Floor Statements

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

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to join with my friend, Chairman Rich Neal, in jointly reintroducing SECURE 2.0, which will help hardworking Americans approach retirement with both confidence and dignity.

For 5 years now, members of the Committee on Ways and Means have worked tirelessly together to ensure Americans have the resources to save for a secure retirement. A lot of hard work and negotiation has gotten us to this point, and I am grateful to Chairman Neal for his commitment to get this bill across the finish line to the President's desk.

It is important to remember how far we have come in our joint efforts to help Americans better prepare for their long-term financial goals. Following the historic rewrite of our Tax Code with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Republicans moved toward building on this success for years to come.

That happened when the Republicans and Democrats worked together to develop and enact the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, known as the SECURE Act, the most significant retirement legislation to become law in over a decade.

We made it easier for Main Street businesses to offer retirement plans to their workers by easing administrative burdens, cutting down on unnecessary and often costly paperwork.

The SECURE Act made significant improvements to our country's retirement system. And today, we will do even more.

A recent AARP survey found that rising prices are taking a big toll on workers, making it difficult to cover everyday expenses or save for the future. In fact, with a 40-year high inflation, nearly a quarter of workers surveyed reported that their financial situation is worse today than it was last year.

A study also found that nearly 40 percent of workers said that they have no emergency savings, with one out of five reporting they have nothing saved for retirement. Nothing.

Both groups peg rising prices of everyday goods as the biggest barrier for planning for their financial future.

Ensuring Americans have the resources they need for a prosperous retirement is a bipartisan priority. And with American families' paychecks falling further behind through rising prices, it has really never been more important for Congress to help workers get back on track with their retirement plans.

With this bill we build on the landmark provisions in the SECURE Act, enabling more workers, especially those with low income and modest income, to begin saving earlier and giving them piece of mind as they plan for the future.

Our bill, SECURE 2.0 improves workers' long-term financial wellbeing by helping more Americans save for retirement at every stage of their life. SECURE 2.0 contains more than 20 provisions sponsored or cosponsored by Republicans and Democrats in standalone legislation.

By providing flexibility, for example, we make it easier for local businesses to tailor retirement plans to best fit the needs of their workers. These reforms help Americans not only save earlier in their careers, but helps families save longer as well.

We expand access to workplace retirement by increasing the incentives for businesses, especially small businesses, to create new plans or join groups of plans while sharing the cost of administration.

To further help small businesses shoulder the burden of creating a new plan, our bill matches employer contributions with the new business tax credit. That can help a small business match up to the first $1,000 in matching contributions for that work.

For those Americans who are further along in their career or already in retirement, this bill raises the amount these workers can contribute to catch up on their retirement savings as they near retirement, doubling it to $10,000 a year. Because we want Americans to save throughout their lifetime, together we increase the age at which retirement plan distributions become mandatory to age 75 over time from 72 today.

These changes are especially important because many workers find themselves making more at the end of their careers and are more open to focusing on retirement. Those already in retirement often worry about the effects of mandatory taxable distributions on their long-term financial plans.

Another recent study by Edward Jones and Morning Consult found 57 percent of Americans who prioritize paying off a student loan are now behind on their schedule on saving for retirement. Our bill allows employers to essentially match their workers' student loan repayments with contributions to the workers' retirement plan.

This means from workers struggling to make ends meet under crushing student debt and rising prices, they are able to tackle both, paying off their debt and getting help in working toward a secure retirement.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Neal and the members of the Ways and Means Committee from both parties for their long-term and diligent efforts. Together, we will ensure more hardworking Americans are confident in their retirement.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Smith), the Republican leader of the Trade Subcommittee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Schweikert).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Estes).

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

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

Madam Speaker, I have a few more.

Madam Speaker, I am really proud to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Murphy).

Madam Speaker, first, I include in the Record a number of letters and documents in support of SECURE 2.0.

Among a litany of letters advocating for swift passage, there are four I would like to include. These letters are led by the Employee- owned S Corporations of America, the American Benefits Council, the American Retirement Association, and the Investment Company Institute, all of which were invaluable members in crafting this bipartisan legislation.

Employee-Owned

S Corporations of America,

Washington, DC, March 24, 2022.

Hon. Richard Neal,

Chairman, Committee on Ways & Means,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Kevin Brady,

Ranking Member, Committee on Ways & Means,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Neal and Ranking Member Brady: Employee-Owned

S Corporations of America (``ESCA'') applauds your efforts to

advance the bipartisan Securing a Strong Retirement Act. We

are particularly supportive of the inclusion of a key

provision reflecting themes of legislation introduced by

Committee members Ron Kind and Jason Smith to encourage the

creation of more private, employee-owned businesses. We thank

you for recognizing the value of S corporation ESOPs to

worker retirement savings, and for reflecting that

recognition in your important legislation.

ESCA is the national voice for employee-owned S

corporations, and its exclusive mission is to preserve and

promote employee-owned S corporations and the benefits

provided to their employee-owners. Most S corporation

employee stock ownership plans (``S ESOPS'') are 100-percent

owned by their employees. Our S ESOP companies engage in a

broad spectrum of business activities ranging from

manufacturing to construction to playing critical supporting

roles such as retail grocery stores and other essential

functions to America's infrastructure.

As you know well, S corporation ESOPs were created 25 years

ago with significant bipartisan support from Congress. Today

S ESOPs accomplish exactly what Congress intended: they

create jobs, generate economic activity, and promote

retirement savings.

Both specifically for S ESOP employees and more generally,

your bill will increase retirement savings opportunities at a

time when more than 30 percent of Americans do not have

access to a workplace retirement plan and 20 percent of

Americans have no retirement savings at all. By contrast, we

note, the vast majority of S ESOP companies offer their

workers two retirement plans--typically the ESOP plus a

401(k). This focus on retirement security is a hallmark of

employee-owned companies.

A new study conducted by the National Center for Employee

Ownership found that, heading into and during the pandemic,

employees at S ESOP companies had greater job retention and

retirement security, including more than twice the average

total retirement savings of Americans who work at non-ESOP

companies.

We appreciate you recognizing the value of having more S

corporation ESOP companies and look forward to working with

you to continue to identify more ways to enable more working

Americans to be employee-owners.

Thank you for your leadership.

Sincerely,

Stephanie Silverman,

President and CEO.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Actually, never make that offer to a sitting Member of Congress.

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

This has been awfully good work on behalf of the bipartisan Members of Congress on an issue they believe in. But Chairman Neal and I are both blessed to have incredibly hardworking personnel, a professional team.

