Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, we are now on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the historic Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, historic in large measure because of the American dimension through a negotiated settlement which helped to bring about the longest-standing political dispute in the history of the western world.

It was the people of goodwill and both parts of the island that voted referendum questions to help bring about this remarkable achievement.

In this House, the question of Ireland has always been bipartisan, and it has been celebrated by both political parties here with great enthusiasm and so recognized.

Mr. Kelly of Pennsylvania and I, as chairpersons of the Friends of Ireland, will be asking Members to sign the proclamation that we are offering through this resolution that will celebrate this historic achievement as we prepare across America, the UK, the Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland for this celebration. These have been ``it will never happen'' moments that we have all had a chance to participate in, and I hope that Members will all sign this historic resolution celebrating and acknowledging this achievement.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this legislation, the so-called rules package.

I can't wait for that term limits vote. When you ask Members on the Republican side who have been here for 20 or 30 years to then codify their votes that say that you can only be here for 12, try explaining that one back home when you have a four-seat majority.

This is an extreme proposal that is in front of us. If they follow the logic to its manifestation, this will pit Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid against defense spending. Our seniors will be sold out; our military will be sold out; and the full faith and credit of the United States will be under threat, all in a quest to organize the House.

The gentleman from South Dakota, a nice enough fellow, said people are making a lot about the chaos that ensued here over 4 days, particularly last Saturday morning. Was the gentleman denying that he was here, for the country to witness what happened here?

This is part of a rules package that is being foisted upon the American people by a small minority within the Republican Party, and we ought to turn it down.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 23. My friend from Nebraska suggested a number of issues that we intend to challenge during the course of the next half hour, based upon the facts.

This is theater tonight, Mr. Speaker. If we didn't get enough of the entertainment factor last week, we are going to proceed with it again this evening.

Mr. Speaker, 87,000 IRS agents, let me debunk that right away. There are regular retirements of up to 8,000 a year, we are replacing them.

How about the methodology of a computer upgrade, an investment in technology, more modeling, or should we have an IRS that operates the way Southwest Airlines did last week--to the dismay of the American family.

This is a messaging bill, Mr. Speaker. The message that they choose to send--and let everybody understand this, the first bill that they have submitted, according to the Congressional Budget Office, adds $114 billion to the Federal deficit. Legislation number one.

They don't want a fairer tax administration. They think it is bad for some of their supporters. You know what they're attempting to do tonight is bad for middle-class families, it is bad for small businesses, who are then asked to pay more when the people at the top don't pay their fair share.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from Charles Rossotti, the former IRS Commissioner.

March 1, 2020.

Hon. Richard Neal,

Chairman, Committee on Ways & Means,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Neal: I was IRS commissioner from 1997 to

2002. At the time, Congress passed a major bill that produced

some important, long-lasting reforms, including converting

the IRS to electronic filing and improving treatment of

taxpayers.

I believe there is a major modernization opportunity today

that could efficiently recover a large amount of revenue. It

could gradually shrink the tax gap, while also easing burden

for millions of taxpayers who interact with the IRS.

I am enclosing my article in Tax Notes, entitled ``Recover

$1.6 Trillion, Modernize Tax Compliance and Assistance,''

which explains this opportunity.

I would be happy to talk further to you or your staff about

this opportunity.

Sincerely,

Charles O. Rossotti,

Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 1997-2002.

Mr. Speaker, he points out in the opening paragraph of a tax notes special. By the way, those of us in the tax world know what tax notes means. He said that last year, this would be 2021, the Federal Government failed to collect $574 billion of taxes that were legally due but not paid. That is equal to more than most of the Federal deficit. If they want to reduce the Federal tax deficit, we should do a better job with tax compliance, which, after all, is the basis of a representative democracy.

Mr. Speaker, 86 percent of the American people pay their taxes every year on time. Do you know why? Because they get paid in wages and it comes from withholding taxes, that is what it is about.

The American people are wise to what is being presented here tonight. We live in a two-tier tax system. Wage earners follow the rules. Wealthy billionaires, they get to skirt their responsibilities. That is what we are being asked to vote on tonight.

IRS funding has been stagnant, staffing levels have dropped. Have you tried getting an IRS office on the phone?

How many times will we continue to let those at the top get away without paying their share?

We lose out on--just think of it again--almost $600 billion a year in unpaid taxes. It is very sophisticated tax planning that is done by high-priced attorneys and CPAs. It is estimated that this could be up to $7 trillion because we score items over the course of 10 years.

What might this funding pay for?

How about Social Security? How about Medicare? How about a strong military? How about a child tax credit that could be expanded? How about universal paid family and medical leave? How about bringing down healthcare costs?

The audit rates amongst millionaires have declined by 70 percent since 2010. Let me repeat that for anybody who didn't get that. The audit rate for millionaires has declined by 70 percent since 2010.

Low-income workers who receive the earned income tax credit, they are audited more now than taxpayers who are making over $1 million a year.

All we are asking for is fairness in the distribution of the responsibilities as to how we pay for government. There is a different set of standards across the land now. And to point that out to you once again--what is our commitment to America?

It should be based on a fair tax system that collects what is due from those who ought to be paying.

The former IRS Commissioner, a Republican, Charles Rettig, he pointed out that he was fully in support of the legislation that we were offering because the IRS is continually out-maneuvered and out-gunned by sophisticated efforts from tax lawyers and CPAs.

We have to put American families over the politics in the distribution of theater that we are witnessing tonight. See through this legislation and vote ``no.''

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett), who intends to talk about the tax gap.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the Statement of the Administration Policy opposing H.R. 23.

Statement of Administration Policy

H.R. 23--To rescind certain balances made available to the Internal

Revenue Service

The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 23, to rescind

certain balances made available to the Internal Revenue

Service (IRS). The bill would rescind funding passed in the

Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that enables the IRS to crack

down on large corporations and high-income people who cheat

on their taxes and evade the taxes that they owe under the

law.

