Diane Black

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor Dr. Larry Mason for his devotion and service to his community. Dr. Mason began his medical practice in 1972 in Albany, Kentucky, later moving to Byrdstown Medical Center (BMC) in Tennessee where he has practiced since 1982. His many professional accomplishments include, being named Chairman of Board of Directors Livingston Regional Hospital (LRH) as well as serving for many years as Medical Director of Pickett Care and Rehabilitation.

Dr. Mason made many significant contributions to his community and will be greatly missed. He and his wife, Gina, reside in Livingston where they attend First Baptist Church, and together have three children, Luke, Lance, and Lindy, along with several grandchildren. We honor Dr. Mason today with his family, friends, and neighbors with deep gratitude for his service.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to commend Mrs. Lalania S. Vaughn for 20 years of service at Tipton-Rosemark Academy (TRA) as the Director of Fine Arts. In a career spanning two decades, Mrs. Vaughn has directed over 27 shows for the TRA Theatre Department and led the TRA choir to three Overall National Winner Awards in the Festivals of Music.

In addition to teaching, Mrs. Vaughn has been selected five times as Outstanding Music Educator in Tennessee by the Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts, served as President of the West Tennessee Vocal Music Educators Association in 2014 to 2016, and is a four time nominee for the Orpheum's Theater ``Outstanding Musical Direction Award,'' winning in 2016.

Her desire to impact her community continues to extend beyond the halls of TRA, as she is a seasoned member of the National Association for Music Education and participates as a key soloist for Bellevue Baptist Church.

It is due to the passion of servants like Mrs. Vaughn that young people across our country are equipped with the tools to follow their own dreams. I thank her today for her accomplishments and dedication to Tennessee.

Mr. Speaker, long before 2017, our Tax Code had become broken, complicated, and outdated. It no longer worked for our families or our businesses. We needed to rebuild confidence in our private sector and provide release for families. We needed to bring back America's competitive edge by giving job creators freedom from punishing high taxes. And when tax reform was signed into law last December, we accomplished that.

In our bill, we doubled the standard deduction and lowered the rate for individuals, which means that parents and families are keeping more of their money in their pockets.

We also dramatically reduced the tax rate for small businesses so they can invest in the people who keep their businesses moving. And now we want to make those cuts permanent.

The Tax Foundation estimates that implementing permanent relief will create 1.5 million new jobs and increase our GDP by 2.2 percent. Permanent tax cuts will continue to encourage the economic growth that has put our Nation back in the front of competition. It will give taxpayers room to breathe when it comes to saving for life's unexpected challenges or emergencies, and it will allow our families to save money by expanding access to new and existing savings vehicles for their children's education.

That is what tax reform is all about: allowing taxpayers to keep more money in their pockets so that they can choose what to do with their money. Americans know how to spend their money better than the government does. It is as simple as that.

I am proud of our accomplishments, because it means people can breathe easier and with confidence. But we still have work to do to ensure that our Tax Code remains competitive, innovative, and better. Tax reform is boosting our economy, and we want to add to that momentum.

So, with the bill that the Ways and Means Committee is working on, we have an opportunity to bring permanent certainty to millions of Americans, and we intend to do just that.