Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2025

Floor Speech

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Con. Res. 14.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chair, today, the majority will unlock the policies for making America safe and prosperous again by advancing the FY 2025 budget resolution.

Mr. Chairman, this fiscal framework will guide the process for restoring the fiscal health of our Nation by reining in reckless spending and reigniting economic growth. In addition, it provides critical resources to our Commander in Chief to secure our border, strengthen our military, and provide for the common defense.

For the next 2 hours, Mr. Chairman, my Democratic colleagues are going to reach way back to the only plays they know how to run: making false claims and fear-mongering.

Why? Because they are still, even after the recent election, disconnected from the people's reality because they are more concerned with protecting unionized government bureaucrats and woke and wasteful government programs than they are about protecting taxpayers and their sacred treasure.

Why? Because their commitment isn't to we the people in this fateful moment. It is to we the government and to derailing the mandate from the people for commonsense policies and President Trump's America First agenda.

I am going to take some time to set the record straight, Mr. Chairman, so that every time the American people hear these false claims to mislead them into thinking that the tax cuts somehow benefited the billionaires and corporations and that Republicans are cutting benefits for seniors and the poorest among us, I want the American people to know the truth. Here is the truth: The Trump tax cuts lower tax rates for every American household at every income level while increasing the amount of taxes paid by the top 1 percent.

According to The Washington Post--which, by the way, gave Democrats not one, not two, not three, but four Pinocchios every time they made these misleading claims--$3 of every $4 in the Trump tax cuts didn't go to corporations but to individuals, cutting taxes for the lowest income individuals by 10 percent while cutting taxes for the top 1 percent of income earners by less than one-half of 1 percent.

In addition, we saw a record 25-year wage increase for median household incomes. Real wages in the bottom 10 percent rose two times faster than the top 10 percent. Real wealth at the bottom half of households rose three times faster than that of the top half of our country.

A record 6 million people were lifted out of poverty. Black, Hispanic, and Asian-American citizens experienced historic high incomes and all-time low unemployment.

Here is the reality, Mr. Chairman: Our Democratic colleagues opposed the American people's tax cuts back in 2017, and they oppose their tax cuts today.

If they were successful in this endeavor, here is what would happen. We would have a 22 percent tax hike on every American citizen, on average, when they just suffered through a 21 percent tax hike from the inflation tax over the last 4 years and the worst cost-of-living crisis in modern history. Median-income families would lose $1,700. Twenty-six million small businesses would pay at the highest marginal rate and lose the 20 percent deduction, putting them on a comparable level to corporate tax rates. Forty million families would have the child tax credits for their children cut in half. Ninety-one percent of the American people who get the standard deduction would have that cut in half.

Those are the results of the Democrats standing in the way of what would be, if they were successful, the highest tax hike in American history.

Here is the other false claim. To pay for these tax cuts, the Democrats are going to say that Republicans are cutting benefits for seniors and for, again, our poorest and most vulnerable among us. Here is the truth, Mr. Chairman: Republicans are fighting to rightsize a woke, weaponized, and bloated bureaucracy; to root out the trillions of dollars in waste, fraud, and abuse; and to rein in the reckless spending of the Biden administration and our Democratic colleagues from over the last 4 years.

Prior to 2019, before President Biden took office and he and the Democrats jammed $2 trillion through in the so-called COVID relief, even though maybe 10, 20 percent of that money actually went for the purposes of COVID relief, our budget back then was $4.5 trillion. Today, it is $7 trillion.

With the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, they gave away $700 billion in tax credits to green energy corporations. They expanded ObamaCare subsidies to people making more than half a million dollars, many of whom already had employer-sponsored healthcare. They expanded the IRS to 80,000 new IRS agents tasked with shaking down mostly middle-class people and small businesses.

With the stroke of a pen, President Biden wasted $2 trillion unilaterally of taxpayer money by opening up our taxpayer-funded welfare services to people in this country illegally; waived work requirements for means-tested welfare programs, from SNAP to Medicaid and beyond, trapping people in poverty and dependence on the Federal Government; mandated expensive and unreliable electric vehicles for all Americans; and a whole lot more.

