Sam Gibbons: “Mr. Speaker, if my colleagues think the current tax system is fair and equitable, then they will love this amendment. If…”

“Mr. Speaker, if my colleagues think the current tax system is fair and equitable, then they will love this amendment. If they like the loopholes and tax giveaways in our Tax Code, they should embrace this constitutional amendment. Why? Because it will let the special interests and foreign corporations who are now getting a free ride under our loophole-ridden Tax Code stop any reforms from moving through Congress. Seventy-three percent of the foreign corporations doing business in the United States pay absolutely no Federal corporate income tax. This is a scandal, and the authors of this legislation want to keep it that way. They say that a minority of either the House or Senate should be able to stop tax reform that places a fair tax on foreign corporations doing business in the United States. Every year foreign corporations mine millions dollars of gold on Federal lands. They pay no royalties to the U.S. Treasury. This bill allows a minority of Members of the House or Senate to stymie any legislation placing a reasonable royalty on mining operations on Federal lands. The oil and gas industry seems to be doing just fine. Prices are rising at the gas pumps. Profits are up, stocks are increasing in value. Do they really need a $1.5 billion a year Federal tax subsidy? Do we need a constitutional amendment that protects their subsidies? The majority thinks so.…”