Madam Speaker, I thank Payson Peabody and Derek Theurer, from our tax subcommittee team, for the work that they put in, along with Chairman Neal's folks, to develop this legislation, fine-tune the legislation, make adjustments as it comes to the floor, and, again, put it in the format and with the right designs that we think will do great things for the American people and American workers.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

I think one of the things I am most proud of in this legislation began almost 2 years ago. After the passage of the SECURE Act, Chairman Neal and I sat down on the floor talking about what more we could do to help people save for retirement.

What we both talked about is what everyone knows exists, the savings gap, and what little is being done to address it. This is the gap of how many Americans will spend their lifetime and save virtually nothing. When it is time to retire, their retirement isn't in their hands. It is all owed to government or other help.

We decided we would do the hard work to try to engage millions of Americans. We know who they are. They don't make lots of money. It is low income or moderate income. They usually work for a very small business. They are the toughest to be able to begin getting into that savings environment.

We designed this bill to really focus on those who have not saved in the past and, unless we do something differently, were not going to be saving for the future.

That is why so much of this bill is designed around them. That is why we help small businesses set up plans.

Here is what we know, Madam Speaker. To have a secure retirement, we need to make sure a business offers a plan.

Secondly, we need to make sure that worker is part of that plan.

Thirdly, we need to have those contributions matched.

Fourthly, you need to save more over time as your income increases.

This bill really takes significant steps to make sure small businesses are offering those plans and get help matching those first thousand dollars.

We use the saver's credit, which is pretty unused these days, and muscle it up, make it more available to help those with low income provide those first dollars.

Then, we make the changes so it is easier for small businesses to either start their own plan or pool with others, as we did in the SECURE Act, all of which we think are the elements to close that saver's gap and give Americans who really had no chance to save an opportunity to do that.

That is what, in my view, is the importance of this legislation, why I am proud of the work.

Chairman Neal and the Republican and Democrat members of our committee worked together beautifully on this bill. I think this is an important one that I urge the Senate to take up and pass as well.

Madam Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen), and I ask unanimous consent that he may control the remainder of the time.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to congratulate the H.E.A.R.T.S. Veterans Museum in Huntsville, Texas, as it dedicates its replica of the Vietnam Wall Memorial. This wall is a powerful and emotional reminder of our fallen soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice valiantly defending human life and freedom in the Vietnam War.

The H.E.A.R.T.S. Veterans Museum represents a three-decade commemorative community effort born from a humble window front display. Who knew that a single patriotic gesture would result in a permanent museum preserving the names and memories of the men and women who did not make it home from the battlefields of Vietnam.

The museum began as a traveling student education program, but the mission of H.E.A.R.T.S. quickly brought the community together. The permanent location in Huntsville opened its doors on Veteran's Day in 2009. Spurred by one respectful and reflective gesture, this effort by the Huntsville community truly exemplifies the H.E.A.R.T.S. mission to Help Every American Remember Through Serving.

Today, the H.E.A.R.T.S. Veterans Museum is a living time capsule that showcases, salutes, and immortalizes our nation's heroes and their contributions. Veterans are the heartbeat of freedom, and this addition will serve as a powerful reminder that our freedom is not free.

I am proud to congratulate the H.E.A.R.T.S. museum on the completion of their replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. This 370-foot-long, eight-foot-tall replica serves to honor our veterans who stepped up to the call of duty and gave their lives for the sake of liberty and justice for all. Their names, forever carved in stone, represent a small token of our gratitude and deep appreciation for their sacrifice. Families and veterans from across Texas and neighboring states can visit this wall to honor the 2,700,000 men and women who served in the Vietnam War.

I am proud to join my community to recognize the dedication of this deeply moving memorial and congratulate the H.E.A.R.T.S. Veterans Museum on all the work they have done to honor the brave service members, living and deceased, who fought in the Vietnam War.

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

Madam Speaker, yesterday, President Zelenskyy made a passionate plea to the United States and all free nations to stand with the brave people of Ukraine against Putin's deadly ambitions and heartbreaking genocide.

After showing gut-wrenching footage of Ukrainian cities torn apart by missiles and machine guns, he said to be the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

Today, Madam Speaker, we have the opportunity to lead, and I thank Chairman Neal for his great leadership and work on this bipartisan provision.

After bipartisan public pressure from lawmakers in Congress in both parties, President Biden announced his support for suspending Russia's special trade status. We are taking that action with today's bill.

I was proud to have helped lead this bipartisan effort in the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee. Both parties in Congress came together quickly, working in good faith on a bipartisan and bicameral agreement to immediately ban purchases of Russian energy and suspend our trading relationship with Russia and Belarus.

We don't take these steps lightly, but Russia's aggression requires this approach.

Russia will no longer enjoy the same special trade status with America as the country it is invading, so it will no longer be able to sell made-in-Russia products in the United States at lower tariffs.

Combined with the energy import ban Congress passed last week, which targets 60 percent of what Russia sells us, this provision targets the remaining 40 percent, hurting Russia's economy and cutting off funding for its war effort.

Said another way, American dollars will no longer fund Russia's war machine. This is another step in the right direction and includes further incentives for Russia to end its aggression.

This bill includes tough conditions to be met for restoring Russia's trade status, including Russian action to end hostilities, protecting the freedom and sovereignty of Ukraine, and ensuring the end of Russia's aggression.

The same tough conditions apply if the President seeks to end the energy import ban, and I plan to work with colleagues in the Senate to achieve that.

Going forward, we must continue to work closely with our allies to increase

pressure on Russia and ensure this is an effective global effort. Neighboring Canada has also taken serious action to do both of these, and other nations have announced their intentions to do the same.

Unfortunately, the administration's executive orders and the bill we are voting on today both fail to soften the impact of the oil ban by replacing Russian oil with made-in-America energy.

We have seen the highest year-over-year increase in wholesale prices ever recorded. Nearly half the price increases in goods come from the rise in the price of gasoline over the past year.

Nothing in this bill creates access to more American-made energy on- and offshore, nor does it approve American pipelines that could easily replace Russian oil with U.S. and Canadian energy, or accelerate approval for delayed permits for American export facilities to help the world wean themselves from the grip of dirty Russian energy.

There is still yet more Congress can do. I would like to see Congress sanction Russian energy companies so they can't continue to profit and fuel the war machine.

It is also time for Congress to unleash America's own ability to be energy independent, replace Russian oil with American sources, and use our energy strengths to wean the world from Russian energy.

