{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.murkowski.senate.gov/press/release/floor-speech-reconciliation-legislation", "FLOOR SPEECH: Reconciliation Legislation", "2017-11-30", "2017", "2017-11", "Republican", "House", "AK", "Lisa Murkowski", "M001153", "www.murkowski.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "11.30.17\n\t\t\t FLOOR SPEECH: Reconciliation Legislation \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tThank you, Mr. President.\u00a0 I appreciate the fact that I\u2019m able to follow my colleague from South Carolina who has described and encapsulated in pretty simple terms what this proposal is before us, this tax proposal is, is good for the country.\u00a0\r\nIt\u2019s good for American families. It\u2019s good for Alaskan families and South Carolina, and I\u2019m pleased to be able to join my colleagues this afternoon in support of the reconciliation legislation that we have pending before us.\u00a0 I happen to believe that the tax reform title will help our families keep more of their hard earned dollars.\u00a0 I think it will make American businesses more competitive.\u00a0\u00a0 I am also proud to be the author of the energy title, contained within this measure, that works to strengthen our long-term energy security.\r\nI think it\u2019s important that we look at the moment here, recognize the magnitude of this moment \u2014once in a generation do we have the opportunity to take a hard look at our economy, the role that Congress can play in encouraging true growth, and then take the action that we need to get the economy back on track.\r\nOur historic tax reform effort will grow Alaska\u2019s and the nation\u2019s economy.\u00a0 And when you look at it from the broader view, from a thousand-foot view, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is a pro-economy, pro-growth, and pro-jobs proposal reduces taxes and puts dollars back in the pockets of hard-working Americans at every income level.\r\nWhen you think about all that does in terms of boosting the economy to create jobs\u2014jobs that feed our families, that help us put our kids through college.\u00a0 The kind of jobs that allow folks to build up their savings to cope with the unexpected, to retire with peace of mind, and give flexibility to be the great innovators that we are in this country.\r\nWhat we see in this proposal are meaningful developments in the tax code to provide substantive relief to Americans across the economic spectrum.\u00a0\r\nIn Alaska, a family of four with two kids, earning $50,000 that uses the standard deduction will see a tax decrease of $1,400.\u00a0 If that same family earned about $75,000, their tax liability would be reduced by $2,000.\r\nThe Child Tax Credit, the benefit that we see from near doubling that tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000, being refundable, expanding the eligibility to children under 18 years old.\u00a0 This expansion is a significant form of help to the 22 million Americans who use the Child Tax Credit.\r\nIn terms of simplifying the tax code\u2014how often do we hear our constituents say \u201cjust make it simpler for us.\u201d Making it simpler, fair tax treatment for individuals in every income bracket, again, this is a proposal that delivers.\u00a0 Most Americans take advantage of the standard deduction and this Act doubles the standard deduction, resulting in a $12,000 deduction for single filers and $24,000 for married taxpayers filing jointly.\r\nI focus a lot on the families in Alaska, we don\u2019t happen to have a lot of large corporations, but when you look to the benefits contained within this proposal and the impact that they have on our larger businesses, our corporations, it is significant.\u00a0 Recognizing that the steps we are taking to lower the corporate rate, to allow us to be more competitive, not only in this country but globally, all we need to do is really look to what we are seeing already with the uptick in businesses and how we can be doing more to further incentivize that.\u00a0\r\nI think we recognize that lower corporate will allow American businesses to compete against foreign competitors, and make the investments in American operations that will bring the jobs and economic growth that have eluded us for years.\r\nIn Alaska, 99.6 percent of our businesses are small businesses; they\u2019re taxed at the individual rate.\u00a0 So the discussion that we have had with regards to allowing of pass-through small businesses to be able to deduct an additional percent of their business income from their taxes, this is a significant benefit for our entrepreneurs and one that I certainly endorse.\r\nSome of the other provisions that help our businesses \u2014 the100 percent immediate full business expensing for the next five years, the expansion of the Section 179 small business expensing \u2014 these incentivize the kind of foundational investments that implement long-term plans, that help to expand operations, and encourage businesses to take the risks needed to create lasting economic growth.\r\nAnd the bill also helps our smaller businesses protect what they\u2019ve built; and when someone passes on, the ability to be able to pass to that next generation.