This reckless bill would increase the deficit by nearly

$115 billion over 10 years per an estimate by the

Congressional Budget Office by enabling wealthy tax cheats to

engage in additional tax fraud and avoidance. To be clear,

the Treasury Secretary has already directed that none of the

additional IRS resources be used to increase audit rates

relative to historical levels for small businesses or

households with incomes below $400,000. Far from protecting

middle-class families or small businesses, H.R. 23 protects

wealthy tax cheats at the expense of honest, middle-class

taxpayers. Each year the top one percent hides about 20

percent of their income from the government so they can get

away with not paying any tax on it. That means that working

people--who report 99 percent of their income to the IRS--pay

a larger share of collected taxes than they should. Not only

does it shift the tax burden from the wealthy to the middle-

class, it would also make it harder for middle-class families

and small businesses to get timely tax refunds and other

important services from the IRS, by rescinding billions in

funding for IRS information technology and operations.

With their first economic legislation of the new Congress,

House Republicans are making clear that their top economic

priority is to allow the rich and multi-billion dollar

corporations to skip out on their taxes, while making life

harder for ordinary, middle-class families that pay the taxes

they owe. That's their agenda; not lowering costs or cutting

taxes for hard working Americans--as President Biden has

consistently advocated.

If the President were presented with H.R. 23--or any other

bill that enables the wealthiest Americans and largest

corporations to cheat on their taxes, while honest and hard-

working Americans are left to pay the tab--he would veto it.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a CBO score for this bill that is showing that it will add $114 billion to the Federal deficit over the next 10 years.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record an op-ed piece from the former IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, a Republican, titled: ``IRS sets the record straight: We're going after tax evaders, not honest Americans.''

[From Yahoo! Finance, Aug. 25, 2022]

IRS Sets the Record Straight: We're Going After Tax Evaders, Not Honest

Americans: Op-Ed

(By Charles P. Rettig)

As the nation's tax administrator, the IRS plays a unique

role in our nation. It can be a difficult job. After all,

does anyone really like paying taxes? Of course not. But

they're essential to fund the roads we drive on, the schools

our children attend, support our military and so much more.

Unfortunately, given the nature of this work and historical

stereotypes, the IRS is often perceived as an easy target for

mischaracterizations of what

IRS employees do--and that's exactly what's happened in

recent weeks.

The recent debate over providing badly needed funding to

the IRS is filled with outright false suggestions about what

the agency and our hardworking employees do--as well as how

the additional resources will be handled.

The bottom line is this: These resources are absolutely not

about increasing audit scrutiny on small business or middle-

income Americans. The investment of these important resources

is designed to support honest, compliant taxpayers. Our

investment is designed around a Treasury directive that audit

rates do not rise relative to recent years for households

making under $400,000.

We all want a fair and impartial system where everyone

contributes their fair share, no more and certainly no less.

A robust, visible tax enforcement effort focused on high-end

tax evaders and those supporting them is a priority.

Underpayments by tax evaders shift the burden of operating

our great country onto honest, hard-working Americans who

follow the law. With this new law, honest taxpayers will see

badly needed, meaningful service improvements at the IRS. The

IRS should be able to answer the phones and process

information--including tax returns--in a timely manner.

Enhanced IT systems and taxpayer services will mean that

honest taxpayers will be better able to comply with the tax

laws, ultimately resulting in a lower--yes, lower--likelihood

of being audited and a reduced burden on them.

To set the record straight on this important legislation

and dispel any lingering misperceptions, here are some key

facts to keep in mind:

False Statement: The IRS is hiring 87,000 armed special

agents to harass taxpayers.

Reality: Absolutely false. The majority of new hires the

IRS makes will be those who answer the phones, work on

processing individual tax returns or go after high-end

taxpayers or corporations who are avoiding their taxes. Less

than 1 percent of new hires will be in our IRS Criminal

Investigation (IRS-CI) area, which currently has a total of

about 2,100 special agents and is currently hiring about 300

more.

These CI special agents investigate criminal tax violations

typically related to money laundering, Bank Secrecy, National

Security and National Defense matters. They have been

involved in dismantling terrorist financing efforts and

criminal cartels as well as eliminating child exploitation

operations in the Dark Net that led to the arrests of

hundreds of people throughout the world. They do not perform

civil tax administrative functions such as audits of tax

returns. They are law enforcement officers, and every

American should be extremely proud they are on our team.

False Statement: All IRS employees--and those being hired

under the new legislation--will carry firearms.

Reality: Again, absolutely false. More than 97 percent of

IRS employees do not carry weapons. This includes key civil-

side enforcement personnel, including revenue agents,

examiners and others involved in audits and compliance work.

Less than 3 percent of IRS employees--expressly limited to

Criminal Investigation special agents--carry firearms. IRS

Criminal Investigation oversees the entirety of the work

related to criminal violations of the tax law and other

financial crimes. This is consistent with other federal law

enforcement agencies.

False Statement: The additional funding will be used to

hire more auditors to ``shake down'' average taxpayers.

Reality: False. Wage-earning taxpayers like firefighters,

construction workers, teachers and police officers are among

the most compliant taxpayers, given that their incomes come

from Forms W-2 and 1099. These resources are absolutely not

about increasing audit scrutiny on small businesses or

middle-income Americans. Instead, the additional resources

will also be focused on large corporate and high net-worth

taxpayers to enforce laws already on the books that the IRS

does not have enough resources to pursue.

False Statement: The new legislation will be a massive

overnight expansion of the IRS.

Reality: False. This funding--which will be spread over 10

years--will add employees over time as we modernize our

operations with meaningful technological enhancements. In

addition, the IRS has one of the oldest workforces in

government, and staffing has been in a deep decline for many

years. More than 50,000 employees will retire in the next few

years, leaving the foundation of the tax system that the

nation relies on at risk. We've been losing 10,000 employees

a year.

Overall, current IRS staffing is far below historical

norms. In 1992, the IRS had 117,000 employees--38,000 more

than today. Back then, the agency was dealing with fewer

taxpayers; the U.S. population has grown almost 30 percent

since 1992.

False Statement: This new funding will allow overreach by

the IRS, putting agents on every street corner and prying

into people's personal financial lives.

Reality: False. This funding will allow the IRS to better

serve the nation's taxpayers--and ultimately meet the

critical needs of our country. Our employees care and, like

others in government, take an oath to support our country. We

take pride in hiring veterans, people with disabilities and

people from all walks of life and from every corner of our

country. Many of our employees, including myself, are members

of a military family. And all of our employees reflect the

taxpayers we serve.

