Providing for Consideration of H.R. Restoring Tax Fairness for States and Localities Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the rule reported by the Committee on Rules providing for the consideration of H.R. 5377, the Restoring Tax Fairness for States and Localities Act. I was an original cosponsor of this legislation.

Last Congress, the middle class was targeted by the former House majority. The tax scam law of 2017 remains one of the most destructive bills we have ever seen here because it specifically went after the middle class. The principal way it did this was by capping the State and local tax, or SALT, deduction, one of the oldest deductions on the books. It existed before the tax code, and there was a reason for it.

This unfair cap hit New Jersey like an anvil dropped from five stories up. The average value of all New Jersey families' deductions was $19,162 in 2017, a figure double the $10,000 cap.

But this is not just about New Jersey. The SALT deduction directly benefited more than 46.5 million households, which represents over 100 million Americans. Almost 40 percent of taxpayers earning between $50,000 and $75,000 claimed the SALT deduction, and over 70 percent of taxpayers making $100,000 to $200,000 used it. Imagine that, that spread over millions of households from coast to coast.

These are families in New Jersey, Illinois, New York, Minnesota, Kentucky, and Texas. They are not all blue States. That is where you made your mistake. You tried to nail us, and you got everybody else paying through the nose to fund a tax cut, which you know went to Big Business and executives, which didn't invest in the government. It didn't invest in this government bill. It didn't invest in industry. It invested in the pockets of shareholders. We know. Look at the data.

When I hold this up at my meetings, your home is worth less than it should be. That has happened all over the country. That is what it has done.

Get rid of all the deductions; see what will happen to charity donations.

Nor is this just a blue-State issue, like some bad faith critics claim. In 2017, the average SALT deduction exceeded $10,000 in 25 States and the District of Columbia.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. PASCRELL. At least 10 are so-called red States where the average deduction exceeded $9,000, including South Carolina, Idaho, Arkansas, and West Virginia.

SALT benefits flow to all communities, like my hometown of Paterson. SALT relief empowers communities to make investments in broadly shared services.

I want to emphasize, this package is fully paid for, so don't give me this malarkey that you are concerned about the poor people, all of a sudden. It is like the Sun coming out in the morning, all of a sudden, and we are concerned about the rich. It doesn't work out that way. It doesn't work out that way.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. PASCRELL. Will the gentleman yield?

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source