Providing for Congressional Disapproval Under Chapter 8 of Title United States Code, of the Rule Submitted By the Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury, Relating to ``Contributions in Exchange for State or Local Tax Credits''

Floor Speech

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Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, it has been over 1 year since the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement was signed by President Trump and the leaders of Canada and Mexico. This landmark trade agreement is expected to create 176,000 new American jobs. It is expected to grow American businesses all over our country and help give a jump-start to our hard- working farmers and ranchers. With 95 percent of the world's population outside of the United States, Montana producers need access to these global markets.

Agriculture drives our economy in Montana. In fact, it is the No. 1 economic driver in our State. Canada and Mexico both are in high demand for our products like wheat, barley, and beef. In fact, in 2018 alone, Montana had $731 million in total exports to Canada and Mexico.

For our producers in Montana, the USMCA would be a positive step forward in providing certainty and alleviating the challenges and obstacles they faced virtually every single day this season.

When I travel across Montana, I have heard from folks in every corner of our State: 4-H members, FFA members, farmers and ranchers at local county fairs, and producers along the highway. They all want action on USMCA. They all need relief. They are looking for something certain coming out of Washington, DC, in these uncertain times.

I cannot stand by any longer as my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives fail to act. Listen, we have enough votes in the Senate to pass it. There are enough votes in the House to pass it. President Trump can't wait to sign it. Mexico is ready; Canada is ready; the United States is ready; and I can state that in my home State of Montana, we are very ready. I, along with the majority in the U.S. Senate, am ready to get this deal done and get it across the finish line for some of the hardest working folks in our Nation, our farmers and ranchers.

Hard-working small business owners and folks on farms and ranches all over Montana are sitting and waiting for Speaker Pelosi to stop slow- walking the USMCA. The House Democrats cannot continue to hold our farmers and ranchers hostage for any future political gain that we are seeing right now in the House. It has been a political game over there. This is negatively impacting the Montana way of life.

There are countless numbers of Montana families out there who are surviving paycheck to paycheck. They are living on a prayer. They are sick and tired of politics and the partisan games being played in Washington, DC, and, you know what, I am too.

We were elected to come here and get something done, not spin the wheels on cable TV at night just talking about other issues that aren't moving the ball forward on behalf of the American people. What Montanans care about is how they are going to put food on the table and how they are going to make ends meet this winter coming up. The USMCA is more than just a trade deal, it is an opportunity for more jobs and, importantly, higher wages.

That is why I am here today. I am here to encourage our Democratic colleagues in the House to stop playing politics with our communities, our jobs, and our very lives. I am calling on the U.S. House to act, bring this important trade deal up for a vote. Let's have an up-or-down vote. Let the House Chamber speak. Let them vote.

The USMCA has the potential to boost our Nation's GDP by $68 billion, plain and simple. That means more money in the pockets of Montanans. It is a better opportunity for our folks in agriculture. There is more revenue for Main Street businesses in Montana. The USMCA will deliver much needed trade certainty, secure intellectual property rights, and modernize digital trade.

I am not alone in wanting swift action. I am honored to have support from the Montana Chamber of Commerce, the Montana Farm Bureau Federation, from the Montana Grain Growers Association, from the Montana Stockgrowers Association, and from the Montana Pork Producers Association. They are all with us to get the USMCA done. The longer we stall this deal, the further we stall economic opportunity in Montana and across this Nation.

To Speaker Pelosi and to my colleagues in the House, the time to act is now. Our neighbors depend on it, my Montana farmers and ranchers depend on it, and the entire country depends on it.

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