I am an extremely proud American, a member of a proud

military family, and simply will not accept baseless, harmful

assertions against the interests of our country and the

proud, hard-working employees of the IRS.

Everyone should know this about IRS employees: We care, a

lot, about this country and you.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson), who is a much-valued member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Kansas, my friend. He just pointed out that the people at the bottom are audited more than the people at the top. That is precisely the point that we are attempting to make here during the course of the next few minutes.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), who is the former majority leader.

Mr. Speaker, let me congratulate Mr. Smith, incidentally, on his recent elevation to become the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. We look forward to a productive session during the next couple of years.

Mr. Speaker, I include into the Record a blog post by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities summarizing the fact check that has repeatedly debunked the false claim that we just heard a few seconds ago, that the IRS is going to hire 87,000 new agents immediately.

[From Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, January 9, 2023]

House GOP's First Bill: A Misleading Gambit To Protect Interests of

Wealthy Tax Cheats

(By Chuck Marr)

House Republicans have announced that their first

legislative priority is to rescind nearly all of the

Inflation Reduction Act's $80 billion in ten-year funding for

the IRS, while repeating falsehoods and inflammatory rhetoric

about how that funding will be used. While the Republicans

have launched a campaign about a false ``army'' of 87,000

agents, the debate should focus on one accurate and alarming

number: the IRS has 2,284 fewer skilled auditors to handle

the sophisticated returns of wealthy taxpayers than it did in

1954. The decade-long, House Republican-driven budget cuts

have created dysfunction at the IRS, where relatively few

millionaires are now audited. If House Republicans succeed in

rolling back this critically needed funding and maintaining

this dysfunction, the IRS would be woefully understaffed,

hindering its ability to administer the tax code and collect

legally owed taxes--particularly from high-income and high-

wealth taxpayers. On behalf of honest taxpayers, policymakers

should reject the House Republican effort to protect wealthy

tax cheats.

The IRS workforce is composed of civilian public servants,

such as accountants and customer service representatives, who

collect nearly all the federal revenue to fund

our government, from Medicare and Social Security to our

armed forces. Its skilled auditors, also known as revenue

agents, are highly trained to handle sophisticated tax

returns of wealthy people and multinational corporations. All

of these IRS employees perform a core function of government,

are central to the workings of our democracy, and work on

behalf of honest taxpayers.

Republican IRS critics, however, have constructed a

narrative around the IRS workforce becoming an ``army'' of

87,000 ``armed agents'' whose enemies are ``hardworking

American families and small businesses.'' This rhetoric is

false and dangerous.

Fact checkers have repeatedly debunked the 87,000 figure,

which comes from a prior Treasury estimate that it would use

new funding to hire 87,000 total staff over the next ten

years, including IRS employees in all departments, not just

skilled auditors. These are people who answer phones, process

returns, program computers, as well as a fraction--albeit an

important one--who audit complex tax returns.

The House GOP campaign ignores the reality of today's IRS--

which has resulted from the sharp budget cuts that

Republicans have pushed since 2010--as well as the harm that

would flow from rescinding much of the Inflation Reduction

Act's new IRS funding. The upcoming debate needs to cut

through the obfuscation of the House Republican campaign and

focus on honest and pertinent numbers.

Consider, in 2021, the IRS had 8,321 skilled auditors.

That's 40 percent fewer than the agency had in 2010, the year

before House Republicans were in the majority and began

driving the last decade of steep IRS budget cuts.

Moreover, it's 2,284 fewer revenue agents than the IRS had

in 1954--not a typo. The last time the IRS had fewer revenue

agents than it has today was in 1953. Today's economy is

seven times larger than it was in 1953 and our population has

more than doubled since then. Today's tax returns of wealthy

people and large multinationals are more complex and global,

which take more time for auditors to review.

As a result of these budget cuts and fewer skilled

auditors, audit rates have plummeted for wealthy individuals

and large corporations.

For the largest corporations (those with more than $1

billion in assets), the audit rate fell by more than half

between 2010 and 2017. For millionaires, the audit rate fell

by roughly 77 percent over the same period. Preliminary audit

data for 2018 and 2019 suggest that the audit rate may have

declined over 90 percent between 2010 and 2019.

House Republicans want to scare people with their false

claims about how the IRS would use the new resources. But the

reality is that, today, the IRS skilled audit staff is 2,284

smaller than in 1954, only a tiny fraction of millionaires is

audited, and large multinationals can hire large squads of

lawyers to easily overwhelm the resources of the IRS. One

only needs to skim President Trump's tax returns, the

indictment of convicted tax cheat Paul Manafort, and a

ProPublica investigation of how Facebook outgunned the IRS to

grasp the resources necessary to be serious about enforcing

our tax laws and how reckless it would be to keep the number

of skilled auditors at 1950s levels, as the House Republicans

would do.

Honest taxpayers and business owners deserve better. They

deserve an IRS that processes their tax returns and tax

refunds efficiently, answers the phone when they call with

questions, and ensures that the wealthy and profitable

corporations are paying the taxes they legally owe.

A key element of a healthy, functioning democracy is a

transparent tax system that is fairly enforced so that people

and corporations pay what they owe and the well-heeled and

powerful cannot flout their responsibility to pay their

taxes.

Efforts to protect wealthy tax cheats and purposely

undermine the IRS's ability to enforce tax laws are anti-

democratic and should be resoundingly rejected.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a FactCheck.org article confirming that not all of the 87,000 people who will be hired are going to work on enforcement.

[From FactCheck.org, Aug. 18, 2022]

IRS Will Target `High-Income' Tax Evaders with New Funding, Contrary to

Social Media Posts

(By Brea Jones)

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

Mr. Speaker, that is precisely the point that we have attempted to make. Customer service is not occurring because the IRS has been cut by 30 percent over the last 15 years.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from the IRS Commissioner to the House of Representatives confirming that the IRS will not raise audit rates on those making under $400,000 a year.

Department of the Treasury,

Internal Revenue Service,

Washington, DC, August 4, 2022.

Dear Member of the House of Representatives, It has been

the greatest honor of my professional life to spend the last

four years at the helm of the IRS. I am struck each day by

the commitment of dedicated IRS employees to helping American

families. And our employees have done all that without the

tools to do so effectively. For too long, the agency has not

had the resources that it needs to ensure the tax laws are

enforced fairly and that Americans receive the level and

quality of service they deserve. We are the greatest country

in the world, yet the agency that touches more Americans than

any other continually struggles to receive sufficient

resources to fulfill its important mission.