In fact, we are spending $9,000 per illegal immigrant in this country for the millions of people who violated our sovereignty and came to this country in violation of our immigration laws. Mr. Chairman, $9,000 is what taxpayers pay for people who are here illegally for taxpayer- funded social services. That is more than we spend on the most vulnerable Americans for Medicaid. That is more than we spend collectively for our veterans' military retirement. President Biden weakened government program integrity, allowing people who aren't eligible for Medicaid and other programs to receive benefits.

Case in point, we used to review the Medicaid rolls twice a year to make sure people who were on the rolls were those who were most vulnerable and those who qualified according to the law. That was revoked by the Biden administration. They only did it once a year. If we changed it back, we would eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse and save $160 billion of taxpayer money.

President Biden implemented unconstitutional and regressive student loan bailouts, forcing working Americans to subsidize the upper-middle class, law students, and medical students. These are folks who deferred their education. These are hardworking people who didn't think they could afford college.

We have an unprecedented opportunity, Mr. Chairman. My fellow Republicans and I have a sacred obligation at this moment to meet this moment with the urgency it demands.

Now more than ever is the time for Republicans in Congress to demonstrate the courage of their convictions and take bold action in this historic moment. Let's save this country, save our children's future, and save us from wrecking the greatest economy in the world and jeopardizing our national security and our leadership in the world.

The world is counting on a safe, strong, and free America, and I believe that this bill encapsulates the policies that are going to restore America's greatness.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support it, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

What you won't hear from my Democratic colleagues is any mention of the half a trillion dollars in waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicaid program that jeopardizes that program for the most vulnerable Americans and does a disservice to every taxpayer in this great country of ours.

By the way, when I hear the words ``betrayal of the middle class,'' what comes to mind is the unbridled spending and the failed economic policies that gave us the worst cost-of-living crisis in modern history. A whole lot of people suffered under that 21 percent inflation tax, and a whole lot more people would suffer under a 22 percent tax increase if they were successful in killing the American people's tax cuts.

Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Smucker), my friend, the vice chair of the Budget Committee, and a key architect, I would say, of this budget blueprint.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Moore), former speaker of the house of the Tar Heel State and a Budget Committee member.

Mr. MOORE of North Carolina. Mr. Chair, last November the American people said enough is enough. They are tired of government waste. They are tired of rising prices, and they are tired of the policies of the last administration.

This budget is a critical step forward toward reining in out-of- control Federal spending. To be clear, this resolution has no provisions that make cuts to Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. Mr. Chair, I would tell those folks watching at home to read the bill. It is not in there.

When Democrats vote against this today, they are voting to raise the average family of four's taxes by nearly $1,700. They are voting to raise taxes on small businesses. They are voting for open borders. They are voting for higher energy costs.

I am proud to have worked with my fellow House Budget Committee members on this bill as well as the chairman, who has done an amazing job on this. I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this important measure.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Estes), another Budget Committee member who had a hand in developing this fiscal framework.
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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cline), my good friend and a member of the Budget Committee.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I wonder when my Democrat colleagues will direct their indignation and outrage to the fact that DOGE and our friend, Elon Musk, has exposed tremendous, outrageous, and utterly offensive waste like transgender operas in Colombia, DEI musicals in Ireland, transgender comic books, and $20 million on ``Sesame Street.'' I would only have to assume my Democrat colleagues think that is the way to find peace in the Middle East. It is insane, and it is offensive to the taxpayers. You will never hear a single word about that in this debate today.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gill), my friend and also a member of the Budget Committee.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Clyde), my friend and another Budget Committee member.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentleman from Georgia.

Mr. CLYDE: Mr. Chair, GAO alone estimates that the fraud in Medicaid is at least $50 billion a year.

Mr. Chair, I include in the Record this report from the GAO, which states $50 billion a year of improper payments. [From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, Mar. 26, 2024] Improper Payments: Information on Agencies' Fiscal Year 2023 Estimates

(Q&A Report to the Subcommittee on Legislative Branch, Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives) Why This Matters

Improper payments--those that should not have been made or were made in the incorrect amount--have consistently been a government-wide issue. Since fiscal year 2003, cumulative improper payment estimates by executive branch agencies have totaled about $2.7 trillion. Reducing improper payments is critical to safeguarding federal funds.

We have reported on improper payments in our audit reports on the U.S. government's consolidated financial statements since fiscal year 1997. We have found that these payments represent a material deficiency or weakness in internal controls. Specifically, we have noted that the federal government is unable to determine the full extent of its improper payments or to reasonably assure that appropriate actions are taken to reduce them.

