Paul Ryan: “First, Mr. Speaker, let me talk about a provision in here called New York Liberty Zone Tax Credits. I hope all the…”

“First, Mr. Speaker, let me talk about a provision in here called New York Liberty Zone Tax Credits. I hope all the Members understand that a precedent is being made right here today. What this bill does is it gives the New York City government and the New York State government the authority to take the withholding, the Federal tax withholding from their employees and not send the money to the Federal Government as every single other taxpayer in America is made to do, but rather keep that money and spend it on rail infrastructure. This sets up a whole new policy preference and precedent that I think we should be alarmed about. But I have one question for the distinguished chairman of the Ways and Means Committee on this particular matter, and that is this. In Senate Report 110-228, the director of the Joint Committee on Taxation to the chairman of the Finance Committee says that this provision constitutes a tax earmark given that it only goes to two taxpayers. So in light of the fact that the head of the Joint Committee on Taxation has specified in the Senate that this is a tax earmark, yet the chairman has certified in this bill that there are no tax earmarks contained in this legislation, could the chairman answer me: How does one reconcile the fact that in this bill under the joint tax definition there is a tax earmark, yet the chairman certifies that there are no earmarks in this bill?”