The resources in the reconciliation package will get us

back to historical norms in areas of challenge for the

agency--large corporate and global high-net-worth taxpayers--

as well as new areas like pass-through entities and

multinational taxpayers with international tax issues, where

we need sophisticated, specialized teams in place that are

able to unpack complex structures and identify noncompliance.

These resources are absolutely not about increasing audit

scrutiny on small businesses or middle-income Americans. As

we've been planning, our investment of these enforcement

resources is designed around the Department of the Treasury's

directive that audit rates will not rise relative to recent

years for households making under $400,000. Other resources

will be invested in

employees and IT systems that will allow us to better serve

all taxpayers, including small businesses and middle-income

taxpayers. Enhanced IT systems and taxpayer service will

actually mean that honest taxpayers will be better able to

comply with the tax laws, resulting in a lower likelihood of

being audited and a reduced burden on them.

Large corporate and high-net-worth taxpayers often engage

teams of sophisticated representatives who pursue unsettled

or sometimes questionable interpretations of tax law. The

integrity and fairness of our tax administrative system

relies upon the ability of our agency to maintain a strong,

visible, robust enforcement presence directed to these and

other similarly situated taxpayers when they are

noncompliant. These important efforts also support honest

taxpayers who voluntarily comply with their filing and

reporting requirements.

The IRS has fewer front-line, experienced examiners in the

field than at any time since World War II, and fewer

employees than at any time since the 1970s. Advances in

technology have been helpful but have not kept pace with the

ever-increasing responsibilities and challenges facing the

IRS. As a result, the IRS has for too long been unable to

pursue meaningful, impactful examinations of large corporate

and high-networth taxpayers to ensure they are paying their

fair share. This creates a direct revenue loss from evaders

and lessens the potential to deter others from pursuing a

similar path of noncompliance. Every American should support

a fair and impartial system of tax administration supported

by an appropriately resourced tax administrator. In fact, the

continued success of our country depends, in part, upon the

success of the agency in appropriately, fairly and

impartially enforcing the tax laws and in providing

meaningful, impactful services to every American.

As an extremely proud American, I'm grateful for your

support of the IRS and our dedicated employees. I cannot be

forceful enough in emphasizing that these resources will be

transformative for the agency and for American taxpayers. I

am available to meet with you at your convenience to discuss

the foregoing.

Thank you,

Charles P. Rettig.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from Secretary Yellen to the IRS Commissioner, directing the IRS not to use any additional funding to increase audits on small businesses and households earning less than $400,000 a year.

Department of the Treasury,

Secretary of the Treasury,

Washington, DC, August 10, 2022.

Charles P. Rettig,

Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service,

Washington, DC.

Dear Commissioner: The Inflation Reduction Act includes

much-needed funding for the IRS to improve taxpayer service,

modernize outdated technological infrastructure, and increase

equity in the tax system by enforcing the tax laws against

those high-earners, large corporations, and complex

partnerships who today do not pay what they owe.

These crucial investments have been a focus of the Biden

Administration since the President's first day in office, and

I was heartened to see the legislation pass the Senate this

weekend.

Notwithstanding the changes that arose because of

Republican challenges during the Byrd process, I write today

to confirm the commitment that has been a guiding precept of

the planning that you and your team are undertaking: that

audit rates will not rise relative to recent years for

households making under $400,000 annually.

Specifically, I direct that any additional resources--

including any new personnel or auditors that are hired--shall

not be used to increase the share of small business or

households below the $400,000 threshold that are audited

relative to historical levels. This means that, contrary to

the misinformation from opponents of this legislation, small

business or households earning $400,000 per year or less will

not see an increase in the chances that they are audited.

Instead, enforcement resources will focus on high-end

noncompliance. There, sustained, multiyear funding is so

critical to the agency's ability to make the investments

needed to pursue a robust attack on the tax gap by targeting

crucial challenges. like large corporations, high-net-worth

individuals and complex pass-throughs, where today the IRS

has resources to initiate just 7,500 audits annually out of

more than 4 million returns received.

This is challenging work that requires a team of

sophisticated revenue agents in place to spend thousands of

hours poring over complicated returns, and it is also work

that has huge revenue potential: indeed, an additional hour

auditing someone making more than $5 million annually

generates an estimated $4,500 of additional taxes collected.

This is essential work that l know the IRS is eager to

undertake.

For regular taxpayers, as you emphasized last week, the

result of this resource infusion will be a lower likelihood

of audit by an agency that has the data and technological

infrastructure in place to target enforcement resources where

they belong--on the high end of the income distribution,

where the top 1 percent alone is estimated to not be paying

$160 billion in owed taxes each year. That's important as a

matter of revenue-raising, but it's also essential as a

matter of fairness.

Crucially, these resources will support a much-needed

upgrade of technology that is decades out-of-date, and an in

vestment in taxpayer service so that the IRS is finally able

to communicate with taxpayers in an efficient, timely manner.

I look forward to working with you on creating new digital

tools to allow taxpayers to get information from the IRS

instantaneously and on improving taxpayer service, so the

agency is well-equipped to answer calls when they come in.

This historic investment in our tax system will accomplish

two critical objectives. It will raise substantial revenue to

address the deficit; and it will create a fairer system,

where those at the top who do not today comply with their tax

obligations find it far less easy to do so, and where all

taxpayers receive the service from the IRS that they deserve,

and that your dedicated workforce is eager to deliver. The

importance of the work ahead cannot be overstated.

Sincerely,

Janet L. Yellen.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), a very capable member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), who is sure to offer clarity to this important issue.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis), a very capable Member from Chicago.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Higgins), an individual whose knowledge of the economic system in America is unsurpassed.

Mr. Speaker, the challenge that was offered by the gentlewoman from California is as simple as this: We are weaponizing billionaires not to pay their fair share. That is what is happening.

What we are asking here is the simplicity of allowing people at the very top to pay their fair share.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Ms. Sewell), a capable and valued member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu), a very capable member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore), a very capable member of the Ways and Means Committee.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Beyer), a very successful businessman and entrepreneur.

