Disapproving the Action of the District of Columbia Council in Approving the D.C. Income and Franchise Tax Conformity and Revision Temporary Amendment Act of 2025

Floor Speech

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Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1032, I call up the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 142) disapproving the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the D.C. Income and Franchise Tax Conformity and Revision Temporary Amendment Act of 2025, and ask for its immediate consideration.

The Clerk read the title of the joint resolution.
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Mr. GILL of Texas.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.J. Res. 142, a resolution disapproving the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the D.C. Income and Franchise Tax Conformity and Revision Temporary Amendment Act of 2025.

Congress has the constitutional right to review legislation passed by the D.C. Council under the D.C. Home Rule Act. It also has the authority to block such legislation. In this case, it should do just that.

In December of this past year, the D.C. Council enacted, without the Mayor's support, legislation that denies tax relief to D.C. residents and businesses that was afforded to them by the Working Families Tax Cut Act.

While D.C. taxpayers still enjoy the benefits of such tax relief with their Federal tax filings, they are being stripped of corresponding relief that should also be afforded to them at the local level. In other words, the D.C. Council has rejected tax provisions that help relieve the burdens faced by D.C. residents and businesses.

There are nine tax provisions that the D.C. Council has completely opted out of in the D.C. Income and Franchise Tax Conformity and Revision Temporary Amendment Act of 2025. Seven of them are targeted at tax breaks for individuals. This includes service workers relying on tips as part of their wages, workers relying on overtime, senior citizens relying on Social Security, and even residents just trying to write off their charitable contributions.

They are all being targeted by the D.C. Council. Specifically, the D.C. Council is opting out of the following tax provisions that House Republicans championed for all Americans: no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security for senior citizens, no tax on auto loan interest for certain personal car loan deductions, and even the increased standard deduction, meaning that D.C. taxpayers who do not itemize their tax deductions will not be able to claim the full amount of the federally expanded standard deduction in their local tax returns. In addition, individuals who take the standard deduction will not be afforded an additional charitable deduction like they will have in the Federal Tax Code.

Stripping away this tax relief from the residents of D.C. is egregious, but, Mr. Speaker, that is not all. The D.C. Council has not stopped there. They are working also to ignore the Working Families Tax Cut Act's pro-economic growth business deductions.

That is, the radical D.C. Council also wants to stunt local businesses and prevent economic growth. They are blocking the 100- percent expensing of qualified nonresidential manufacturing and property production and improvements that help fuel such commercial investment.

Finally, the D.C. Council is blocking the full and immediate expensing of a business' domestic research and experimental expenditures. They apparently would rather have investments and innovation in other States or even foreign nations as opposed to right here at home in the Nation's Capital City.

You might find yourself wondering why would the D.C. Council do this to their own residents and businesses. I will tell you why: It is because the Working Families Tax Cut Act was President Trump's bill.

The D.C. Council would rather punish their own residents, their own people, than recognize the achievements of President Trump's legislation. This is anti-working class, anti-senior citizens, and of course antibusiness.

They say they need more time to analyze and consider these provisions, the same provisions that had numerous congressional debates and hearings. These justifications are just excuses to play politics. It is all at the expense of local residents and businesses who want to and should be able to keep their hard-earned money in their pockets to reinvest in their families, communities, and businesses.

The House must swiftly exercise its constitutional responsibility to oversee the District of Columbia and reject this misguided legislation from going into effect.

I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to unite in support of D.C. taxpayers and businesses and support this necessary resolution of disapproval.

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Mr. GILL of Texas. Hageman), the future Senator.
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Mr. GILL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.

Mr. Speaker, as my colleague pointed out, it is good to be here in floor debate with the other youngest Member of the House of Representatives. I don't want to put words in his mouth, but I suspect we would both agree that we do need more representation in Washington in this body from younger Americans.

Even though he and I disagree on many things, including this resolution, Mr. Speaker, we have heard a lot from the other side of the aisle about how they support working families.

Mr. Speaker, this is a resolution that would provide no tax on Social Security, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, provisions that specifically help working families, families in this country. Yet, they are opposed to it.

Mr. Speaker, we have heard a little bit about fiscal responsibility. That is something that Republicans have championed for quite some time. In fact, it has been pointed out that our ideas are old. I would point out that my colleague is right. Our ideas are old in the sense that individual liberty and fiscal responsibility are ideas that have withstood the test of time. That is something that conservatives recognize.

The city of Washington, D.C., does not adhere to those ideas. If they would like to pursue a more responsible budget, I think that we would all be thrilled. Yet, what are they spending their money on?

Recently, the city of Washington, D.C., gave almost a half-million- dollar grant to the Central American Resource Center, which advocates for local rent supplement programs to go to noncitizens; in other words, illegal aliens. They gave almost a million dollars over two grants to Georgetown University, a university whose endowment is about $3.6 billion.

In fiscal year 2025, D.C. spent approximately $434,000 to establish a reparations task force. That same year, they spent $40 million for the Office of Migrant Services to ``ensure migrants arriving in the District are treated humanely and have the resources they need to reach their destination or resettle.'' In other words, they are taking money out of the pockets of working-class families and giving it to illegal aliens.

In fiscal year 2025, again, D.C. spent almost $2.3 million on the Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Affairs. That same year, they spent $7 million for the Green Bank. In fiscal year 2025, they spent $441,000 for the Medical Cannabis Social Equity Fund.

Mr. Speaker, we support fiscal responsibility. This is not fiscal responsibility. This is taking money from working-class families to fund leftwing social programs and pet projects.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I strongly support this joint resolution Disapproving the Action of the District of Columbia Council in Approving the D.C. Income and Franchise Tax Conformity and Revision Temporary Amendment Act of 2025.

It is an egregious targeting of the hardworking residents of the District, and it ignorantly and foolishly blocks economic growth.

Congress is within its right to deny this legislation pursuant to the D.C. Home Rule Act, and it should do so because it is the right thing to do for the people of this District.

The people and businesses of this town deserve the tax relief these provisions grant, not just at the Federal level, but also at the local level. It is time we support them.

The following organizations have endorsed this resolution, including: AMAC Action, America First Policy Institute, the D.C. Police Union, Heritage Action, the Independent Women's Forum, the International Franchise Association, the National Association of Convenience Stores, the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, the National Restaurant Association, the National Taxpayers Union, the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The House must swiftly exercise its constitutional responsibility to oversee the District of Columbia and reject this misguided legislation from going into effect.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to unite in support of D.C. taxpayers and businesses and support this necessary resolution of disapproval, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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