Finally, I want to make it clear to my colleagues: This bipartisan and bicameral agreement applies only to the suspension of normal trade relations with Russia. I do not support the inclusion of the Democrats' Foreign Affairs Committee's Global Magnitsky Act in this bill, which includes changes to the original statute that I believe are unnecessarily vague and could lead to future abuses.

I understand this expanded language may have been included in a temporary executive order by the previous administration to address human rights, but I don't believe it is warranted in a permanent expansion of this law. I am confident there are Senators who share my concerns, and I strongly urge them to remove that provision for future vetting.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from west Texas (Mr. Arrington).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Smith), the Republican leader of the Trade Subcommittee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Crawford).

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Spartz), the first Ukrainian-born Member of the United States Congress.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Estes).

Madam Speaker, I am proud to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Rice), the Republican leader of the Oversight Subcommittee.

Madam Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional 15 seconds.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, as the Bible tells us, to whom much is given, much is required. Every American hearing and watching President Zelenskyy yesterday had to understand so much more is required of us to end this war in Ukraine and to aid the Ukrainian people in their victory over Russia.

This bill takes an important step to defund American revenue that would fund the Russian war machine. It takes an important bipartisan step forward to make sure that Russian products don't enter into the U.S. with the same treatment as the invaded country, as Ukraine's products come into the United States.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to have worked with Chairman Neal, our Democrat colleagues, and the House and Senate on this measure. I know more must be done to provide lethal aid to Ukraine to continue to expand and strengthen economic sanctions; to bring our allies together; to make sure, in my view, that America takes the necessary steps to replace Russian oil with the cleanest made-in-America energy, oil, and gas here in the United States as well.

But as Congresswoman Victoria Spartz, a Ukrainian-born Member of Congress, said, this step today is crucial in our defense of Ukraine, the Ukrainian people, and democracy in the world.

Madam Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor the distinguished career and community contributions of my dear friend John Bleyl as we celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of Bleyl Engineering.

John founded Bleyl Engineering in 1997, after recognizing the need for high quality municipal projects in Conroe, Texas. The inception of Bleyl Engineering helped jumpstart an era of record-setting growth in the Conroe community.

However, John's keen sense of entrepreneurship, strong Texas values, and reputation for faith-fueled business ethics grew the company from a boutique firm in Montgomery County to an engineering and construction management powerhouse with offices and community projects across the Lone Star State. The company now employs 100 people in Conroe, Austin, Bryan-College Station, and Tomball.

Bleyl Engineering continues to be guided by its founding vision: ``to be a foundation for the advancement of stronger, safer communities across Texas.'' Under John's leadership, not only has Bleyl Engineering prospered as a company, but many communities now have safer intersections, accessible public transportation, critical health care infrastructure, and economic growth opportunities.

Mr. Bleyl's first-class public and private sector engineering portfolio speaks for itself. A few notable engineering projects that highlight John's legacy across Texas include the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, the Deison Technology Park, Texas Children's Hospital, and the Fish Creek Thoroughfare Expansion. When the highest standard of engineering or project management is required, Mr. Bleyl has been consistently called upon for his efficiency, dependability, and expertise.

Bleyl Engineering has also been committed to supporting the community through various philanthropic causes. It contributes to local fundraisers through the Rotary Club of Conroe and the Magnolia Education Foundation. In addition, Bleyl Engineering sponsored a local Ironman Triathlon competitor to raise money for Syrian refugees displaced by the civil war.

Mr. Bleyl continues to serve as the City Engineer for Panorama Village and Shenandoah, but his ideas live beyond his work as an engineer. His dedication to his community is evident through his involvement in the Lazy River Improvement District Board, Lone Star Groundwater District Board, West Fork--TIRZ Board, Bryan--TIRZ Board, and the New Danville Project.

I am proud to recognize John as an outstanding member of the Conroe community and his business for celebrating a quarter-century of excellence. Mr. Bleyl is an exceptional businessman, a generous philanthropist, and the embodiment of a true Texan. I congratulate him on this milestone and look forward to his continued sucess.

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

Madam Speaker, while missiles and machine guns rain down death on innocent Ukrainians, President Zelensky is pleading with America and all free nations to stop buying Russian oil to fund this inhumane war.

This weekend, America should know that both parties in Congress came together, worked together in agreement to immediately ban purchases of Russian energy. I was proud to have helped lead that bipartisan effort of the House Committee on Ways and Means and Senate Committee on Finance, and pleased that President Biden, who fought the Russian energy ban tooth and nail, finally relented and accepted the moral choice to stand with the people of Ukraine.

The bill before us is certainly not as strong an energy ban as what Congress crafted, nor does it include Congress' crucial economic sanctions to revoke favorable trade relations with Russia and Belarus, which would have targeted all the products America buys from Russia. But President Biden insisted that these economic sanctions be dropped so that nearly half of all Russian imports to the U.S. will go untouched. For some reason, he is insisting we treat Russia, the invader, the same as Ukraine, the invaded.

It's puzzling why Russian diamonds and vodka deserve continued special treatment here in America. Those revenues all help strengthen Russia's economy to fund the war against Ukraine. President Biden insisted, regrettably, in this bill they remain protected. Our allies will certainly get a laugh.

This bill directs our trade representative to urge other nations to revoke the special trading status for Russia, even though America refuses to do it at this time. That is not a profile in courage.

I wish our President was as committed to crippling economic sanctions as neighboring Canada, which banned both Russian oil and revoked the special trading treatment for Russian products. To be clear, neither the President's executive ban nor this bill takes any action to replace Russian oil with Made-in-America energy.

Nothing in this bill includes Republican-led proposals to extend secondary sanctions on Russian energy purchases in financing around the world--as we already impose on Iran and North Korea. Nothing in this bill creates access to more American-made energy on and offshore. Nor does it approve American pipelines that could easily replace Russian oil with U.S. and Canadian energy, or accelerate approval for delayed permits for American export facilities to help the rest of the world wean themselves from the grip of dirty Russian energy.

Answer this question: Why is our country begging Venezuela and Iran, terrorist nations and thug regimes, to produce more dirty oil to send to America when America is fully capable of producing all the cleanest oil and gas in the world that we need right here at home?

As expected, the President is blaming everyone and everything for high prices and inflation--including the war. Higher prices, as you know, have hammered Americans for a solid year, all starting with the President's $2 trillion unpaid-for COVID stimulus that ignited inflation, paid people not to work, and fueled the worst inflation in 40 years.

Thanks to the White House, America is in a dangerous wage-price spiral, and as a result of the President's failed economic leadership more and more experts are predicting a recession this year. No wonder most Americans believe our economy is already in a recession or depression and have lost faith in the President's ability to rebuild our economy.