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

Mr. Speaker, I think part of that new recruiting class at the IRS is going to simply answer the phones. That would be helpful, a step in the right direction.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Schneider), a CPA who really knows something about compliance.

Mr. Speaker, a reminder that the 87,000 is over 10 years. The $80 billion is over 10 years. That is $8 billion a year for replacement of those who retire, who leave the service of the IRS.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Panetta), another very capable member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Gomez), not only a very capable member of the committee but, last week, during those 4 days here of utter chaos, he carried that child around this Chamber. During those 4 days, I think the child grew by 2 inches. That is how long we were there.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman), who is a CPA, I believe.

Mr. Speaker, as my friend, the gentleman from Nebraska pointed out, with the Presidential audit system, Joe Biden overpaid his taxes. I hope the Record will reflect that, that the Democratic President overpaid his taxes, and the IRS wisely made sure that he had the proper refund.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), the longest serving woman in the history of Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for the purpose of closing.

Mr. Speaker, this has been an edifying debate. But as Harry Truman noted, let's just talk about the facts. Let's debunk the argument that we are hiring 87,000 armed IRS agents to go knocking on doors in the middle of the night.

This is a substantial investment in technology. This is a substantial investment in customer service. Yes, the $80 billion is over 10 years. That is $8 billion a year to improve customer service. That is what we are talking about.

At least 8,000 agents retire from the IRS every year. We are simply replacing them. You know, in our school systems back home, when 200 teachers retire, we replace 200 teachers. That is what we are doing here with the IRS.

They make this preposterous argument that all of a sudden, next week, 87,000 armed--because you always have to use the language that is incendiary enough to get people worked up around here--that 87,000 armed agents in the dark of night will be hounding innocent taxpayers, despite what Janet Yellen said about no taxpayer making under $400,000 a year is going to be targeted.

Mr. Rossotti, the former IRS commissioner, not me, said at least $574 billion a year goes uncollected. He is a Democrat. A Republican IRS commissioner, Mr. Rettig, who we worked with, said it might be a trillion dollars a year that goes uncollected, a Donald Trump appointee, who stated that and raised that issue a number of times in front of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Let me make a point that I raised earlier. Tax compliance in a representative democracy is a fundamental commitment to civilization and first-class services.

So by not collecting this revenue, are we going to say down the road, well, maybe we will cut Social Security; maybe we will cut Medicare; maybe we will cut Medicaid; or maybe we will cut the American military.

Now, we all know that in this discussion that the facts are very clear here. They have been upset with the IRS for a long period of time. We all remember the Lois Lerner episode, even though the facts in that case pointed out that the advocates on the right and the left were audited at the same rate. That is a fact.

So as we close this argument out, let's stand up for the honest taxpayers in America and make sure that the IRS that currently cracks down on the EITC will be able to actually address some of the complexities of modern tax law, which we all agree, by the way, the system is far too complex, but I have been through that argument many times here, as well.

This fear-mongering that you are hearing tonight about upgrading the technology and software investments at the IRS for the purposes of modeling for better tax compliance is just that. It is fear-mongering.

All we want is a set of rules that is applicable to all as it relates to tax collection. This is not anything other than simply suggesting that there is a fairness that is applied to the Internal Revenue Service, so that they might address and make sure that those at the very top are complying with the same laws we ask the wage earners through withholding to address every single day.

Thanks for a spirited debate, Mr. Speaker, and to our friends on the other side.

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

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

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

Madam Speaker, due to unforeseen circumstances, I was unable to be present on December 6, 2022, to vote on S. 4834, the PROTECT Our Children Act of 2022. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 510, S. 4834, PROTECT Our Children Act.

Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to extend my warmest congratulations to the Springfield, Massachusetts, Citadel of the Salvation Army, The Republican newspaper, El Pueblo Latino MassLive, Reminder Publishing, and The Westfield News upon the occasion of celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Toy for Joy campaign.

Founded in the early 1920s by the Bowles family, the Toy for Joy program has been a century-long collaboration between The Salvation Army and The Republican, with roots going back to The Daily News and the Union News, providing toys and books to children in need throughout the Pioneer Valley.

Sustained by the spirit of giving through periods of war, economic depression, and health crises, Toy for Joy has benefited thousands of families when they needed it most.

Thanks to the hard work of countless volunteers, along with the generosity of the people of western Massachusetts, Toy for Joy has continued to fulfill its mission of bringing Christmas joy to the children of our region during the holiday season.

Toy for Joy is a cherished initiative in western and central Massachusetts, and I, like others, want to wish it many more years of success and prosperity.

Madam Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my warmest congratulations to Springfield Museums and the Seymour Planetarium on celebrating the Planetarium's 85th anniversary. This milestone achievement deserves the highest praise for the hard work and dedication of the organization's board, staff, and everyone who has contributed to the Planetarium's success.

The doors of the Seymour Planetarium first opened in 1937. Founded by Chicopee brothers Frank, John and Stanley Korkosz, the Planetarium was created to educate and inspire, just as Frank Korkosz was inspired by the 1910 appearance of Halley's Comet, later building a rudimentary comet projector with a dynamite box and carbide lamp. Through their work, they have brought a new perspective of our universe to countless families and individuals.

Over the course of 85 years, the Planetarium has inspired generations of visitors. John Korkosz stressed the importance of curiosity and exploring the universe to better understand life on Earth. Through the creation of the Korkosz starball--the world's oldest operating, American-made star projector--he and his brothers have sparked that curiosity in countless others. The past few years, in particular, have highlighted the need for looking forward and inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate Springfield Museums and the Seymour Planetarium again on celebrating the Planetarium's 85th anniversary and thank them for continuing to educate and inspire our communities. The Planetarium is a cherished landmark of Massachusetts' First District, and I wish them many more years of success and prosperity.

Madam Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my warmest congratulations to Dr. Steve Murray on receiving the ``Lifetime Achievement'' award from Albany Pro Musica. A devoted instrumentalist, vocalist, teacher, and composer, Dr. Murray's remarkable contributions to Albany Pro Musica, the choral arts, and western Massachusetts' performing arts community have earned him this well-deserved honor.

For more than twenty years, Dr. Murray has been involved with Albany Pro Musica, the northeast's preeminent choral ensemble. Originally joining the group as a singer in 2002, he has invigorated western Massachusetts with his talents, creating special compositions and arrangements for the group. He was the inaugural composer when their composer-in-residence program was first launched in 2015 and remains in that position today.

