Delaware Online - Try Bi-Partisan Tax Reform. It Worked for Reagan

Op-Ed

By Chris Coons

As you may have heard in the newspaper or on TV, the conventional wisdom in Washington, DC is that bipartisan tax reform is too hard. According to the skeptics, the parties are simply too far apart to come together to make our tax system better for working Americans.

I disagree.

Back in 1986, the conventional wisdom was the same. Even though our tax system was broken then, too, the skeptics assured us that it couldn't be fixed.

But then, something unexpected happened: Republican President Ronald Reagan, Democratic Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill, and members of Congress from both parties worked together to get the job done.

Even though fixing the tax code was complicated, their approach was simple. They knew they had strong disagreements, but they held lengthy public debates, compromised on both sides of the aisle, and eventually passed a major tax reform bill that was bipartisan and did not add to our deficits and national debt.

Now, thirty-one years later, our tax code is once again in need of a major overhaul. Our tax system is complicated and full of loopholes, our business tax laws are making us less competitive, and the middle class is overdue for a tax cut.

Unfortunately, this time around, Republicans in Congress and the White House are taking the exact opposite approach that President Reagan and congressional leaders took the last time we passed real tax reform.

I think that's a big mistake.

Last week, without any consultation or conversation with Democrats, Republicans in the Senate followed the lead of House Republicans and released a several-hundred-page tax bill that impacts every single American.

I have serious concerns with this bill, and I think you should, too.

I'm alarmed by how much this bill will add to our nation's annual budget deficits and by the long-term impacts it will have on our federal budget. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the Republican tax bill will cost over $1.7 trillion.

I'm also worried that the big budget deficits that result from this bill in the future will be used to justify funding cuts to important government programs like Medicare and Medicaid, or to housing and education. That's a recipe to devastate working families and seniors.

The bill is based on the premise -- proven false time and time again -- that tax cuts for the richest Americans and corporations will somehow trickle down to help the majority of working Americans. We know that's just not how it works.

The Senate bill proposes that we cut the top corporate tax rate nearly in half, exempt more wealthy individuals from the estate tax, which impacts only the top 0.2% of Americans, and repeal the alternative minimum tax, which primarily affects households making well over $200,000 annually.

Altogether, the core elements of this plan amount to over $2 trillion in tax cuts to corporations and the wealthiest families in America, but my Republican colleagues are asking us to trust that the benefits will somehow reach the middle class.

As if all that wasn't enough, Senate Republicans announced late Tuesday night, just 48 hours before the first vote on the bill, that they've also inserted a provision into this supposed tax legislation that will further sabotage the Affordable Care Act, risk insurance coverage for millions of Americans, and raise insurance premiums for millions more.

As a Democrat serving at a time when Republicans control Congress and the White House, I often disagree with the policies supported by the Republican majority, but I'm not serving in the Senate simply to say "no' to ideas I don't agree with. I believe it's my job to listen to Delawareans and offer constructive, bipartisan ideas of my own to try and find a way forward.

So, here are a few ideas I have for bipartisan, revenue-neutral tax reform.

First, we should take tax giveaways to the wealthiest Americans off the table. The President has said over and over again that he wants to cut taxes for the middle class and help small and medium-sized businesses grow. I agree, so let's keep it simple and start with that.

One way to do that is by expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit, which is one of the most effective tax programs ever implemented. It's popular on both sides of the aisle because it not only helps working families, but also rewards and encourages work.

Second, I think we can and should reduce corporate tax rates, but only if it's in exchange for corporations buying American, hiring more Americans, paying better wages, and investing in our communities. A massive corporate tax cut with no strings attached will not help the middle class.

Third, we should increase tax incentives for manufacturing and innovation in the United States.

We know that manufacturing has one of the largest multiplier effects of any industry, meaning that when we invest in manufacturing, the results for the overall economy multiply those investments three, five, or even ten-fold. That's why I've introduced two bipartisan bills -- one with Republican Senator Shelley Capito of West Virginia and another with Republican Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas -- that encourage manufacturers to use "Made in America" parts and incentivize companies that research and develop products in America to actually make them here, too.

Finally, I believe we can alter the tax code to boost every aspect of the American energy industry, from oil and gas to the latest clean energy technologies. I've got a bipartisan bill that does just that, too, and my lead co-sponsor, Republican Congressman Ted Poe from Texas, is about the most conservative guy you can find in Congress.

Whether it's Democrats or Republicans, we've seen that to pass large, sweeping reform bills, on health care, taxes, or any other tough issue, we need both parties working together to succeed.

While there were several leaders -- Republicans and Democrats -- who helped pass tax reform in 1986, we remember most that it was President Reagan who brought everyone together. It's an enduring part of his legacy because it is an example of the power of effective, presidential leadership.

I encourage President Trump and Republican leaders to stop trying to pass tax reform with only Republicans and reach across the aisle to work with Democrats and pass something that all Americans can get behind.

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