, Democrat, Green Party, didn't matter.

Under current law, 529 savings accounts cannot be used for K-12 book costs, tutoring expenses for when kids fall behind and we want them to be able to catch up, fees for college admission exams--anybody that has a child at that age knows how much is spent on all of the exams--or to pay for educational therapy for students with disabilities.

Wouldn't everybody want to help that child with disabilities? I believe so. The action of the committee proved that. Every Democrat in the committee said that, and every member on the Republican side said that. I was proud of that.

But, unfortunately, special interest has more power. This is why, to me, I have real concerns on this bill. The official bill report is fantastic, what came out of committee. But when it got to the Democrat leadership, I guess they had different plans.

Now, I shouldn't be shocked, because I was sitting in this well last week with the same dilemma. Another committee, Energy and Commerce, was dealing with a really important issue, much like what we are dealing with today, prescription drugs. And what happened was that both sides agreed on how to make prescription drug prices lower and give Americans more options, and they all voted for it. But it went right through that leadership, Madam Speaker, on the other side, and special interest won again. They put a poison pill in, so that will never become law.

Madam Speaker, because special interest pressured this leadership to change this bill, it says something. To me, it says three things very clearly.

It seems to me that the Democratic leadership is not the same Democratic leadership that I knew in the past. There are people on the other side of the aisle who call themselves Socialist Democrats. It seems to me that they want institutions, not individuals, to be focused on education funding. They want partisan interests, not parents, to decide how children learn. And they want the Federal Government, not families, to have control over their money.

But that is not what the American people want. The American people want exactly what happened in that committee, exactly the power that brought all the Republicans and all the Democrats together. They don't want special interests to continue to run this House.

The committee proved they could stand up. Whom did they stand up for? Those who need it the most: the parents of children with disabilities, leveling the playing field so every child has an opportunity when it comes to education.

Of all the issues that could divide us, Madam Speaker, I don't understand why the leadership did that to the Ways and Means Committee. I don't think that is right for the work that the chairman and the ranking member put in. We deserve better. We displayed that we could be better. Unfortunately, special interests won over the parents, and that is wrong.

Madam Speaker, we are all in Congress because we see room for improvement in America, especially for our servicemembers, veterans, and our military families. As a 20-year Navy veteran myself, I know it is not just the brave men and women who fight for America, but also the families who support them every step of the way.

When Gold Star widows from Virginia Beach contacted me about how their tax bills jumped thousands of dollars as a result of the 2000 tax law, I knew I had to do something. That is why I took action to introduce the bipartisan Gold Star Family Tax Relief Act, which fixes the unintended tax hike that many Gold Star families experienced.

A number of families across our coastal Virginia district have shared their stories about how this tax law changed their lives. One woman, the widow of a Navy SEAL killed in Afghanistan, saw the taxes on her son's benefits rise by $4,000 in 2018, another by $6,000, and another by $2,500.

What this tax bill did to Gold Star families was wrong, but I have been heartened to see so many of my colleagues join me in a bipartisan effort to right these wrongs. As of today, we have 155 cosponsors and received endorsements of 20 veterans service organizations.

Madam Speaker, with this momentum, we can fix a problem for so many heroic families and ensure security for their benefits.

I include in the Record a letter signed by 20 veterans service organizations in support of the Gold Star family tax provisions included within the SECURE Act.

May 22, 2019.

Hon. Elaine Luria,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Congresswoman Luria: As leaders of the major veterans,

military, and survivor organizations, we are pleased to offer

our support for H.R. 2481, the Gold Star Family Tax Relief

Act.

Surviving spouses of service members who die in the line of

duty and military retirees who die from service-connected

wounds, illnesses, or injuries are entitled to Dependency and

Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits from the Department of

Veterans Affairs. Survivors who paid into the Department of

Defense Survivor Benefits Plan (SBP) have a dollar-for-dollar

offset of their SBP benefits by the amount of DIC benefits.

To avoid the SBP/DIC offset, surviving spouses often sign

over SBP benefits to their children to ensure the family

receives both earned benefits.

Due to a recent change in tax law, known as the ``Kiddie

Tax,'' Gold Star families who were formerly obligated to pay

12 to 15 percent in taxes on their earned benefits are now

being taxed up to 37 percent, leaving them thousands of

dollars in tax debt. This important bill would rightfully

repeal the Kiddie Tax and reinstate military survivor

benefits to the previous tax rate.