To close, I will tell you this. The ban on Russian oil alone is worth our support. Ukraine is waiting, as Chairman Neal points out. After this bill, I urge Congress to do more: to revoke Russia's special trade status and unleash America's own ability to be energy independent, to replace Russian oil with American sources, and use our energy strength to wean the world from Russian energy.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Smith), the Republican leader of the Trade Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Ferguson), the chief deputy whip for the Republican Conference.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Rice), the Republican leader of the Oversight and Reform Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Smucker), who is a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/4\ minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Murphy).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), who is a longtime leader on human rights.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cloud).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Clyde).

Mr. Speaker, I will just point out, all of that was nonsense. The truth of the matter is, it was Democrat President Clinton who forced Ukraine to turn over 1,800 nuclear weapons to Russia and President Obama who stood by when Putin took over parts of Ukraine. Now, under President Biden, we stand by while he looks to invade and take over a sovereign nation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume for the purpose of closing.

Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time, I will offer a motion to recommit this bill to the Committee on Ways and Means.

I will also ask to have my amendment, that suspends permanent normal trade relations with Russia, included in the Record.

While there is broad agreement to stop imports of Russian energy, to stand with Ukraine, Congress does need to do more. That is what this motion does.

As we talked earlier, when we talked about amending the rule to offer American-made energy production, the idea of doing sanctions without American energy production is incomplete at best.

But when it comes to trade with Russia, we also need to take stronger steps, stronger bipartisan steps. We had a good, bipartisan agreement that stopped oil imports from Russia but also removed preferential trade on other products from Russia.

The bill we are voting on today allows about 40 percent of the total products we buy from Russia to receive preferential trade treatment. That is why we are so disappointed and puzzled about why this provision was removed from the bill, because I believe that there is sincerely broad, strong bipartisan support in Congress to remove and suspend that.

I know that Chairman Neal is committed to working together toward that goal. By not revoking PNTR, Russia enjoys the same preferential trade status and lower tariffs as all of our American allies.

Ironically, unless we change the bill, Russia will maintain the same trade status on nonenergy products, like Russian diamonds and vodka, as Ukraine, the country they invaded. That is not right by any measure. We need to be tougher together.

Congress can lead by passing this motion to recommit, which simply substitutes the bipartisan agreement we reached that both shuts down Russian oil imports and removes the preferential trade status for all of the other products we import from Russia.

America needs to lead, Congress needs to lead, to take this important bipartisan step and vote ``yes'' on the motion to recommit.

I strongly believe the effort in this bill to immediately stop purchases from Russia has support and should have support from every American, but we need to do more.

I urge my colleagues and I urge our President to stand with us with strong economic sanctions and more American-made energy to replace Russian oil.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

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

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor the distinguished life and public service of my dear friend Mr. Coulson Tough. He dedicated his life to improving his community and country and ushered an idea of The Woodlands into one of the top places to live in the country.

At age 17, Coulson eagerly enlisted in the Army Air Corps, now known as the Air Force, where he served in Germany and France. After returning home, he attended the University of Michigan where he earned his bachelor's degree in Architecture and met his adoring wife Colleen Bohn. Coulson and Colleen then headed west to California to start their life together, and became parents to two wonderful children, Bruce and Cindy.

Mr. Tough spent the first 16 years of his career in architecture in California, where he designed a barn remodel for future president Ronald Reagan. In 1968, Coulson made the courageous decision to move his family to Texas, where he served as the Vice President of Facilities and Operations at the University of Houston. This is where Mr. Tough met George Mitchell, the founder of The Woodlands, and together, they created a thriving community.

Mr. Tough showcased his passion for architecture and, while working alongside Mr. Mitchell, as Vice President of Building Development for The Woodlands, helped bring his vision of a master planned community to life. The leadership and service of these two men undoubtedly made The Woodlands into what it is today.

Around The Woodlands, citizens are reminded of Coulson's legacy. He helped build 130 buildings and pioneered the procurement of public art across the community. His favorite art piece was a sculpture of a reclining boy termed ``The Dreamer,'' which resides at the intersection of West Panther Creek Drive and The Woodlands Parkway.

Mr. Tough's ideas live beyond his work as an architect. His dedication to serving his community was evident through his involvement in the Rotary Club, The Woodlands Community Presbyterian Church, the Conroe ISD Board, and The Woodlands Chamber of Commerce, where he hired me as President. In addition to serving as a Trustee on the Conroe ISD Board, he was honored to have a school in The Woodlands named after him, Coulson Tough Elementary.

Mr. Tough's most recent project was to design and construct the Mitchell Physics Building and the Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy at Texas A&M University. Coulson retired at the age of 77, but continued consulting on projects both in The Woodlands and Galveston, Texas.

While we mourn with the Tough family, we also celebrate the life, service, and legacy that will live throughout our community for years to come. I am proud to join Mr. Tough's family, friends, and the entire Woodland's community in honoring his life and devotion to public service. May God bless Coulson Tough.

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

In 2018, Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi, Leader Hoyer, Whip Clyburn, and 116 other House Democrats voted to default on the debt, shut down the government, and refuse disaster relief to devastated communities across America like mine.

One even said, Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House; responsibility to govern rests squarely on their shoulders.

Well, right now the Democrats control the House, the Senate, and the White House. Responsibility rests squarely on their shoulders.

Make no mistake, Democrats have known this day has been coming for 2 years and did absolutely nothing. They passed no budget, passed no appropriations bills, and they didn't spend a moment in bipartisan outreach to address the debt ceiling.

I agree, Congress should not play political games with the debt ceiling, but neither should it ignore the future financial crisis at risk of accelerating if President Biden and congressional Democrats pass their nearly $5 trillion socialist welfare plan.

Despite its desperate bid to shift blame for this debt ceiling crisis Democrats themselves created, increasing America's national debt is necessary to make room in the so-called Build Back Better bill for trillions of wasteful spending and special interest handouts for the wealthy and big business.

Make no mistake, the debt ceiling is not merely about paying for past spending, it is about making room for new wasteful spending, trillions that will pour more fuel on the inflation fire that marks Joe Biden's Presidency, the highest rate in decades, that has robbed families of their real wage gains from the past 3 years.

Although the President and Democrats in Congress continue to deny that inflation is real, this is now a crisis for families, and especially seniors on fixed incomes. Their claims that this costs zero has been debunked by the independent Congressional Budget Office and multiple organizations, and fact-checked as false and misleading by The Washington Post.

