{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://shimkus.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/shimkus-speaks-at-house-senate-tax-conference-committee-open-meeting", "Shimkus Speaks at House-Senate Tax Conference Committee Open Meeting", "2017-12-13", "2017", "2017-12", "Republican", "House", "IL", "John Shimkus", "S000364", "shimkus.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Following lunch at the White House with President Donald Trump today, Congressman John Shimkus (R, Illinois-15) and members of the House-Senate Conference Committee held an open meeting to discuss reconciling the House and Senate versions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.\n\u201cWe all have to be accountable to our voters, and I\u2019ve always pushed for and promoted a fairer, flatter, simpler tax code, especially for the individuals,\u201d Shimkus said. \u201cIn my district, 80 percent currently file without itemizing. Under the House bill that amount will go to 90 percent. That\u2019s 90 percent of my individual filers who will not itemize, and they\u2019ll be able to use a simple postcard.\u201d\nAdding to examples Shimkus has previously shared on social media, including a single mom making $30,000 and a family of four making $59,000, the congressman cited two examples from correspondence and conversations with constituents in his opening remarks.\n\u201cI got a response from one of my constituents who is a self-identified skeptic, responding tomy newsletter,\u201d Shimkus said. \u201cHe said, \u2018I did the math on my taxes as a retired police officer on a pension and working part time and my wife working part time. Estimating a gross income of $76,000 married filing jointly under current law we would pay $6,502. Under the proposed changes, our tax liability drops to $5,592 saving us $910.\u2019\u201d\n\u201cI\u2019m from a pretty poor district, but I also have some successful people,\u201d Shimkus added. \u201cI spoke to another constituent who has over $100 million sitting overseas, just waiting to be returned to Illinois to create jobs and put people back to work.\u201d\nShimkus also thanked the Senate for their inclusion of provisions to open a portion of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to energy development, and to sell $600 million worth of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), that allowed him to serve on the conference committee. The SPR provision falls under the jurisdiction of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, on which Shimkus serves.\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://shimkus.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/shimkus-speaks-at-house-senate-tax-conference-committee-open-meeting"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.40035105869174, "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"}