WHAT:
The Subcommittee on Energy, chaired by Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI), held a hearing today on the economic impacts of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, particularly on small businesses, consumers, and the energy sector.
WHY:
“Across the nation, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is resulting in widespread economic benefits, providing tangible relief for American workers and their families," said #SubEnergy Chairman Upton. “The savings resulting from tax reform is now beginning to reinvigorate our national economy and a renewed confidence and lower cost of doing business is resulting in bigger paychecks, more jobs, and more benefits. This is not just political rhetoric - we are actually seeing the benefits of tax reform across the United States economy."
WHO:
* Ms. Holly Wade, Director, Research & Policy Analysis, National Federation of Independent Business (Opening Statement )
* Mr. Tom Ferguson, Chief Executive Officer, AZZ, Inc. (Opening Statement )
* Mr. Sam McCammon, President, Anamet Electrical, Inc. (Opening Statement )
* Mr. Seth Hanlon, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress (Opening Statement )
KEY MOMENTS:
Click to watch Chairman Walden’s full remarks
“I was out in Bend, Oregon this weekend and I met with the folks at GoodLife Brewery. It’s a start-up, family owned brewery and distillery started in 2010. And they proudly said just the change in the excise tax on beer will save them $75,000 and they said ‘we’re not putting that in our pockets - we’re hiring two new people part-time and investing in new equipment.’ I said ‘don’t forget the tax also said you get to write off that equipment.’ I was a small business owner for 20 years with my wife and when you sign the front of a pay roll check it makes a difference and you understand the importance of the changes we made in the tax code to grow the economy." - Full Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR)
“For the first time in about three decades we’re competitive with our global competitors, which tend to be much larger than us. … So we’re now competitive and we’re much more confident, so we’re growing. A lot of our European competitors because of their tax rates they’ve been able to invest more aggressively in advanced machinery. So now we’re doing that. We’re upgrading our technology in plants like in Richland as well as in most of our electrical systems plants too. We’re able to do a lot more training because we got the cash savings." - Mr. Tom Ferguson, CEO, AZZ Incorporated
“Sometimes here in Washington we think everything’s big city - Los Angeles, Miami, New York City - and we kind of forget about small town rural America and how important small business is to the livelihood of these communities." - #SubEnvironment Chairman John Shimkus (R-IL)
“In our monthly survey before the law we saw taxes and regulatory issues were some of their largest challenges in operating their business with time responsibility and complying with taxes and regulations, but also the cost burden. They’re certainly feeling some relief from both sides of those areas and then with that they’re able to support more growth, expansion, and capital spending in their businesses and reinvest increased earnings and profits." - Ms. Holly Wade, Director, Research and Policy Analysis, National Federation of Independent Business
“It’s amazing as I listen to this and talking about how it’s hurting families and there’s no money. I’m thinking of the over 200,000 AT&T employees for instance who got $1,000 each. You’re talking about middle America and you’re talking about middle-class I just don’t see how you can say that. … It’s like you’ve been in a car wreck and you’re talking to two witnesses that we’re in the same wreck and they have completely different narratives. I think it’s clear that when you talk to some of the employees who have gotten extra money. It’s real money and it helps those families." - #SubOversight Chairman Gregg Harper (R-MS) to Mr. Seth Hanlon, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
RESOURCES:
Watch Chairman Walden’s full remarks HERE.
The Majority Memorandum, witness testimony, and an archived webcast are available online HERE.