Dr. Murray's work with Albany Pro Musica has been transformative for both the organization and the audiences it serves. An accomplished composer, his works have been recognized at major national and international composition contests. As a long-time resident of the Berkshires, he has brought his experience and knowledge back to his community, teaching music theory, song writing, and computer music notation at Berkshire Community College.

Madam Speaker, in light of Dr. Steve Murray's many achievements and remarkable contributions to the First District of Massachusetts, I wish to congratulate him once again on being presented the ``Lifetime Achievement'' award by Albany Pro Musica. Dr. Murray has devoted his life to the creation and performance of music and has undoubtedly played a pivotal role in shaping the performing arts culture throughout the Commonwealth. I am delighted to join with his family, friends, and the entire western Massachusetts community in thanking him for his many years of dedicated service.

Madam Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my warmest congratulations to The Bureau for Exceptional Children and Adults (JERICHO) on celebrating their 50th anniversary. This milestone achievement deserves the highest praise for the hard work and dedication of the organization's board, staff, and everyone who has contributed to JERICHO's success.

Founded in the late 1960s by Father Robert F. Wagner and Sr. Joan Magnani, JERICHO was created to address the need for religious education classes and services for people with special needs in western Massachusetts. Through their work, they have brought new awareness and previously unavailable support to those families and individuals who are often ignored.

For 50 years, JERICHO has striven to fulfill its mission of bringing dignity, respect, and wholeness into the lives of people with disabilities and their families. In that time, thousands of families have benefitted from the programs, support, and the many other services provided by JERICHO throughout the western Massachusetts community. The past few years, in particular, have highlighted the need for the support and connection gained through organizations such as JERICHO.

Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate JERICHO again on celebrating their 50th anniversary and thank them for continuing to provide the means to meet life's spiritual, moral, and social challenges. JERICHO is a cherished member of Massachusetts' First District, and I wish them many more years of success and prosperity.

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

As we begin the proceeding here on the Ways and Means portion of the legislation, I want to begin by calling attention to the untimely and tragic loss of our colleague, Jackie Walorski, and two members of her staff.

Jackie was a force on the committee, as well as the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support. She led with deep commitment to children and families and was well regarded as a member of the community, a real humanitarian.

You couldn't miss her bright smile or her booming laugh. She embodied what it meant to serve.

When she called me ``Mr. Chairman,'' as she always did in the hallway, loudly, with a booming voice, I know she meant it.

We were all lucky to have had her as a colleague and even luckier to be able to call her a friend.

The families and loved ones of Congresswoman Walorski, Emma Thomson, and Zachery Potts remain in our thoughts and prayers. May they rest in peace, as valued Members of the Ways and Means family.

Madam Speaker, I rise in full support of the Inflation Reduction Act. I look forward, as I have in the past, to this moment, reciting the wisdom that is often referenced by me, because the words come from another son of Massachusetts, Mr. Webster.

Over the Speaker's rostrum that adorns this marvelous institution, which I love, the quote is simple: ``Let us develop the resources of our land, call forth its powers, build up its institutions, and promote all its great interests and see whether we also in our day and generation may not perform something worthy to be remembered.''

The Inflation Reduction Act is something worthy of being remembered. This is substantive and transformative legislation, a reminder to all that in the legislative life and its rhythms, we generally pursue perfection but accept the possible. Part of that is what we are marking at this moment.

This is a historic win for family pocketbooks, for Americans' health, and for the future of climate security. We fund these gains by ensuring that large, profitable companies pay their fair share, just like all members of the American family are asked to do.

The Inflation Reduction Act will lower costs. For the first time, Medicare will negotiate drug prices, and there will be a cap on what comes out of seniors' pockets for their lifesaving prescriptions. No more rationing or forgoing necessary medicines.

We are lowering healthcare costs for millions of low-income and middle-income Americans by extending the Affordable Care Act's premium tax credit enhancements through 2025.

Let me give you a statistic that is compelling. Madam Speaker, 100 percent of the children in Massachusetts have health insurance, and 97 percent of the adults in Massachusetts have health insurance. It polls extraordinarily well in terms of its success ratios because we decided--labor, business, Democrat, and Republican--to make it work, and we did.

These enhanced premium credits, first enacted by the American Rescue Plan, have made way for record-low uninsured rates that have put hundreds of dollars back into the pockets of low- and middle-income Americans.

This legislation will also make the largest investment in tackling climate

change that our Nation has ever witnessed. The investments in clean energy, energy efficiency, and clean manufacturing will generate 9 million good-paying jobs.

These historic wins are achieved with sensible and responsible multiyear investments in the IRS.

I have been a member of the Ways and Means Committee, Madam Speaker, for 30 years. Let me give our friends an interesting statistic about the American family. We have the highest voluntary compliance rate in the world. Eighty-six percent of the American people pay their taxes. This idea that we are creating 87,000 armed representatives of the Federal Government to go out and harass the American people is nonsensical. Retirements alone are going to require a substantive investment. The IRS has fewer than 20 percent of the employees that it once did.

What is important to remember here is this: We want to make sure with this investment in the IRS that we continue to have a high voluntary compliance rate and also to invest in the necessary technology that will allow the modeling to make sure compliance remains with us, as well.

These are historical investments and achievements, and they also are going to continue our quest on the Democratic side here for an element of tax fairness that will hold people at the very top as responsible as the other side likes to hold people who receive the EITC tax credit in terms of their request for audits. We do this simply by asking the most powerful among us to pay their fair share. This is what a full and fair tax administration is about.

The American people have been through an unthinkable hardship over the last 2\1/2\ years, but they entrusted Joe Biden and congressional Democrats to keep them safe and to rebuild our economy.

Here is a fact: On March 11, 2020, Dr. Fauci gave his warning. He warned us of what was coming. In April 2020, America had lost 22 million jobs. Here we are, 2 years later, in the Biden administration, and every job has been returned. There are 10.6 million jobs that go unanswered right now in the American economy.

We have bounced back faster than we imagined. Not only have all these jobs been returned, but for 51 straight days, gasoline prices have fallen.