Thank you again for your leadership on this issue. We look

forward to working with you and your staff to pass this

important legislation immediately.

Sincerely,

Robert Wallace, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United

States; Bonnie Carroll, Tragedy Assistance Program for

Survivors; Harriet Boyden, Gold Star Wives of America; Joseph

R. Chenelly, AMVETS; Louis Celli, The American Legion; Joyce

Wessel Raezer, National Military Famiy Association; Dana T.

Atkins, Military Officers Association of America; Carl Blake,

Paralyzed Veterans of America; Keith A. Reed, Air Force

Sergeants Association; John Cho, AMSUS, the Society of

Federal Health Professionals.

James T. Currie, Commissioned Officers Assn. of the US

Public Health Service, Inc; Norman Rosenshein, Jewish War

Veterans of the USA; Vincent Patton III, Non Commissioned

Officers Assn. of the United States of America; Randy Reid,

USCG Chief Petty Officers Assn.; Jeff J. Schloesser, Army

Aviation Association of America; Christopher Cole,

Association of the United States Navy; Carol Setteducato,

Chief Warrant Officers Association of the US Coast Guard;

Thomas ``LPM'' Howlett, Marine Corps Reserve Association;

Kenneth Greenberg, The Retired Enlisted Association; Brian

Dempsey, Wounded Warrior Project.

Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to vote for the SECURE Act and, in doing that, fix this tax problem that has impacted so many of our Gold Star families across the Commonwealth of Virginia and the country.

Madam Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Brady for yielding. I am so used to calling him chairman, but I look across the aisle to my great friend Richard Neal, who is chairman right now, and I thank him so much for bringing this up today.

Madam Speaker, I enter into the Record a letter in support of the SECURE Act from AARP.

Madam Speaker, this is an unusual day. In many cases, it is providential, as we look on the eve of the time that we take to honor our fallen war dead.

Some people confuse it with the beginning of summer or the opening of our swimming pools. It has nothing to do with that.

But the fact that we can talk today about the SECURE Act--and when you talk about ``secure,'' what does ``secure'' mean? It means giving you certainty, making you assured, and making something reliable, something dependable, something that is fixed, something that is established, and something that is solid and sound.

What we are doing today is acting in the best interests of the American people. We are doing it in the people's House at a time when the rest of the Nation looks at us and asks, ``Isn't there anything they can do together to help the American people?''

When I go home, I say, yes, there is. I have a great friend from Wisconsin, Ron Kind, and we feel the same way. I talked with Mr. Brady about it, and we feel the same way. I have talked with Mr. Neal about it, and we feel the same way.

Today's effort is adding security in retirement years for every American, the opportunity to go into those golden years with a little gold in their pockets so that they can get through it, giving them peace of mind in being able to lay their heads on the pillows at night feeling safe and secure, knowing that they have prepared for their retirements.

There are many other pieces to this bill. We have talked about the provisions to the Gold Star program. So if something was wrong, we made it right.

The 529 programs give people the opportunity to actually save and allocate money for the education of their children.

It may not be in a 4-year college. Maybe it is a vocational opportunity. But it is there. It is their money, and they should be able to use it the way they want to use it.

I just said earlier about it being providential, and I mean that sincerely. There will be a few times today that the American people will look at us and say: They really have our best interests at heart. They really go to work every day thinking that they are not representing themselves but representing us, the American people.

When I look at this piece of legislation, I know how hard we worked with the chairman to get it through in the past sessions. We almost got it there but didn't quite get it there.

Madam Speaker, I say to Chairman Neal, we are getting there. We are getting there. And I say to Mr. Kind, we are getting there.

I just think that it is such a fantastic opportunity to show the American people who we really are and what we really do and where our hearts really lie.

There are so many people who worked on this. Also, the staff. I thank Kara for doing the work that she has done. I always call her my girl Friday. In our office, Lori Prater. They all work so closely together. I wish the American people could see the camaraderie, could see how well we work together, and could understand that our concerns and their concerns are the same.

I am saying today that the SECURE Act gives us that opportunity. The time for the American people and retired people is just beginning, and we have blue skies and strong winds on our backs.

Madam Speaker, I wish everybody the best Memorial Day ever, and let's not forget our fallen heroes.