And Democrats' insistence that future permanence will be paid for begs the question they refuse to answer. How? Everyone knows there are only two ways to raise trillions of dollars more: Tax middle-class families or rob from entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid.

The truth is, the Democrats need this debt ceiling to fund special interests, give tax subsidies for luxury electric vehicles, and tax windfalls to millionaires, while the middle class gets nothing, or even a tax hike.

They need this debt ceiling to give tax breaks to trial lawyers, local media corporations, and pay 1.5 million workers more to stay home than go back to work.

Democrats need a quarter of a trillion dollars to lift the SALT cap so that two out of three millionaires will get a huge tax break.

Meanwhile, for working families, inflation grows worse. Main Street businesses continue to struggle hard to find workers, and many parents will pay over $1,000 a month more for childcare under Build Back Better.

These are President Biden's priorities. Congressional Democrats, these are their priorities. The question to America is, are these your priorities? The answer is no, which is why so many Americans overwhelmingly question the competence of President Biden and Democrats to lead this country.

I urge a strong ``no'' vote on this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Davidson).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Palmer).

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

Madam Speaker, sort of a gentle reminder, 2018 Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, Leader Hoyer, Whip Clyburn, and 116 other Democrats voted to default on America's debt to shut down our government at the same time and refused disaster relief to devastated communities across America, including in Texas. And as they said, Republicans controlled the House, the Senate, and the White House, and the responsibility to govern rests squarely on their shoulders.

And another gentle reminder to the American public, our Democratic friends have known this day has been coming for 2 years. This is a crisis that they created. Didn't bother to pass a budget, didn't do their appropriations bill, no bipartisan outreach. Waited again and again for this cliff and created this crisis. It has been frustrating to watch this go on.

And, too, I know middle-class Americans, one out of every three, will see a tax hike in the Build Back Better bill, but two out of three millionaires get a huge tax cut. A quarter of a trillion dollars of this debt ceiling, a quarter of a trillion dollars of this increase will go to millionaires and billionaires and other wealthy Americans.

Not to mention the heat your home tax on middle-class families, the toddler tax on middle-class families, the made in America tax on our Main Street businesses. What is now clear is that President Biden is a pay-cut President. Even as most Americans work hard to get ahead in their careers and their workplaces, they are now falling behind every month of this Presidency.

They have lost 3 years' worth of real wage growth, went backward in getting ahead. And just since spring, Americans are losing an average of $377 a month in real purchasing power.

Who is the party for the middle class and working families? Not Democrats, who are robbing--inflation--from their paychecks. Adding another $5 trillion to the inflation fire will only cause prices to continue to grow faster than paychecks.

The middle class is on the hook for Democrats' handouts to the highest earners, including their government checks to the top 1 percent and the biggest corporations, lavish subsidies for luxury electric vehicles, and tax cuts for the wealthiest.

Over half of families with two kids who pay for childcare will be forced to pay a $27,000 toddler tax each year under the Democrats' Washington takeover of childcare. All this hurts American workers and their families, the poor, and the seniors.

We ought to stop this economic strain. We ought to stop this economic suppression. We ought to stop this attack on middle-class and working families. We ought to make progrowth tax reform permanent. It lifted millions of Americans out of poverty, brought jobs back from overseas, and, for the first time, started to shrink income inequality.

Madam Speaker, you may remember, in 2019, families in America, their household income grew more in 1 year under President Trump and the Republicans than in all 8 years of President Obama and Biden combined.

We believe there is a smarter way to help American working families, but I know this: Democrats are wrong to fight for $5 trillion of social spending that will send jobs overseas, limit choice in childcare, worsen healthcare, and lower paychecks by flaming inflation longer and making the worker shortage worse.

Madam Speaker, we can't afford this pay-cut Presidency. I once again urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, ending forced labor--and holding China accountable for these gross abuses of human rights--must be a global effort. America should lead the world in halting China's brutality, and all democracies around the world should join us.

As I've said many times, this is a completely bipartisan issue, as demonstrated by the overwhelming bipartisan vote in the House on a similar bill in September 2020. The United States has no tolerance for China's human rights abuses, in Xinjiang or anywhere.

There are real challenges to further tighten the dragnet around China and force it to eliminate atrocities, while supporting legitimate trade. All of us agree: we want to create opportunities for our producers to comply with the law while removing forced labor from our global supply chains.

And just as important, we must urge our trading partners to work with us. Inexplicably, this entirely bipartisan issue has been pushed to the back burner, with Democrats delaying consideration for 14 months. And Ways & Means did not mark this bill up or update the trade provisions in any way. This is difficult to understand, because a core provision of this bill, which is the rebuttable presumption that importation of goods made in Xinjiang must be blocked because they are made with forced labor, is clearly in our Committee's jurisdiction.

This issue is not only bipartisan. It's bicameral. Both the House and the Senate have strong bills that send a clear and unequivocal message: the United States has zero tolerance for these abuses.

While I'm disappointed that this was delayed, taking strong action today is an important step.

Republicans support strong and effective legislation that addresses China's atrocities while supporting legitimate trade, and I look forward to working with the Senate to perfect our approach and enact this bill into law promptly.

It is vital that we stop the scourge of modern-day slavery in China.

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

Madam Speaker, today ought to be a rare day for bipartisanship on behalf of patients and healthcare providers across America. Sadly, it is another day for Democrats' partisanship.

Providing needed funding for Medicare providers, our local doctors and hospitals, especially as we recover from the pandemic, is just common sense. We should be on the same page. In fact, we were, as early as a few hours ago, when Republicans also introduced legislation to help our healthcare providers.

Instead, Democrats have decided to push a very partisan agenda that has led to crisis after crisis, including the one we addressed today.

Our border communities are overwhelmed. Bidenflation is robbing American paychecks. The President has mishandled the economy so badly, he is already nearly a million jobs short of his promises from his last $2 trillion spending binge.

Now, patients and doctors are being held hostage to pave the way for trillions of more reckless spending that most Americans don't even want.

Regrettably, Democrats are politicizing needed funding for Americans' healthcare with a poison pill that provides a process for lifting the debt ceiling, absolutely unrelated, and using patients and access to local doctors as leverage to increase the national debt on our children and grandchildren.

Last month, knowing this was coming, Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee called for a hearing, a bipartisan hearing, to address the issues around our doctors and our healthcare providers and reimbursement.

In a letter, we wrote to our Democrat colleagues, who we believed shared the same concerns, and said: ``If the stability of healthcare providers is, in fact, still a priority for you,'' let's hold a hearing so that we can discuss a legislative solution going forward to maintain patient access to our local providers.

