Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act of 2013

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight in support of H.R. 3043, the Tribal General Welfare Exclusion Act of 2013.

First, I would like to thank Congressman Nunes for his hard work on this legislation. Without his leadership, this bill would not have made it as far as it has today.

I would also like to thank the Ways and Means chairman, Dave Camp, for his support throughout this process, and all my colleagues on the other side of the aisle that have joined in the effort to get this legislation passed and considered this evening.

This legislation codifies, Mr. Speaker, the proper tax treatment of certain services provided by the tribe for education, public safety, to promote its culture, and to provide for the general welfare of the tribe. This is an issue of fair treatment of taxpayers--in this case, Native American taxpayers, such as those who live in the sovereign Seneca Nation in western New York, in my home district, the 23rd Congressional District of New York.

This legislation will ensure that the unique legal relationship and tax issues with regard to members of the Indian Nations and tribal governments are recognized and respected by the IRS going forward.

I urge my colleagues to join us and pass this legislation tonight. It is only fair that we do the right thing by these Native American taxpayers.

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