House Report 117-389, which accompanied the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2023, includes a provision for GAO to provide quarterly reports on improper payments. This is our fifth such report, and it provides an overview of federal agencies' improper payment estimates for fiscal year 2023. Additionally, we discuss agencies' compliance with legal requirements for reporting and managing improper payments. Key Takeaways

In fiscal year 2023, federal agencies estimated a total of $236 billion in improper payments, a decrease of about $11 billion from the prior fiscal year. About $175 billion (or 74 percent) of these improper payments were overpayments.

The total fiscal year 2023 improper payment estimate does not include some programs that agencies have determined are susceptible to significant improper payments, such as the Department of Health and Humans Services' (HHS) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

In fiscal year 2022, 14 of the 24 agencies covered by the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 (CFO Act) fully complied with applicable improper payment criteria, as reported by their agency inspectors general. What are the federal agencies' estimates for fiscal year 2023 improper payments?

Agencies reported about $236 billion in improper payment estimates for fiscal year 2023. This amount represents a decrease of about $11 billion from the fiscal year 2022 estimate (see fig. 1).

Our analysis of agency data shows that 14 agencies reported improper payment estimates across 71 programs. As shown in figure 2, about 79 percent ($186 billion) of the government- wide total of estimated improper payments that agencies reported for fiscal year 2023 is concentrated in five program areas:

HHS's Medicare, comprising three programs ($51 billion);

HHS's Medicaid ($50 billion);

the Department of Labor's Unemployment Insurance--Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance ($44 billion);

the Department of the Treasury's Earned Income Tax Credit ($22 billion); and

the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program Loan Forgiveness ($19 billion).

As seen in figure 3, most of the total $236 billion in government-wide improper payment estimates for fiscal year 2023 consisted of overpayments. The remaining improper payments consisted of underpayments, unknown payments, and technically improper payments.

It should be noted that the fiscal year 2023 improper payment estimates do not include certain programs that agencies have determined are susceptible to significant improper payments. As a result, the government-wide total potentially does not represent the full extent of improper payments. For example, the $236 billion total does not include HHS's TANF program. HHS reported that it does not have the authority to obtain the information it needs to estimate or report improper payment amounts for this program. In April 2022, we recommended that Congress consider providing HHS the authority to require states to report the data the agency needs to estimate and report on improper payments for TANF. As of February 2024, Congress has not acted on this recommendation. How many programs reported substantial declines in improper payments?

Our analysis of PaymentAccuracy.gov data found that eight programs experienced substantial declines in reported estimated improper payments for fiscal year 2023 (see table 3). Agencies attributed these declines to factors such as terminating certain programs and implementing mitigation strategies. In addition, variability arising from the improper payment estimation process could potentially explain a portion of the reported declines.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson), our Agriculture Committee chair and my friend.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chair, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Smith), the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman), the chairman of the Natural Resources Committee.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Rogers), who is the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, the minority leader regurgitated a talking point from the Democratic Party we have heard now for years. We heard it prior to the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The gentleman said that 83 percent of the tax cuts in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act benefits would accrue to the top 1 percent of income earners. The Washington Post, which is no bastion of conservative journalism, gave him two Pinocchios for that one and called it a zombie claim. They called it galling. PolitiFact agreed with them and said that it was flat-out misleading.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock), who is also a member of the House Budget Committee.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from the State of Indiana (Mr. Stutzman).

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I can't believe my ears of Democrats criticizing the audacity of Republicans here in Washington, our Nation's Capital, giving the hard-earned money back to the people, letting them keep more of their money as they have suffered 4 years under record inflation, record interest rate hikes, and record consumer debt. How dare Republicans give money back to small businesses and working families so that they can pay the bills and provide for their families?

Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Graves), the ``Show-Me'' State, our House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure chairman.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Jordan), my good friend and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg), my friend and the chair of the House Education and Workforce. Committee.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Smith), my good friend from the Cornhusker State who is also chair of the Ways and Means Committee's Trade Subcommittee.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentleman from Nebraska.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill), my good friend and the chair of the House Financial Services Committee.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Edwards), also a Budget Committee member who helped us draft this budget framework.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McDowell), a Budget Committee member and good friend.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, I remind the gentleman that the last 4 years, President Biden and my Democratic colleagues set a record of $8 trillion added to the national debt. If you add the $5 trillion in interest expense, well, I don't know that anybody is going to ever accomplish that feat. That is $6 billion borrowed a day, and during that reign of reckless spending, they added $116,000 to the debt burden that our children will bear into the future.

