{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://neal.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/neal-opening-statement-ways-and-means-democrats-tax-legislation-forum", "Neal Opening Statement at Ways and Means Democrats Tax...", "2017-12-13", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "MA", "Richard Neal", "N000015", "neal.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Thank you for joining us today. Today\u2019s hearing is the first \u2013 and likely the only \u2013 hearing on HR 1, the Ryan-McConnell tax legislation. And so I thank our witnesses for being here today.\n\u00a0\nLet me start by providing some historical perspective. In January 2001, when President Bush took over from President Clinton, CBO estimated the total budget surplus for 2002 to 2011 would be $5.6 trillion. But what actually happened during that period?\u00a0The federal government ran deficits that totaled\u00a0$6.1 trillion.\n\u00a0\nWhat happened when President Clinton left office?\u00a0 In 2001, Republicans cut taxes by $1.3 trillion; in 2003, by $1 trillion; and in 2005, there was the repatriation tax holiday. Each time, like today, the Republicans promised job growth. However, they took us to the casino each time without a win.\n\u00a0\nSo here we go again.\u00a0 The Treasury Department issued a one page analysis of the Republicans\u2019 tax bill on Monday citing 2.9 percent growth.\u00a0 That\u2019s not in line with what we\u2019re hearing from any main stream economists \u2013 and fortunately for us, we have two of them with us today.\u00a0\n\u00a0\nThe reality is tax cuts do not pay for themselves.\u00a0 Even taking into account growth, JCT\u2019s macroeconomic analysis finds that the Republican tax bill will still cost over $1 trillion. And frankly, even the Treasury Department\u2019s one pager also concludes that tax cuts don\u2019t pay for themselves.\n\u00a0\nI should also note that the 1981 Reagan tax cuts did not pay for themselves either.\u00a0 Like today, they were assuming future spending cuts, which as we know never occurred. We should learn from these past experiences.\n\u00a0\nWe have a million new veterans who we need to care for \u2013 and we\u2019re lucky to have a veteran with us today \u2013 and our military is committed around the world. We also have thousands of Baby Boomers retiring every day who will begin receiving Social Security and Medicare benefits. We can\u2019t afford another gamble with the Republicans\u2019 tax plans.\n\u00a0\nLet me conclude by saying that the bottom line is the Ryan-McConnell tax package is a bad deal. It\u2019s a bad deal for the 36 million middle class families who will see their taxes go up; it\u2019s a bad deal for the 13 million Americans who will no longer have healthcare coverage; and it will be an even worse deal for our children and grandchildren who the Republicans have decided will foot the bill for this irresponsible proposal. \u00a0We can do better.\u00a0\n\u00a0\nI would now like to yield to gentle lady from California, our distinguished Democratic Leader, Ms. Pelosi, for her opening statement.\n\u00a0\n###", 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://neal.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/neal-opening-statement-ways-and-means-democrats-tax-legislation-forum"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8198530413210392, "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"}