\u00a0 What we have done with the doubling of the exemption for the estate tax is important.\u00a0\r\nThere\u2019s been a lot of discussion about the benefit that is seen with this particular provision on our farmers.\u00a0 In Alaska, we don\u2019t have a big agriculture section of our state, but we view our fisherman as the as farmers or ranchers of the sea, truly small businessman.\u00a0 When you think about the investment that a fishing family makes, in a vessel, in the gear, in the permits, in the quota, you can have a significant investment totaling millions of dollars, $7 or $8 million.\u00a0 It\u2019s about $1 million when you think about the quota and the permits.\u00a0\r\nSo recognizing how we are able to provide for just a little bit of relief to those smaller families, I don\u2019t think they would consider themselves millionaires in terms of having that disposable income, but being able to pass that hard work that you have built as a small family operator in a fishing business is important, and it\u2019s significant.\r\nBottom-line, Mr. President, this is a proposal that does the work.\u00a0 It does work for Alaska families.\u00a0 It gets dollars in pockets and relief to families.\u00a0 It will help restore competition in the global marketplace, certainty to job creators, and also confidence that now is the time to invest in America.\r\nSo I thank the members of the Finance Committee, the good work done by Chairman Hatch, for the work that they have done on tax reform.\u00a0 I\u2019d also thank the members of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, who worked with me to report the second title of this legislation and to report it on a bipartisan basis.\u00a0\r\nWe\u2019ve got a very straightforward text\u2014just six pages in total, which is pretty impressive in this day in age\u2014this small package offers tremendous opportunity for Alaska, for the Gulf Coast, and for all of our nation.\u00a0\r\nWithin this title we authorize responsible energy development in the 1002 Area, this covers 1.57 million acres of land in the non-wilderness portion of ANWR in the northeastern corner of the state.\r\nWe require the program to be managed in a manner similar to the environmentally protective framework that is used for other federal lands on Alaska\u2019s North Slope.\u00a0 It also provides two lease sales to be conducted over the next ten years.\u00a0\r\nIn terms of how the revenues are shared, we split the revenues from development evenly between the federal government and the State of Alaska.\u00a0\r\nWe have limited surface development to just 2,000 federal acres within the 1002 Area\u2014this is just 1/10,000th of all of ANWR.\u00a0 Again, we are talking about a very limited surface development to just 2,000 federal acres within the 1002 Area.\r\nMany have raised concerns about the environmental process, does it get sidestepped; not at all.\u00a0 We have not preempted the environmental review process.\u00a0 We have not limited the consultation process with Alaska Natives in any way.\u00a0 All relevant laws, regulations, and executive orders will apply under our language.\r\nI think it\u2019s important to recognize this is not something that just appeared.\u00a0 Our title is the result of a regular order process here in the Senate, and it will include a regular order environmental process, with laws like NEPA all fully applied, after we pass it.\u00a0\r\nWe also strengthened our bipartisan title in committee, during our regular order markup, by adding a bipartisan amendment sponsored by Senators Cassidy, Strange, and King.\u00a0 Their provision will increase revenue sharing for the Gulf Coast and be used for priorities like coastal restoration and hurricane protection\u2014we\u2019ve all seen that given the hurricanes that they have endured in the Gulf region this year, there is certainly need for this critical investment.\r\nThe 1002 Area, in the northeast corner of Alaska, is a long way from the Gulf Coast\u2014but it will also bring substantial benefits to every part of our nation.\r\nWith this provision, we will generate substantial revenues for long-term deficit reduction\u2014well over $100 billion over the life of the fields.\u00a0 I think that\u2019s important to keep it into context, we\u2019re talking not just about short-term within this window, but what will come our way over the life of the fields in terms of revenues to the country.\r\nWe\u2019re going to create jobs\u2014thousands of them, and not just in Alaska, but all really all over the country.\u00a0\r\nWe will reduce our foreign oil dependence\u2014and this is important because we are projected to remain a net importer long into the future\u2014and in states like California, our foreign dependence has actually deepened as we have seen Alaska\u2019s production decline.\u00a0 So this means for them, jobs and revenues as well.\r\nAnd of course you cannot talk about energy security without recognizing the benefits to our country\u2019s national security, and what this yields.\r\nWe\u2019re also taking a major step to make energy more affordable.\u00a0 The fact of the matter is the world is using more oil, and not less.\u00a0 Our prices are rising.