“This is the Democrats’ plan for America. Higher prices and higher taxes for the little guy and welfare for the wealthy and well-connected.”
As prepared for delivery.
“Good morning and welcome to everyone who is joining us today at the state fair.
“I want to thank my good friend Randy Feenstra for hosting us in his home state. Randy is a champion for rural America and small towns because it’s where he’s from. I can tell you that when he’s in DC, he always brings Iowa with him.
“We also have the entire Iowa House delegation joining us. Few delegations are as good as the one up here about banding together to fight for their communities.
“I do want to take a minute just to express my disappointment that none of our Democrat colleagues have joined us here. This is our second field hearing in a row where none have made the effort to join us in conducting our committee business outside the marble halls of Congress. We are here to sit down and have a conversation with working people about the need to protect Americans from $4.6 trillion in tax hikes next year. You would think that would merit at least one Democrat showing up to listen.
“The state fair couldn’t be more different than the halls of Congress and that’s exactly why we’re here—to listen to regular people. People who run a small business, work their farm, or folks just trying to make ends meet for their families.
“Part of the problem is every dollar you earn is taxed over and over again. Just think about all the taxes you pay every day.
“You pay property tax on your house. You pay taxes on the land you own and work. Your car and the gas to fill it up to get to your job or to use on your farm are taxed. Taxes on your employer means a smaller paycheck for you. That paycheck is taxed by Washington and then taxed again buying groceries and other basics for your family. Once you stop working, your retirement is taxed. Even after death, Uncle Sam still wants his cut, and he wants your grieving family members to pay it.
“Republicans look at working families and want to make it easier to help them get ahead. And we know that a smaller government, less regulations, and less taxation is the way to do that.
“Under President Trump, we passed a tax cut that benefitted the working class. After that tax cut, people making less than $100,000 got, on average, a 16 percent cut in their tax bill to the government, while the top 1 percent actually saw their share of taxes go up. Workers in the bottom 10 percent saw 50 percent faster wage growth than people in the highest 10 percent.
“When working families prosper, America prospers. Five million jobs were created after enactment of the Trump tax cuts. Investment rose over 20 percent. We ended the decades-long trend of American businesses moving their headquarters and jobs overseas.
“The lesson we should take from the Trump tax cuts is that when we put working families first, help small businesses succeed, and give Americans the tools to outcompete China, America wins.
“Democrats in Washington, including Vice President Harris, don’t see it that way. They look at working families, and they see an ATM to fund their big government spending.
“That’s why President Biden and Vice President Harris have both separately promised to let these beneficial tax cuts expire in order to raise taxes on ALL Americans. Vice President Harris has actually gone so far to call it a Day One priority to repeal the Trump tax cuts in their entirety.
“Letting the Trump tax cuts expire would mean the average family of four earning $75,000 or less a year would face a $1,500 tax hike. That means smaller paychecks for families already struggling to make ends meet because of inflation.
“The Child Tax Credit would be slashed in half.
“The Guaranteed Deduction would be cut in half. The death tax exemption would also be slashed in half, especially hurting farmers in states like Iowa.
“Small and family run businesses like so many farms are, would see their tax burden climb to 43.4 percent, making it harder to compete against larger corporations paying a 21 percent tax rate.
“So other than tax increases, what exactly are the tax priorities of the other side? As I said, none of my Democrats colleagues are here to answer that question, but if they were, my guess is they would be celebrating that today actually marks the two-year anniversary of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act becoming law. Democrats stuffed that bill with $650 billion in special interest tax breaks for the wealthy, big banks, billion-dollar companies, and China. Despite its name, the Inflation Reduction Act has done nothing to lower prices from where they were two years ago. It would be better named the Inflation Expansion Act. None of this would have happened without Vice President Harris’s tie-breaking vote in the Senate. As the tie breaking vote, she helped usher through a 10 trillion dollar increase in government spending in just their first two years in office.
“This is the Democrats’ plan for America. Higher prices and higher taxes for the little guy and welfare for the wealthy and well-connected.
“That’s why Republicans on this Committee have formed Tax Teams and are traveling all over the country, to build on the successful Trump tax cuts and stop the $7 trillion Biden-Harris tax hike. We have held over 60 meetings so far, with many more on the way. And just yesterday, the Rural America Tax Team traveled through Nebraska and western Iowa to hear how the tax code can help farmers and small towns.
“I want to thank the witnesses for being here today and sharing how the Trump tax cuts made a difference for you and your community. We also want to hear from everyone here. There will be clipboards passed out for everyone to share with us your concerns and ideas. We will enter those into the official hearing record and take those back with us to Washington as we consider how to build on the success of the Trump tax cuts.”