Delaney Encouraged by Chairman Ryan's Comments in Support of Using International Tax Reform to Rebuild Infrastructure

Statement

Today, House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan announced that he is working on a short-term fix for the Highway Trust Fund during an event at the Christian Science Monitor. Speaking at the Monitor's Breakfast, Ryan discussed using international tax reform to rebuild America's infrastructure. Chairman Ryan stated that there is a "sense of urgency" to reform the international tax code and that he plans to "exhaust the possibility" of using international tax reform for a multi-year highway bill before considering other strategies. Ryan signaled that his first preference for a highway bill would be international tax reform.

In January, Congressman John K. Delaney (MD-6) filed the Infrastructure 2.0 Act, which uses international corporate tax reform to patch the Highway Trust Fund hole for six years, creates a new financing tool and establishes a path for broader pro-growth tax reform and improved infrastructure financing. Since 2013, Delaney has been a leader in building support for this framework, with his Partnership to Build America Act ending the 113th Congress with over 40 Republican and 40 Democratic cosponsors.

"This morning Chairman Ryan commented on pairing international tax reform and infrastructure investments. As someone who has spent the last several years building a large bipartisan coalition around this concept, I view Mr. Ryan's thinking on the topic to be smart and well-reasoned," said Congressman Delaney. "He correctly points out that repatriation holidays don't work and change behavior in a counter-productive way and his comments also reflect a deep understanding of the anti-competitive nature of our current international tax system and the perverse incentives that flow from it. We will continue to make the bipartisan case for the Infrastructure 2.0 Act, which follows Mr. Ryan's macro framing, by permanently fixing our international tax system, creates a path for trillions of dollars of overseas cash to return to the U.S., funds a six-year highway bill and launches a massive U.S. infrastructure investment program."

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