Kevin Brady: “First let me thank you, Chairman Thomas, for your years of hard work to provide real tax relief for families. Mr.…”

“First let me thank you, Chairman Thomas, for your years of hard work to provide real tax relief for families. Mr. Speaker, I know in Texas, in our region, our community, your leadership on restoring the State and local sales tax deduction, that saves our Texas families $1 billion a year that we do not have to send to Washington, that can stay in their pocketbooks, stay in our communities, creates jobs in our State. And I know that on behalf of seven States to whom that deduction is so important, you have saved us from a $5.5 billion tax increase, and we are grateful. In Washington we spend too much time debating what bills mean to each other and not enough about what bills mean to real families. Being able to deduct that sales tax is a real help for families, especially those who are starting out in life. Sales taxes add up so quickly. This bill helps families struggling to afford tuition for their college students. It helps teachers who have to go into their own pocketbook to pay for classroom supplies each year. I do not think they ought to ever have to do that, but when they do, at least let them write those expenses off. It helps American companies who are trying to compete against the rest of world afford the type of research it takes to keep jobs here in America. This allows people who are trying to get their first job off of welfare a chance to get some job openings they might not otherwise help.”