I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Obernolte), also a Budget Committee member.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman), also my colleague on the House Budget Committee.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentleman from Wisconsin.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I think God has had mercy on this country, and he is giving us a shot now to turn this country around and to give it back to the American people; to return to commonsense policies, to put the American people first, and to clean up the mess in Washington, D.C.

We have seen the exposure of the waste and the woke and the bloat, and it is immoral to hand our country like this to the next generation. We are long overdue to get our fiscal house in order, Mr. Chairman.

The American people deserve to keep more of their money. The American people deserve fiduciaries in Congress who will take care to steward their tax dollars. The people who need these programs that we created for the most vulnerable deserve to have the programs without having folks siphon off moneys or people that are ineligible draining those programs.

We have got a lot of work to do. We won't be intimidated by the rhetoric. We won't be scared into paralysis anymore as a Republican Party. We are standing up with our President and fearless leader, Mr. Donald J. Trump. We know the American people are behind us 100 percent. We are leaning in, and we are going to save this country.

We are going to give our children a fighting chance at the blessings of liberty and the land of opportunity.

I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Norman), a member of the Budget Committee, my good friend who is a fighter for our freedom and fiscal sanity.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from South Carolina.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chair, my good friend and ranking member made a comment about Mr. Ralph Norman from South Carolina. Listen closely to what he said. He would like to cut $5 trillion from the budget.

Add my name to that list because the GAO says there is $5 trillion of fraud throughout the four corners of this Federal Government. That is the people's money. We ought to spend every waking hour together, across the aisle, and in a bipartisan way to go and root out that waste and fraud that is fleecing the taxpayers.

Count me in the camp of Mr. Ralph Norman when the Government Accountability Office says that there is $5 trillion of defrauding the people's government and the people's money. We will not hear anybody on the other side of the aisle, and there are some good and well-intended people. In this debate we will not hear them talking about illegals being on welfare rolls or the fact their President, President Joe Biden, with the stroke of a pen, welcomed illegals onto welfare and healthcare rolls.

We can't even afford Social Security benefits because the fund will be insolvent within the next 10 years. Instead, we are bringing people who aren't even citizens onto the social safety nets that are paid for by taxpayers. We are not spending that money, that precious treasure of taxpayers, to shore up Medicare and Social Security.

It makes no sense to me. Do you know what? It made no sense to the American people. That is why they gave this President a mandate and gave this country unified Republican leadership. They are apparently still in denial. They are disconnected from the reality of the last 4 years.

They may have had all the best intentions, but the pain and the suffering that the American people endured because of the reckless, record trillions of dollars in spending and the failed economic policies of the last administration is real. They didn't forget it. They voted with that acid test and that fundamental question: Is my life better today?

I don't think there has ever been in American history a clearer contrast between the two parties back to back with Republican total control in '17 and '18, Democrat unified leadership on the heels of that, and the philosophies, the values, the worldviews, the policies, and the consequences borne by the American people.

Mr. Chair, they have chosen a very different path, and they have asked us to reverse course and to reverse the curse that looms not only over this country but our children's future.

I am surprised that I haven't heard one sentence about the waste, fraud, and abuse in the Federal Government at $5 trillion. I am surprised that I haven't heard any criticisms of the millions of people who have come to this country illegally and drained Medicaid, according to CBO, by billions of dollars. That was a letter in response to an inquiry that we sent.

How much of the tax dollars and Medicaid are being siphoned off for people who are here illegally? I can't believe there is not more indignation on account of the fact that $9,000 is what we are spending on people who broke the law, violated our sovereignty, and are here in this country illegally.

Taxpayers are spending $9,000 per illegal immigrant for social services that were intended for the United States citizens. That $9,000 represents more money than we spend on our own vulnerable American citizens on Medicaid, but we won't hear any of that today.

The American people know better. They have always had better judgment, and they made the right call. We aim to deliver for them.
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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, let me also pay respects to my ranking member. He is a great guy. He has been a really good partner. We have done some really important things together on a bipartisan basis. In fact, we passed more bipartisan legislation to fix the broken budget process which doesn't serve either party in this institution well.

