{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://byrne.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/byrne-votes-to-cut-taxes-grow-the-american-economy", "Byrne Votes to Cut Taxes, Grow the American Economy", "2017-11-16", "2017", "2017-11", "Republican", "House", "AL", "Bradley Byrne", "B001289", "byrne.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-AL) today celebrated passage of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, the first major overhaul of our nation\u2019s tax code since 1986. The bill passed by a vote of 227 to 205.\nCongressman Byrne said: \u201cWe took a historic step today toward giving hardworking Americans a long overdue tax cut. Just as important, our tax reform legislation will help make the American economy boom again, leading to greater economic growth and higher wages. Today was about fulfilling a key prong of President Trump\u2019s agenda and making life better for families in Southwest Alabama and across the country.\n\u201cI truly hope the Senate does not let us down yet again. They should pass a tax reform bill, and let\u2019s get the job done.\u201d\nH.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, includes a number of a reforms designed to benefit the American people and grow the economy:\n Lowers tax rates for everyday Americans;\n\tStops American jobs from moving overseas;\n\tIncreases the standard deduction;\n\tEliminates special-interest deductions;\n\tPreserves the adoption tax credit;\n\tRepeals the Death Tax;\n\tEstablishes a new Family Credit to help with the cost of raising children or non-child dependents;\n\tMaintains deduction for charitable contributions;\n\tPreserves the home mortgage interest deduction;\n\tLowers the corporate tax rate to 20%;\n\tReduces the tax rate on hard-earned business income of Main Street job creators to no\u00a0 more than 25%;\n\tProvides a new, low tax rate of 9% for businesses earning less than $75,000 in income; and\n\tAllows businesses to immediately write off the full cost of new equipment;\n You can learn more about the tax reform plan online at FairAndSimple.gop.\nByrne delivered a speech on the House floor in support of the tax reform legislation. A transcript of his speech can be found below.\nCongressman Byrne said: \u201cThank you, Mr. Chairman, for yielding.\u00a0 I appreciate your leadership in getting this bill to the floor. \n\u201cThose of us in Washington are really good at talking in big general statements that don\u2019t mean much to the average American. So, I want to tell you what the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will actually mean for the families I represent back in Southwest Alabama. \n\u201cAccording to data from the IRS, almost three-fourths of tax filers in my district claim the standard deduction instead of itemizing.\n\u201cWell, under our plan, the standard deduction will be doubled. That\u2019s a big benefit that will put more money in people\u2019s pockets.\n\u201cJust consider the median family of four in Southwest Alabama. That family earns a little over $77,000 a year. If that family takes the standard deduction, as most do, they will see a tax cut of $1,739.16. That comes out to almost 150 extra dollars a month.\n\u201cNow, that may not sound like \u201creal money\u201d in Washington, but for families in Bay Minette or Citronelle or Monroeville, that is important. That\u2019s extra money on a car payment. That\u2019s additional savings for a child\u2019s college. That\u2019s money to help pay for home repairs. That\u2019s real money. \n\u201cWhen you add in the fact that we are fixing our corporate and business tax code to make it fairer and simpler, then we can really make America boom again.\u00a0 President Trump has called it the \u2018Middle Class Miracle.\u2019 \n\u201cBy making our tax code more competitive, we can unleash our full economic potential, bring jobs back to America, raise wages, and ultimately get more money in the pockets of working Americans.\u00a0 Mr. Speaker, this is exactly what President Trump promised and what the American people sent him to Washington to do.\n\u201cNow, my colleagues on the other side like to say this bill helps the 1% and they vehemently defend the current tax code.\n\u201cYou know who benefits from the current code? The 1%. People who can hire lawyers and lobbyists to help them get a special tax break. People who can spend thousands of dollars a year on specialty accountants. \n\u201cIf you want to help the 1%, then keep the current, complicated, and confusing tax code that only helps the elite and well-connected.\n\u201cWe can do better than that. \n\u201cWe can pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, we can put more money in people\u2019s pockets, and we can unlock America\u2019s full economic potential.\n\u201cI yield back.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://byrne.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/byrne-votes-to-cut-taxes-grow-the-american-economy"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4904309064149857, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}