Instead, once again, my Democrat colleagues are choosing to go it alone because seemingly they are obsessed with spending taxpayer dollars wastefully.

We know there is bipartisan support for doctors. We should do a standalone bill. But the truth is, House Republicans can't support using patients and access to local doctors as leverage to increase the national debt on our children.

We know there is bipartisan support for providers, and we know this could stand alone as a bill. Unfortunately, this is not the path the Democrats have chosen.

Make no mistake: This debt ceiling is being lifted to pay for trillions of wasteful socialist spending. This debt ceiling limit is increased until 2023, all to accommodate trillions of wasteful spending, and Americans know it.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has noted that President Biden's Build Back Better bill would cost nearly $5 trillion, while the President and others continue to claim falsely that this costs zero dollars.

Unfortunately for the President and the taxpayers who will have to foot the bill, The Washington Post fact checker found this claim false and misleading. They said it ``would take some dubious gimmicks that help disguise the true cost of President Biden's agenda,'' and these gimmicks are just to justify paying for absolute waste.

Democrats give away hundreds of billions of dollars to special interests and the wealthy, literally sending government checks to the top 1 percent and the biggest corporations.

Democrats protect so-called green companies from their new minimum tax. Wealthy individuals with up to $500,000 in income every year enjoy their own green welfare, including a $12,500 check from single moms and working Americans so they can buy the wealthy a luxury electric vehicle.

Democrats force the 90 percent of Americans who don't join a union to subsidize the few who do. Democrats provide loopholes and tax cuts for special interests like trial lawyers.

Democrats would increase the $10,000 SALT cap, providing wealthy taxpayers with a windfall of a quarter of a trillion dollars to help the wealthy.

Two out of three millionaires get a tax cut. One out of three middle- class families get a tax hike. Where are their priorities?

Democrats' tax and spending spree will more than double Americans' chances of being audited as it targets lower- and middle-income earners to make sure they pay their ``fair share.''

This proposal and that proposal will lead to an additional 1.2 million IRS audits each year focused on the middle class, and we will see $200 billion of new taxes on our Main Street small businesses.

What does it mean for Americans? More than double the chance of being audited, and not just for the rich.

Americans ought to take a step back and see what we are doing tonight as shameful. That is exactly what it is.

Democrats are threatening to hold up payments for our local doctors and healthcare providers, as they fight out of the pandemic, so Democrats can pay for measures they claim we need because of the pandemic.

We have gone from never letting a crisis go to waste to never letting a crisis get in the way of waste.

This debt ceiling crisis didn't have to happen this way. House Democrats have known this day was coming for 2 years, but they never bothered to pass a budget, never passed appropriations bills, and failed to have any bipartisan discussion. Here we are at the last minute.

Madam Speaker, commonsense Americans will not let their doctors and healthcare providers be held hostage to this debt ceiling crisis. We strongly urge a ``no'' vote on this bill.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Smith), the Republican leader of the Select Revenue Measures Subcommittee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith), the Republican leader of the Budget Committee and a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess), leader of the Republican Doctors Caucus who worked to put these solutions together.

Madam Speaker, may I ask, is the gentleman prepared to close?

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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

The claim we just heard, that only Democrats want to prevent these cuts to our local doctors and hospitals, is just nonsense. Democrats and Republicans have worked hard together to extend the moratorium on the sequester cuts on our providers, our doctors and hospitals; to provide a 3 percent payment increase for our physicians; to make sure, in the administration's proposals, to help increase reimbursement for primary care physicians. You don't cut the payment for specialty doctors, many of whom were hurt so hard during COVID.

We also worked with our Democrat colleagues to delay for a year the proposed cuts by this administration on our labs and our oncologists, and we worked together to make sure other cuts didn't occur.

All that bipartisanship was all on track up until a few hours ago when my Democrat colleagues decided they would hold this hostage, hold the healthcare reimbursements for doctors and hospitals hostage for their debt ceiling crisis that they created.

It really is, I think, in a day and age where we have seen this one- party rule for an entire year, the arrogance of this power going to their heads. It is unfortunate that they couldn't continue to work just a few hours longer together with Republicans to provide help to our physicians, hospitals, and providers.

This bill ought to be a stand-alone bill. We should never hold them hostage for our colleagues' spending spree and socialist agenda. Unfortunately, that is what our Democrat colleagues have done today.

We have introduced legislation as Republicans that mirrors our Democrat colleagues because we believe so strongly together. Unfortunately, one-party rule tore this apart.

That is why the American public is going to return the majority of this House to Republicans in the next election and why President Biden's approval ratings are at a terribly low rate, a disapproval rate of 57 percent. It is unfortunate. We ought to be working together on that.

I would be glad to yield 15 seconds to the gentlewoman.

Madam Speaker, reclaiming my time. Our colleagues have known for 2 years this debt ceiling was here, never passed a budget, never passed an appropriations bill. They let this crisis occur and built it time after time after time when we could easily have come together.

By the way, our Democrat colleagues hold the House; they hold the Senate; they hold the White House. They have the power to pass the debt ceiling, and they have had that for the entire year.

To my Democrat friends, you can try to sell this snake oil all you want, but the truth of the matter is, you wrecked a bipartisan agreement for your debt ceiling crisis. That is what we are voting on today.

Republicans support help for healthcare providers. We will not allow them to be held hostage to this debt ceiling crisis.

Madam Speaker, I urge strong opposition to this bill and urge my Democrat colleagues to someday work with us. Let's work together on these issues. I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 387 and YEA on Roll Call No. 388.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to honor the distinguished career and public service of my dear friend Mr. H. Ross Perot, Jr.

A native Texan, Mr. Perot graduated from St. Mark's School of Texas and earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from Vanderbilt University.

As a 23-year-old, Mr. Perot was the first to circumnavigate the world in a helicopter. The 26,000-mile trip was completed in less than 30 days. The Spirit of Texas, a Bell 206 helicopter, is on display at the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum.

Just weeks after completing his record-breaking flight, Mr. Perot, announced he was joining the Air Force where he piloted the F-4 Phantom fighter and served for over seven years on active and reserve duty. Proud of his Air Force service, he chaired the Air Force Memorial Foundation where he led a 14-year effort to build the United States Air Force Memorial.

Following his military service, Mr. Perot made his mark in business. Founding Hillwood, one of the top industrial, commercial, and residential real estate companies in the world. His leadership has undoubtedly contributed to the development of North Texas into the booming economy it is today.

