Brady Opening Statement at Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Conference Committee Meeting

Yesterday I delivered the following opening statement at a meeting of the House-Senate Conference Committee on H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Today, we’re coming together as a Conference Committee with one singular mission in mind – finalizing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and delivering transformational tax reform for the first time in three decades.

We will consider the best ideas from the House- and Senate-passed legislation, and we’ll continue moving closer to one final, pro-growth tax reform bill.

Throughout our nearly seven-year journey on tax reform, we’ve had to make many choices with these goals in mind: for the first time in history create a tax code built for growth, and to leapfrog America back into the world lead.

We rejected simply tweaking a few provisions of Washington’s monstrous tax code and calling it a day. Instead we put it all on the table and went bold for the American people.

To make America competitive again worldwide, we rejected simply aiming for average among our global competitors. Instead we insisted on designing one of the most competitive tax systems in the world – for the American people.

We decided not only what we wanted our tax code to stand for, but who it would stand with – whether that was Washington special interest or all the workers, families, and local job creators who truly bring life to our economy. We chose the American people.

The bill before us now reflects all of these decisions. More than that, it embodies the principles we’ve been committed to since the very beginning.

This bill is a bold departure from the broken tax code we have today.

It reduces tax rates for Americans of all walks of life and delivers the lowest rates in modern history for businesses of all sizes. 

It provides a modern tax system that is tremendously competitive – one that will leapfrog America to the lead pack among our global competitors and unleash the growth of jobs and paychecks here at home.

Above all, it makes clear that America’s new tax code will be simple, fair, and focused on helping the American people – who, as President Reagan put it, are ‘the only special interest that counts.'

All of our work has brought us to this moment, and we have more important work ahead of us to finalize this legislation. Let’s not waiver now – let’s not give in to the Washington status quo – not when tax reform is so close.

This is our once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver historic tax reform that we – and the American people – can all be proud of. 

And if we remain committed to the principles that have guided us from the very beginning – going bold, unleashing American competitiveness, and making our tax code simpler and fairer for all Americans – I’m confident we will.