Mr. Chair, I give him equal credit, if not more credit. When you are the minority, there is tremendous pressure not to work with the majority. He is an American first. We may disagree, but I know where his heart is.

Let me answer the question to the ranking member. The $5 trillion is a CBO score. That is a 10-year budget window score just like the $2 trillion that we have as a goal to reduce reckless, wasteful, and fraudulent spending.

Mr. Chair, the reconciliation process is generally to reconcile the House and Senate budgets but more than a process for matching up revenues and outlays. This exercise, more importantly, is reconciling the difference between the American people's interest, expectations, and values in a Federal Government that has totally lost its way, forgotten who it serves, and too often has failed to faithfully, fairly, and efficiently execute the laws of the land.

Mr. Chair, if we learned anything from the November election, it is that the American people want a strong country. They want a competent leader and commonsense policies, and they want all of us to put America first. That is what this budget resolution does.

I like to think of this budget resolution as a promissory note to our children to preserve the land of liberty and opportunity by safeguarding it from an unwieldy government with unbridled spending, taxing, and regulating that threatens to destroy it.

Mr. Chairman, I said this in the Budget Committee, and I am going to say it now to close: The era of wasteful, woke, and weaponized government is over, and this budget resolution will be its tombstone. Here lies one of the darkest chapters in American history: open borders, record crime, lawlessness, feckless foreign policies, cost-of- living crises. Enough. It is time to reverse the curse. It is time to reverse the reckless spending and failed policies and do the first and most important job of the Federal Government: Keep the American people safe.

That is exactly what we intend to do, and that is exactly what we deliver with this framework.

Mr. Chairman, I include in the Record three statements from organizations supporting this legislation. NFIB, Washington, DC, February 24, 2025.

Dear Representative: On behalf of NFIB, the nation's leading small business advocacy organization, I write in support of the H. Con. Res 14, Establishing the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2025 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2026 through 2034. A vote in favor of H. Con. Res. 14 will be considered an NFIB Key Vote for the 119th Congress. When enacted, this budget resolution will allow Congress to use the budget reconciliation process to make the 20 percent small business deduction permanent.

In less than a year, taxes will increase on over 30 million small businesses if Congress fails to act. The budget reconciliation process presents the best opportunity for Congress to prevent a tax increase on small employers and make the 20 percent small business tax deduction permanent. The 20 percent small business deduction was claimed by nearly 26 million small businesses in 2021. If made permanent the deduction will grow the economy by $750 billion over the next ten years, while adding 1.2 million jobs each year. Over 91 percent of NFIB Members support making expiring small business Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions permanent.

Making the 20 percent small business tax deduction permanent is the most important action Congress can take to help small businesses this year. Passing H. Con. Res. 14 is the first step in achieving this outcome. NFIB strongly supports H. Con. Res. 14 and will be considered an NFIB Key Vote for the 119th Congress. Sincerely, Adam Temple, Senior Vice President for Advocacy, NFIB. ____ Main St. Employers, February 24, 2025. Hon. Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Hon. Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Leader, House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Speaker Johnson and Minority Leader Jeffries: The undersigned business groups urge Congress to act quickly to prevent a massive tax hike on Main Street businesses, beginning with the speedy adoption of the House budget resolution.

Absent action, millions of Main Street businesses organized as S corporations, partnerships, and sole proprietorships will see their taxes go up sharply next year. Taxes on these pass-through businesses will go up when they earn profits, when they invest, and when they pass their businesses on to the next generation.

Pass-through businesses are the backbone of the American economy. They account for 95 percent of all businesses and employ 63 percent of all private sector workers. They also form the economic foundation for thousands of communities nationwide. Without them, those communities would face a future of lower growth, fewer jobs, and more boarded-up buildings.

Provisions to make permanent the Section 199A deduction, maintain rates on individuals and pass-through businesses, provide estate tax relief, and increase deductions for business investment in equipment and R&D are critical to the continued success of our members.

The House budget is the first step in improving the tax treatment of all these areas and providing pass-through businesses with the certainty they need to survive and grow.

