WASHINGTON - Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI) today made the following floor statement in opposition to H.R. 4719, “America Gives More Act":
I want to be clear what this debate is about, and what it is not about.
It’s not a debate about the merits of public charities and private foundations. We all support the good works of the charitable community and strive to provide charities with the resources they need to carry out their mission.
Indeed, along with Congressman Gerlach, I am the sponsor of the Food Donation Deduction. I’m a lead sponsor. And I think that highlights - this is a debate not about charities, not about foundations, it’s about fiscal responsibility and fiscal priorities.
To date, Republicans have selected to make permanent 10 of the approximately 60 expired tax provisions - without a single dime of offset.
After today, if this bill passes, the House will have approved $534 billion worth of tax provisions - without a single offset -- wiping out more than half of the deficit reduction enacted last year during the bipartisan fiscal cliff deal.
Indeed, this bill is totally inconsistent with the Republican tax reform draft unveiled in February.
And I might add - if you add up the 14 bills that came out of the Ways and Means Committee, entirely without offsets, it’s $825 billion.
I was reading this morning the debate that I heard yesterday on a Motion to Recommit. And I was reading this language from Mr. Krenshaw in opposition to the Motion to Recommit. And this is what he said about how Republicans proceed with budget issues:
“We do it just like every American business does, like every American family - they sit down, they take the money that they have, and they set priorities. Then they make some tough choices. That is what we have done."
There’s not a single tough choice in what the Republicans are doing. It’s essentially throwing discretion and tough choices to the wind.
The enhanced deduction for food contributions that the Chairman has spoken so eloquently about was expressly repealed in the Republican reform draft; the IRA rollover provision was allowed to expire.
So you have irresponsibility, you have inconsistency, and you also have a violation of priorities.
Left to an uncertain fate are important provisions like the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, the New Markets Tax Credit, and the renewable energy credits, as well as the long-term status of expansions to the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit.
This is the Statement of Administration Policy just issued:
“The Administration supports measures that enhance non-profits, philanthropic organizations, and faith-based and other community organizations in their many roles, including as a safety net for those most in need, an economic engine for job creation, a tool for environmental conservation that encourages land protections for current and future generations, and an incubator of innovation to foster solutions to some of the Nation’s toughest challenges. The President's Budget includes a number of proposals that would enhance and simplify charitable giving incentives for many individuals.
“However, the Administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R. 4719, which would permanently extend three current provisions that offer enhanced tax breaks for certain donations and add another two similar provisions without offsetting the cost. If this same, unprecedented approach of making certain traditional tax extenders permanent without offsets were followed for the other traditional tax extenders, it would add $500 billion or more to deficits over the next ten years, wiping out most of the deficit reduction achieved through the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2013. Just two months ago, House Republicans themselves passed a budget resolution that required offsetting any tax extenders that were made permanent with other revenue measures.
“As with other similar proposals, Republicans are imposing a double standard by adding to the deficit to continue and create tax breaks that primarily benefit higher-income individuals, while insisting on offsetting the proposed extension of emergency unemployment benefits and the discretionary funding increases for defense and non-defense priorities such as research and development in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. House Republicans also are making clear their priorities by rushing to make these tax cuts permanent without offsets even as the House Republican budget resolution calls for raising taxes on 26 million working families and students by letting important improvements to the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, and education tax credits expire.
“The Administration wants to work with Congress to make progress on measures that strengthen America’s social sector. However, H.R. 4719 represents the wrong approach.
“If the President were presented with H.R. 4719, his senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill."
So what in the world are we doing here today? Passing another bill that deepens the deficit, that is contrary to the rhetoric of Republicans, and is going nowhere in the Senate.
It’s hard to figure this out, Mr. Speaker. What is motivating Republicans to be so totally inconsistent and irresponsible?