Mr. Perot has received numerous awards throughout his lifetime in recognition of his dedication and service to our country, including the Gold Medal Award for Extraordinary Service from President Ronald Reagan, the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship, and the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service. Perot has been named one of the Most Powerful Business Leaders in Dallas-Fort Worth and was inducted into the Junior Achievement's Dallas

Business Hall of Fame in 2017. Alongside his father, he was co-awarded the inaugural Vision Award from the Urban Land Institute North Texas District Council.

Mr. Perot is not only a principled business leader, but he continually dedicates time to serve his community. He serves on the Boards of Trustees of Vanderbilt University and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. He serves as Chairman of the Board of the East-West Institute, St. Mark's School of Texas, and the Perot Companies.

It is a pleasure and honor to join Mr. Perot's family and friends to celebrate his distinguished career and thank him for his leadership, service to our country and dedication to public service.

Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close.

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

Madam Speaker, we meet today to consider the largest spending bill in American history, a bill that no one has read, adds hundreds of billions to the deficit, was written in secret, and rushed to the floor to hide it from the American people.

We have now the official costs, and the results are in. The claim by the President this costs zero and will reduce the national deficit is just simply untrue. According to the Congressional Budget Office, even counting the budget gimmicks, this bill adds hundreds of billions of dollars to the national debt and a more true accounting by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates this could drive national deficits by $3 trillion over the next 10 years.

The claim that this will not raise taxes on the middle class is simply false. One out of three Americans in the middle class will see a tax hike starting next year. The claim that this will make the wealthy pay their fair share is false as well. In this bill, coming out of COVID, two out of three millionaires in America will get a massive tax cut. And the claim that this will reduce inflation is not true as well. Even according to the White House's own favored analyst, the spending in this bill will drive up inflation for families, higher and longer, for at least a decade.

The Build Back Better's crippling tax hikes will kill American jobs, drive many of them overseas. They hamper small businesses as they struggle to recover, worsen the labor shortage, and drive inflation even higher. The bill imposes over $400 billion in taxes on American small businesses. It couldn't come at a worse time.

There are $800 billion in tax increases on American businesses who compete both here and around the world. This constitutes an economic surrender to China, Russia, Japan, and Europe, driving American jobs investment in manufacturing overseas.

The new corporate tax is really a ``Made in America'' tax. It hits American manufacturing, energy, and technology businesses the hardest, along with American consumers. The international tax increases make it better to be a foreign company than an American one. It is any wonder our foreign competitors are happy to embrace a global minimum tax. They are getting American jobs and a big bite of our tax base. There is a troubling new tax on retirement and a troubling new tax, the toddler tax, on American childcare. This is a terrible bill. I urge a ``no'' vote.

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

Madam Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

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

Mr. Speaker, we meet today to consider the largest spending bill in American history; a bill that no one has read, no one knows its cost, it was written in secret, and rushed to the floor to hide it from the American people.

We meet in the shadow of an awful economic report that shows America's economy effectively stopped growing last quarter. President Biden is over 700,000 jobs short of his promises from the last stimulus, has ignored the damaging labor shortage and the fastest rising inflation in 40 years.

This is all proof that President Biden is bungling the recovery, and leaves many Americans questioning his competence.

Given all that, you would think the President and Congressional Democrats would avoid sabotaging America's economy further. But that is exactly what this $4 trillion socialist tax and spending binge does.

Build Back Better's crippling tax hikes will kill American jobs, drive many of them overseas, hammer small businesses as they struggle to recover, worsen the labor shortage, and drive inflation even higher.

And, yes, President Biden is absolutely breaking his pledge to not raise taxes on America's lower- and middle-income earners. Two out of three millionaires will get a tax cut while the middle class gets a tax hike.

Both the liberal Tax Policy Center and Congress' own scorekeeper, the Joint Committee on Taxation, confirm this. This bill imposes over $400 billion in taxes on America's small businesses, which couldn't come at a worse time.

There are $800 billion in tax increases on American businesses who compete both here and around the world.

This is an economic surrender to China, Russia, Japan, and Europe; driving American jobs, investment, and manufacturing overseas.

The new corporate minimum tax is really a Made in America tax.

It hits American manufacturing, energy, and technology businesses the hardest along with American consumers. The international tax increases make it better to be a foreign company or consumer than an American one.

Is it any wonder our foreign competitors are happy to embrace a small global minimum tax; they are getting American jobs and a big bite of our tax base.

There is a troubling new tax that hurts retirement plans, harming workers and seniors the most by punishing businesses that invest in their own stock.

All this while the Federal Government enjoys record-high levels of tax revenue from corporations, small businesses, and high-income earners due to the Republican tax cuts in 2017.

This $4 trillion socialist tax and spending binge will drive prices up even higher on families and make the damaging labor shortage even worse.

As businesses from Main Street to manufacturing struggle to find workers, Democrats' changes to the child tax credit no longer require Americans to earn or to work to qualify for monthly checks.

Experts predict this, along with lavish COVID-era Affordable Care Act subsidies, could drive up to 2 million more Americans to exit the workforce.

Under their paid leave plan, taxpayers will pay billions of dollars to put Washington in charge of your time off while workers struggle with one-size-fits-all mandates that limit choice for families and crush small businesses.

This is crazy, too: Democrats are insisting on giving a huge tax windfall to the wealthy 1 percent of Americans by lifting the reasonable SALT cap. The cost of this tax give-away? A whopping $222 billion.

The penthouse gets an obscene tax break, but the building janitor gets nothing. The middle class gets nothing. The 90 percent of taxpayers who don't itemize their taxes get nothing but higher taxes themselves.

Where are their priorities? The SALT windfall for the wealthy is 50 times larger than the help a parent gets from the child tax credit.

And it gets worse. Democrats are spitting away $550 billion in green pork subsidies for the wealthy and the world's biggest corporations.

Democrats are forcing taxpayers to send $12,500 to a wealthy family buying a luxury electric vehicle worth 80 grand. They quietly snuck in tax breaks for wealthy trial lawyers, recording artists, electric bikes, and subsidies for the media. Of course, labor unions get a huge haul, including forcing the 90 percent of Americans who don't join a union to subsidize a few who do.

While special interests cash in, families don't. Did you know this includes a new toddler tax that will force middle-class families to pay $13,000 more a year for their childcare?

And there are budget gimmicks galore.

``It costs zero'' will go down in history as one of the biggest whoppers a President has ever told.

The true deficit is trillions of dollars over the decade.

And one of the budget gimmicks lands on American seniors who won't have affordable generic drugs in the future to choose from.