That is an issue about supply and demand, by the way. It is about international events, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine and supply chains across the world. Those chains that I have just referenced have been shored up, and retailers are starting to realistically address some speculation as it relates to price.

Democrats shouldn't be asked to do this alone, but we are being asked to do it today alone.

We are going to hear a lot of Washington talk from folks on the other side that want to address the politics of the situation rather than cap the cost of insulin for their constituents. They want to protect the pocketbooks of those who would raise prescription drug prices unnecessarily and cut costs for workers and their families, which we intend to do.

You are going to hear a lot of spin on this bill that has received a lot of endorsements, even from bipartisan former Treasury Secretaries, but that is because the opponents are out of options.

The Inflation Reduction Act sets our Nation on a healthier, fairer, and more prosperous path. We have heard the calls of the American people, and with the Inflation Reduction Act, we continue to win this moment for them in its totality.

Madam Speaker, I urge our colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the very accomplished gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), who has had a profound influence on the renewable energy part of this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind), who is retiring but has made many valued contributions to our Nation and committee.

Madam Speaker, the bill we are considering in the House today, the Inflation Reduction Act, started in the House of Representatives as the Build Back Better Act.

Three years ago, all Democratic Members of the Ways and Means Committee introduced the GREEN Act as the Committee's consensus legislation for tax priorities relating to climate, clean energy, and energy efficiency. The GREEN Act was reintroduced, again with all Ways and Means Democrats, in the 117th Congress.

The GREEN Act formed the base of the climate and energy subtitle of the Build Back Better Act, which the Ways and Means Committee marked up in September 2021 and passed out of the House, following significant input from the Senate, in November 2021. Many provisions of Subtitle D of the Inflation Reduction Act remain substantially similar to those that the House developed and passed.

As the Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, I wish to offer additional detail on the legislative intent behind certain provisions included in this legislation.

This legislation provides long-term extensions of tax credits for renewable technologies such as solar, wind, geothermal, and hydropower by extending section 45 and section 48 and enacting their successor credits under sec. 45Y and section 48E. These provisions were drafted with the goal of unleashing clean energy deployment, in line with President Biden's pledge of a 50-52 percent reduction from 2005 levels in economy-wide net greenhouse gas pollution in 2030. Additionally, this legislation provides enhanced credit amounts for projects additional goals, such as those meeting domestic content requirements or located in energy communities.

Currently, these renewable energy tax credits often remain out of reach for low-income communities, which disproportionately bear the burden of pollution. The Committee believes that our renewable energy deployment should align with President Biden's Justice40 initiative, which aims to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of federal investments in climate and clean energy to disadvantaged communities. To achieve these goals, we must bring all resources to bear across all agencies--the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and more. For example, the Council on Environmental Quality has developed a tool to assist federal agencies with best targeting resources towards disadvantaged communities.

This goal is closely aligned with a provision that I am proud to have worked with Rep. Danny Davis to include in this legislation. H.R. 5183, provides an enhanced investment tax credit for projects in connection with low-income communities, and is included in new section 45(e) and section 48E(h) in this legislation. It draws on the success in California of a clean energy program that helps hundreds of thousands of low-income residents in multifamily housing enjoy the cost savings and environmental advantages of solar.

This program provides allocated bonus credits for projects benefiting low-income residents, including multifamily housing, community solar, and individual low-income residential homeowners. The Committee intends that the program prioritize low-income individuals and communities throughout the selection process. Low-income individuals can benefit from this legislation in multiple ways, including in the form of lower electricity bills, reduction in locally harmful air pollution, inclusive economic opportunities through training and employment on such projects, and benefits to the community proven through active engagement and outreach to community members. Thus, in selecting projects for allocation, the Committee intends for the Secretary to take into account which projects demonstrate the greatest health and economic benefits for disadvantaged individuals (including benefits related to the ability to withstand extreme weather events); the greatest employment and wages for such individuals; and the greatest engagement with and outreach to such individuals, including through partnerships with local governments, community-based organizations, and Indian tribal governments.

Additionally, this legislation is designed to provide maximum flexibility to the Secretary in designing an efficient application and allocation process to meet the needs of low-income residents. Specifically, the legislation is intended to allow residential rooftop providers to identify potential customers in qualifying census tracts and submit applications to serve these customers up-front, before these businesses have contractually engaged these customers. My understanding is that these businesses will need to know if they have received a credit allocation before they can offer the benefits of the credit to these customers so that businesses can provide customers accurate pricing information and cost savings to low-income customers.

This legislation also makes several important additions to the property eligible under the section 48 investment tax credit and its successor credit, section 48E.

The first is the addition of energy storage technologies. This provision originated as H.R. 1684, the Energy Storage Tax Incentive and Deployment, as advanced by Representatives Mike Doyle and Earl Blumenauer, and included in the GREEN Act and the Build Back Better Act. It is the Committee's intent that the technologies included in H.R. 1684, such as pumped hydropower, are considered energy storage technologies for this legislation.

Pumped-storage hydroelectric facilities are sometimes called water batteries. Electricity is used to pump water from a lower to an upper reservoir. When needed, this water is then released and run through turbines to convert the stored energy back into electricity.

The definition of energy storage technologies includes ``property . . . which receives, stores, and delivers energy for conversion to electricity'' under new section 48(c)(6)(A)(i). Thus, it is the Committee's intent such property not only include the two reservoirs as well as the pipe and pump to move the water uphill, but also the turbines and step-up transformer to convert the stored energy back into electricity.

Additionally, relating to the coordination of the credit for energy storage technologies and the section 45 production tax credit, the Committee intends that a credit is allowed for energy storage technology under section 48 regardless of whether it is part of a facility for which a credit under section 45 is or has been allowed.

The second is the addition of electrochromatic glass, also known as dynamic glass, to section 48(a)(3)(A)(ii). It is the Committee's intent that the basis for such property should include the cost of the glass itself including the devices, the wiring and other components necessary for the glass to change its light transmittance properties, as well as the window frame and the capitalized costs for the installation of these and any other related components.