The more quickly Congress acts, the sooner Main Street can get back to investing in our communities and creating jobs for your constituents. We appreciate your work on this important legislation and look forward to seeing this resolution enacted soon. Sincerely,

Agricultural Retailers Association, AICC, The Independent Packaging Association, Air Conditioning Contractors of America, American Building Materials Alliance, American Council of Engineering Companies, American Council of Independent Laboratories (ACIL), American Farm Bureau Federation, American International Automobile Dealers Association, American Lighting Association, American Rental Association, American Staffing Association, American Subcontractors Association.

American Supply Association, American Veterinary Medical Association, AmericanHort, Associated Equipment Distributors, Associated General Contractors of America, Brick Industry Association, Chicago Roofing Contractors Association, Coalition of Franchisee Associations, Construction Industry Round Table, Distribution Contractors Association, Door and Hardware Institute, Energy Marketers of America.

Family Business Association of California, Family Business Coalition, FCA International, Foodservice Equipment Distributors Association, Forest Resources Association, Franchise Business Services, GAWDA, Glass Packaging Institute, Global Cold Chain Alliance, Hardwood Federation, Health & Fitness Association.

Heating, Air-conditioning, & Refrigeration Distributors International, Independent Bakers Association, Independent Electrical Contractors, Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (Big ``I''), Industrial Fasteners Institute, International Foodservice Distributors Association, International Housewares Association, International Institute of Building Enclosure Consultants (IIBEC), International Sign Association, ISSA, the Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association.

Job Creators Network, Leading Builders of America, Main Street Employers Coalition, Manufactured Housing Institute, Meat Institute, Metal Construction Association, Metals Service Center Institute, Michigan Farm Bureau, Mortgage Bankers Association, Nareit, National Apartment Association, National Association of Convenience Stores.

National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED), National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, National Association of Professional Insurance Agents, National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA), National Confectioners Association, National Cotton Council, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, National Electrical Contractors Association.

National Electrical Manufacturers Representatives Association (NEMRA), National Energy & Fuels Institute (NEFI), National Fastener Distributors Association, National Federation of Independent Business, National Franchisee Association, National Lumber & Building Material Dealers Association, National Marine Distributors Association, National Multifamily Housing Council, National Peach Council.

National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, National Restaurant Association, National Roofing Contractors Association, National RV Dealers Assoc. (RVDA), National Small Business Association (NSBA), National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association, National Wooden Pallet & Container Association, NATSO, Representing America's Travel Centers and Truck Stops, North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers (NAFEM).

Outdoor Power Equipment and Engine Service Association, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, PRINTING United Alliance, Professional Beauty Association, S Corporation Association, Service Station Dealers of America and Allied Trades, SIGMA: America's Leading Fuel Marketers, Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, Small Business Legislative Council (SBLC), Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS), Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association, Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance, Subchapter S Bank Association.

Textile Care Allied Trades Association, The Association for Hose and Accessories Distribution, The Fertilizer Institute, The Real Estate Roundtable, The Transportation Alliance, Tile Roofing Industry Alliance, Tire Industry Association, US Sweet Potato Council, Virginia Association of Roofing Professionals, WASDA--Water and Sewer Distributors of America, Wholesale Florist & Floral Supplier Association, Workplace Solutions Association, Wyoming Stock Growers Association. ____ NAW Urges Congress to Support House Budget Resolution, Prevent Detrimental Tax Increases on American Workers

NAW applauds the House and Senate for moving forward with their respective budget resolutions and urges Members of Congress to support and vote for the House Budget Resolution to unlock comprehensive legislation necessary to prevent a massive tax increase on millions of America's businesses and workers.

If tax provisions enacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) such as the 199A small business deduction are allowed to expire this year, as projected, the net result will be an unfathomable tax increase on 30 million small businesses, impacting 2.6 million workers supported by the provision. Workers across the country will face additional tax increases due to the expiration of lower individual tax rates, the doubled standard deduction, and the doubled child tax credit.

NAW members such as First Supply, a multigenerational, family-owned plumbing business, have made their voices clear. Wholesaler-distributors are predominantly high-tax, low margin businesses and have relied on TCJA provisions to offer well-paying, skilled jobs with extensive benefits and career development programs. If lawmakers fail to act, pass-through businesses could face a top tax rate of 39.6 percent, which will threaten the ability of our industry to continue re- investing in their workers and communities. The TCJA provisions have worked and should be permanently extended, giving certainty to pro-growth, pro-family, small business owners nationwide.

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Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H. Con. Res. 14, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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