{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://estes.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3566", "Rep. Estes Addresses Inflation, Economy in Rules Committee", "2022-08-10", "2022", "2022-08", "Republican", "House", "KS", "Ron Estes", "E000298", "estes.house.gov", "estes", "https://estes.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "WICHITA \u2013 Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kansas) appeared before the House Rules Committee to offer a bipartisan amendment to the so-called Inflation Reduction Act. During his remarks, he also addressed today's Consumer Price Index report and the Senate-passed legislation.\n\nRep. Estes' proposed bipartisan amendment would allow an extension for research and development expensing tax credits though the end of 2025. R&D is vital for long-term economic growth and keeps the United State globally competitive in innovation.\n\nWatch Rep. Estes' Testimony\n\nFull Remarks:\n\nThank you, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member Cole, and thank you to the Rules Committee for considering my amendment.\n\nI want to talk today about amendment 42 which highlights how we need to focus on the economy. This morning we learned that inflation is still rampant and hurting families. The White House tries to spin this as good news and proof that inflation is easing, but Kansas families are still spending of 8.5 percent more today than they were a year ago, and that\u2019s on top of the 5.4 percent inflation from July 2021.\n\nEveryday expenses and necessities are up for family members \u2013 milk is up 15.6 percent, eggs are up 38 percent, baby food is up 15 percent, bacon is up 11 percent, and gas is up 44 percent.\n\nBut here\u2019s one of the worst statistics from today \u2013 real average hourly wages are down 3 percent.\n\nSo President Biden and Democrats are in this bubble trying to push the narrative that it\u2019s a strong economy, but Americans aren\u2019t buying it because they can\u2019t afford it.\n\nAs members of the Rules Committee and representatives of your respective districts, I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard from your constituents \u2013 these price increases and the impact they\u2019re having on their paychecks are crushing them. The American economy is suffering, and the policies from the majority are destroying the American Dream.\n\nSo in response, the House is now going to consider this highly partisan bill that doubles down on the policies that got us here \u2013 more spending on theses bad priorities.\n\nThe bill \u2013 the so-called Inflation Reduction Act \u2013 doesn\u2019t really reduce inflation according to the Penn-Wharton Budget Model and the Congressional Budget Office. Instead it increases taxes, increases spending and continues to increase inflation and hand strings the economy.\n\nSo how can we make this better? How can we actually improve the lives of Kansans and Americans across the country?\n\nWe can start with some bipartisan, common sense amendments like the one I\u2019m introducing today \u2013 amendment 42.\n\nMy amendment is a temporary extension of the research and development (R&D) expensing tax credit through the end of 2025.\n\nResearch and development are key for short-term and long-term economic growth in our country, and immediate expensing of R&D costs will boost R&D here in the United States.\n\nWe know that where R&D occurs is critical for job creation and job growth.\n\nIn the case of R&D tax implications, full expensing was allowed through 2021. However, starting this year, businesses will be required to spread out or amortize R&D expenses over a period of five years for domestic R&D or 15 years for foreign R&D.\n\nThis spreading out of expenses will significantly diminish the near-term value and likelihood of research investments, making us the only developed country requiring R&D expenditure amortization.\n\nWhen compared to the leading markets around the world the United States ranks 26th out of 36 in the value of our R&D tax incentives. At a time when it\u2019s critical for our economy to become more competitive, spreading out R&D expenses will make us less competitive.\n\nIn 2020, the Tax Foundation said immediate expensing of all investments, including R&D expensing, is the number one federal reform Congress can take to encourage economic recovery after COVID-19.\n\nI\u2019ve introduced and reintroduced a bill with Democratic Congressman John Larson from Connecticut \u2013 the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act \u2013 to allow companies to immediately expense R&D permanently. While I believe we should still move toward a permanent solution, my amendment today would at least provide some certainty to American job creators, innovators and workers for the next few years.\n\nThe National Taxpayers Union has called my bipartisan bill a \u201cno-brainer\u201d for passage, and I think the amendment today should be a no-brainer as well.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T02:59:24Z"]], "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://estes.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3566"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7718198467046022, "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"}