Additionally, this legislation creates new section 45W, the credit for qualified commercial clean vehicles, to incentivize clean vehicles and mobile machinery. In including mobile

machinery, the Committee intends to incentivize cleaner farm equipment, construction equipment, and other equipment. As the Secretary develops regulations or other guidance to carry out the purposes of this section, the Committee believes it is appropriate to consider industry standards when applying rules in the section that reference vehicles. For example, the Secretary may look established methods of determining equipment weight for purposes of determining credit limits based upon gross vehicle weights and may allow, as a substitute, other commonly used identification or serial numbers when administering the vehicle identification number requIrements.

This legislation is historic, and I look forward to seeing the impact these, and the many other clean energy incentives contained in this bill, have on our carbon reduction goals in the coming years.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), who is always pleased to let us know what he is thinking.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Danny K. Davis), one of the most talented members of the committee.

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

Madam Speaker, this is misinformation about the IRS. They need the funding to better serve the American people. The idea that, all of a sudden, there is an army of IRS agents that is coming after the American family doesn't stand up under the magnifying glass of critical analysis.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Higgins), a really capable member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Madam Speaker, a reminder that there are, I believe, almost 600,425 Medicare beneficiaries who have diabetes in Pennsylvania. It is important that the bill that we have caps insulin costs.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Ms. Sewell), a terrific member of the committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. DelBene), who is well known for her work in the renewable energy field.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu), whose work in the arena of renewable energy is well known.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), the majority whip of the Democratic Caucus, whose district I have visited.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Brendan F. Boyle).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Beyer), who has had a profound influence on this legislation and knows it inside and out.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Schneider), who is a very valued member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the very capable gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez).

I will be the first to acknowledge that, Madam Speaker. I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

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

This is a big day, and this is a big deal. We are putting people out front and making good on the promises we have made, lowering drug prices and investing in our climate.

A mountain-high pile of legislative achievements have we: the American Rescue Plan, the CHIPS and Science Act, and now this achievement for the American people.

Lyndon Johnson was right: ``Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.''

With the Inflation Reduction Act headed to the President's desk--and give Joe Biden credit--we stand here assured that tomorrow is ours to win.

We have had bold dreams in this Congress, and we have delivered big on those dreams. None of this would have been possible without the dedication and expertise of the staff of the Ways and Means Committee, the best in the business. They have worked nonstop for 2 years for the American people, and today, their hard work is on display for the world to witness and await the President's signature.

The Inflation Reduction Act sets our Nation on a healthier, fairer, and more prosperous path.

Madam Speaker, I urge our colleagues to support this critical legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, a point of clarification, are we doing Special Orders or 1 minutes?

I think there is a time set aside every day for Special Orders.

Madam Speaker, I stand today to pay tribute to David Trimble, an important contributor to the formation and the success of the Good Friday Agreement and the original First Minister for Northern Ireland. I got to know David very well, and it is unfortunate that he has left us too early.

All of the political parties in the North put aside longstanding animosities and came together to make the Good Friday Agreement possible. David Trimble showed uncommon courage to ignore dissenting voices in the Unionist community to achieve that historic accord.

For all of us, sometimes it is difficult to say no to our own side. It was not an easy process. There were many months of negotiations, and not everybody got what they wanted, but the Nobel Prize that he and John Hume received in 1998 was a reflection of those tough decisions. As we approach the 25th anniversary of the agreement, it endures because of his patient approach, coupled with a keen focus on dialogue.

My deepest condolences to his wife, Daphne, and family. Today, we know that on the island of Ireland, peace is within our sight because of the work that David Trimble contributed.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairwoman for her good work.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the CHIPS and Science Act. We are here to put people over political discussions by lowering costs, creating jobs, and supercharging our domestic manufacturing.

Our domestic manufacturing from time to time has lagged; and in this legislation, we will reinvigorate our chip production nationwide.

Through sensible tax credits, we will incentivize further research and development and bring 100,000 good-paying jobs to the American family.

I don't understand how the other side can be opposed to this. This is an argument about national security. That is what this is about when everything is pushed back. We have this opportunity here to put aside the theatrical discussion and proceed with sensible, substantive legislation.

Let's get on voting for this CHIPS and Science Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the centennial of James Joyce's ``Ulysses,'' arguably one of the great literary accomplishments in history. The time-honored epic was published in its entirety on Joyce's 40th birthday, February 2, 1922.

Born in Dublin and educated at University College Dublin, his words transcend countries across the world. The

story is read and studied worldwide, and Joyce himself has become an intrinsic part of world culture.

Through a stream of consciousness writing style, and with humor and parody, Joyce has kept literary thinkers and historians engaged with interpreting his words, even 100 years later.

In 265,222 words, Joyce chronicles the simple and even mundane encounters of protagonist Leopold Bloom on one ordinary day in Dublin: Thursday, June 16, 1904. Yet, Joyce does it with such wit, linguistic exuberance, and high regard for the ordinary and often overlooked details that readers remain captivated.

I am one of those readers.

June 16, today, is considered by Joyce fans as Bloomsday, and festivals are taking place in Dublin, here in the States, and around the world.

As such, let me wish all of you a happy Bloomsday.

Madam Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Sandra Doran on being inaugurated as the sixth president of Bay Path University in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. As Bay Path marks their 125th anniversary, I could not think of a more appropriate platform to celebrate the inauguration of President Doran.

Over the past 18 years, President Doran's experience in academics has culminated in her becoming a leader in higher education. Most recently, President Doran served as President of Salem Academy and College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the nation's oldest women's college. In just two years, President Doran helped develop and implement a plan to bring financial stability to Salem College, while transforming their academic programs to educate future generations of female leaders. Prior to beginning her academic career in 2004, President Doran worked in the private sector for 18 years, building a unique skillset that will serve her well in her new position at Bay Path.

In 1897, Bay Path University was founded upon the ideals of providing career-focused educational programs and providing students with the resources needed to affect real change in their communities. Offering 71 all-women undergraduate programs, and 33 co-educational graduate programs, Bay Path prides itself on empowering its diverse student body of more than 3,000 students to help women close the wage gap and stem the cycle of poverty. President Doran has demonstrated her commitment to these fundamental issues throughout her career, and that is why I am confident she will be a strong leader and outspoken advocate as Bay Path begins a new era in the institution's history.

Madam Speaker, I would like to once again congratulate President Doran on being inaugurated as the sixth president of Bay Path University. Bay Path is a cherished institution in Massachusetts' First District, and I wish their faculty, staff, student body, and new president, Sandra Doran, many more years of success and prosperity.