{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://graves.house.gov/media-center/e-newsletters/i-need-your-input-on-tax-reform", "I Need Your Input on Tax Reform", "2016-11-29", "2016", "2016-11", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Sam Graves", "G000546", "graves.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Voters sent a message to Washington and elected officials from across the country on November 8. They gave Republicans control of both Houses in Congress and the White House for the first time in a decade.\nWith that message comes a mandate, a mandate that we replace Obamacare, revitalize the economy, and continue working to shrink annual deficits. Something that goes with each of those principles, and one of the things I am most hopeful to accomplish with a Republican in the White House, is comprehensive tax reform.\nEveryone in this country knows that our tax code is time consuming and complex. But small business owners and their employees feel the brunt of this confusion the most. As a farmer, I can\u2019t even begin to count the hours my family spent on compliance. I wish we had that time back to work on the farm.\nOur tax code was last reformed over three decades ago. Since then, so much about the way American businesses operate in the U.S. and across the world has changed. An outdated, complex tax code puts our job creators at a disadvantage and hurts the bottom line of every family in this country.\nWe need a tax code designed for the 21st\u00a0century - not the 1980s. That\u2019s why\u00a0tax reform that closes loopholes for special interests, eliminates unfair deductions for specific industries, and removes the IRS\u2019 ability to operate on purely political reasons will be one of my top focuses in the next Congress.\nBut it\u2019s more than just promises and talking points - a revitalized tax code means something for everyone in the United States. It means businesses can focus on prosperity - not compliance and red tape. It means individuals can complete their taxes alone every year without fear of an audit. And it means our GDP will grow when businesses make decisions based on economics instead of arbitrary guidelines set by the IRS.\nBut politics is one of the things that has held back tax reform - that\u2019s why it\u2019s so important that everyone is involved in this process, and that real tax reform is completed in the most responsible, fair and transparent manner possible. As such, I encourage you to submit all of your thoughts and ideas on tax reform to a new website I created for this purpose. Find the link for that site here.\nSincerely,  \u00a0  Sam Graves", 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://graves.house.gov/media-center/e-newsletters/i-need-your-input-on-tax-reform"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8636468555778265, "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"}