Xavier Becerra: “I thank my friend for yielding. Mr. Speaker, let's make sure we get something straight. I don't think there is a Member…”

“I thank my friend for yielding. Mr. Speaker, let's make sure we get something straight. I don't think there is a Member here on the floor who doesn't agree that we want to invest in research and development so that we keep that innovation here at home and create jobs that pay well here at home. We all want to incentivize that job creation. We all want to make sure that the economy grows in the future. That is not what is at issue here. What is at issue is that this bill sends exactly the wrong message about our commitment to invest not just in our future but in our children and in what we call the middle class and the American Dream. See, there is a cost involved in doing research and development tax credits. That is a tax break. We are willing to give companies a tax break that the families who are up in this gallery won't get. When they file their taxes, they won't get to write off some of their costs for doing certain things because they are not companies, and they are not doing research and development. We, as a community, as a country, are saying it is valuable to give a country a tax break to do that research that gives us the next invention. Great, but there is a cost. How much? $180 billion. It ain't free. We have got to pay for it. So it is not an issue of not supporting research and development; it is wanting to be responsible and wanting to be honest with the American people in saying let's pay for it. Democrats are saying we can pay for it.…”