Another budget gimmick is supercharging the IRS with 80,000 new agents. While Democrats will say they have walked away from their bank surveillance plan, the White House is ``hopeful'' Senators will sneak it back in.

If you are worried about rising prices shrinking your paychecks more and more every month, these trillions in new government spending will only make it worse.

Inflation is killing families, forcing them to effectively pay a second utility bill, a second cell phone bill, or a second cable bill a month. Inflation is a tax, and Democrats are raising it in this bill.

So crippling taxes, driving jobs overseas, making the worker shortage worse, and driving prices higher; this is a terrible bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly), one of our tax leaders.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Walorski).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood), a member of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Hern), a member of the Committee on Ways and Means.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Ferguson), the chief deputy whip and a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Smucker), a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Smith), the ranking member of the Select Revenue Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from West Virginia (Mrs. Miller), a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington), who is a key member on the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute.

Mr. Speaker, I have a whole host of organizations, coalitions, patient groups, health advocacy groups, institutions, associations, and small businesses who have vehemently opposed and raised alarming concerns about this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record that list.

List of Opposing Organizations

Academy of General Dentistry (AGD), AICC, The Independent

Packaging Association, Altria; America's Business Benefit

Association, Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, Coalition

of Wisconsin Aging and Health Groups, Color of Crohn's and

Chronic Illness, Communicating for America, Inc.; Consumer

Action for a Strong Economy, Conservatives for Property

Rights, Council for Affordable Health Coverage, debra of

America, Global Colon Cancer Association, Healthcare

Leadership Council, HIV + Hepatitis Policy Institute,

International Cancer Advocacy Network, Illinois Biotechnology

Innovation Organization, MLD Foundation, National Taxpayers

Union, Noah's Hope--Hope4Bridget Foundation, Rare Access

Action Project, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council,

SYNGAPl Foundation, The Ryan Foundation, Taylor's Tale,

American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

(AAOMS), American Bankers Association, American Builders and

Contractors, American Chemistry Council, American Dental

Association, American Gas Association.

American Mold Builders Association, American Pet Products

Association, American Soybean Association, American

Subcontractors Association, American Trucking Associations,

National Association of Convenience Stores, National

Association of Truckstop Operators, SIGMA: America's Leading

Fuel Marketers, Truckload Carriers Association, Asian

American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA), Associated

Builders and Contractors, Association of Community Cancer

Centers (ACCC), Business Roundtable, Center for Individual

Freedom, Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE),

Chamber of Commerce, Comcast Corporation, Council for

Affordable Health Coverage, National Association of

Manufacturers, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council,

U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Council for Citizens Against

Government Waste, Energy Marketers of America, EveryLife

Foundation for Rare Diseases, Family Business Estate Tax

Coalition, Foodservice Consultants Society International

(FCSI) The Americas, FreedomWorks, Gas and Oil Assoication of

West Virginia, Shale Coalition, Ohio Oil and Gas Association.

Global Cold Chain Alliance, Independent Community Bankers

of America, Independent Electrical Contractors, Independent

Petroleum Association, International Franchise Association

(IFA), John Deere, Main Street Employers, Medicare Access for

Patients Rx Coalition (MAPRx), Motion Picture Association,

National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions

(NAFCU), National Association of Home Builders (NAHB),

National Association of Manufacturers, National Association

of Realtors, National Association of the Remodeling Industry

(NARI), National Electrical Manufacturers Representatives

Association (NEMRA), National Federation of Independent

Business (NFIB), National Independent Automobile Dealers

Association (NIADA), National Infusion Center Association,

National Marine Distributors Association, National Mining

Association, National Organization for Rare Disorders,

National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, National

Restaurant Association, National Retail Federation, National

Small Business Association, National Stone, Sand and Gravel

Association; National Taxpayers Union, National Tooling and

Machining Association.

NATSO, Representing America's Travel Plazas and Truck

Stops, New Jersey Business Coalition, North American Die

Casting Association, Ohio Business Roundtable, Ohio Farm

Bureau, Outdoor Power Equipment and Engine Service

Association, Precision Machined Products Association,

Precision Metalforming Association, Promote America's

Competitive Economy (PACE) Coalition, Promotional Products

Association International (PPAI), Retail Industry Leaders

Association, Rheumatology community, S Corporation

Association, Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles

Association (SMART), SIGMA: America's Leading Fuel Marketers,

Small Business Council of America (SBCA), Small Business

Legislative Council (SBLC), Specialty Equipment Market

Association, Susan B. Anthony List, Symetra, The Credit Union

National Association (CUNA), The Integrated Canada-U.S.

Automotive Industries, Tire Industry Association (TIA),

United Veterinary Services Association, American Fuel and

Petrochemical Manufacturers, American Petroleum Institute,

Chemical Fabrics and Film Association, Communications Cable

Connectivity Association, EPS Industry Alliance, Extruded

Polystyrene Foam Association, Flexible Packaging Association.

Foodservice Packaging Institute, International Sleep

Products Association, Manufacturers Association for Plastics,

Processors Motor Equipment, Manufacturers Association,

National Association for PET Container Resources, National

Association of Chemical Distributors, National Association of

Manufacturers, Plastic Pipe Institute, Plastics Industry

Association, Plumbing Manufacturers International

Polyurethane Foam Association, PRINTING United Alliance,

Produce Marketing Association, Single Ply Roofing Industry,

Uni-Bell PVC Pipe Association, Vinyl Institute American Hotel

and Lodging Association, American Resort Development

Association, American Seniors Housing Association, Asian

American Hotel Owners Association, Associated Builders and

Contractors, Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA)

International, CCIM Institute, Council for Rural and

Affordable Housing, CRE Finance Council, ICSC, Institute of

Real Estate Management, Leading Builders of America,

Manufactured Housing Institute, Mortgage Bankers Association,

NAIOP, The Commercial Real Estate Development Association,

Nareit, National Apartment Association, National Multifamily

Housing Council, REALTORS Land Institute, Society of

Industrial and Office REALTORS, The Real Estate Roundtable,

Wine Spirits, Wholesalers of America, National Beer

Wholesalers Association.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from the National Federation of Independent Business, the Nation's leading small business advocacy group underscoring how this proposed bill will impose a small business surtax on already struggling mom-and-pop shops across America.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from American Farm Bureau who represents nearly 6 million families and American farmers asking us to reject passage of this bill due to inflation and how this hurts America's farmers.

American Farm Bureau Federation,

Washington, DC, November 16, 2021.

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

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

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 381.