\u00a0 OPEC would like to keep it that way, regardless of the consequences for America.\u00a0 Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency, among others, is warning of a looming shortfall in global supply.\u00a0 We\u2019ve seen the price spikes and disorder that result when we fail to respond.\r\nI think we recognize that these are all significant benefits\u2014jobs, revenues, national security, affordability.\u00a0 But we should be equally confident that this will not come at the expense of our environment, simply because we have the technologies, the new developments, that really have worked to dramatically reduce the footprint of development, smaller than ever.\u00a0\r\nThe size of development pads on Alaska\u2019s North Slope has decreased by roughly 80 percent since we began operations in the 70s.\u00a0 New technologies have expanded the subsurface reach of the newest rigs by more than 4,000 percent.\u00a0 Folks have seen the various charts we have had on the floor that show just how far we are able to reach below the surface from one single well.\u00a0 If you were to drop a drill down below the Capitol here, extended reach technology can take you all the way out to National Harbor, just to put things in context here.\u00a0\r\nSo the technologies allow us to have a much, much smaller footprint.\u00a0 Many exploration wells are now built using ice roads and ice pads that melt when the spring thaw comes, leaving no impact on the tundra.\u00a0 So making sure that we are being environmentally conscious at every turn is what we do, is a priority for us, in Alaska.\r\nWe hear baseless claims of destruction and devastation, but the reality is that is not our experience in Alaska, that is not how we do business, and we need less land to access more resources than ever before.\u00a0 That\u2019s the reality in Alaska today.\r\nAlaskans understand this.\u00a0 That\u2019s why there are so many of us that so strongly support this development.\u00a0 Our entire congressional delegation.\u00a0 Our independent Governor and our Democratic Lieutenant Governor.\u00a0 Alaska Natives who live on the North Slope, including in Kaktovik, which is actually in the 1002 Area; some people say that this is an area that is untouched, unspoiled, but you need to talk to the people who live in Kaktovik who fly in on the airstrip there, whose children attend the school, who work in the clinic, these are people who also support development.\r\nThe Voice of the Arctic Inupiat.\u00a0 The North Slope Borough.\u00a0 Dozens of our state legislators.\u00a0 Hundreds and hundreds of Alaskans have called or written in support of this effort\u2014which is no surprise, because about 70 percent of Alaskans support responsible energy development in the non-wilderness 1002 Area.\r\nThey\u2019re joined by a variety of national stakeholders.\u00a0 The U.S. Chamber of Commerce.\u00a0 The National Association of Manufacturers.\u00a0 Americans for Prosperity.\u00a0 Securing America\u2019s Future Energy.\u00a0 North America\u2019s Building Trades.\u00a0 The Laborers\u2019 International Union of North America.\u00a0 The International Union of Operating Engineers.\u00a0 Just to name a few.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\r\nThere are some who worry about the potential impacts of development in the 1002 Area, and I will be the first to agree that the environment and local wildlife will always be a concern, always be a priority\u2014and that\u2019s why we did not waive NEPA or any other environmental laws.\u00a0 And that\u2019s why consultation requirements with our Alaska Native peoples will apply.\u00a0 And that\u2019s why surface development will cover up to, but no more than, 2,000 federal acres.\r\nFact of the matter is, Mr. President, we will not sacrifice wildlife or the environment for the sake of development.\u00a0 But we also recognize: that\u2019s not the choice we face here.\u00a0 This is not an either or proposition.\u00a0 This has not been the experience in Prudhoe Bay, where the Central Arctic caribou herd has grown more than seven-fold since development began.\u00a0 And it comes because we are taking the care as we seek to develop.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\r\nIf we are allowed to move forward with development, we will do it right.\u00a0 We will take care of our lands, we will take care of our wildlife, and we will take care of our people.\u00a0 I would not support development if I was not convinced that it can be done safely and responsibly.\u00a0\r\nI was born in Alaska.\u00a0 I think I\u2019m the first senator serving who was ever born in Alaska, actually in the Territory of Alaska.\u00a0 It will always be my home.\u00a0 My husband I have raised our boys there, and we hope they lead a long and a healthy life in this amazing and beautiful place. We know that there is no one who cares more about our place, these spaces, than those who call it home.\u00a0 We love this place, and we will not risk its future for the sake of development.\u00a0 But again, we know that\u2019s not the case here.\u00a0 We know that is not the trade-off here.\u00a0 We know that this is not an either-or proposition.\r\nThe 1002 Area was created by a congressional compromise.\u00a0 We always knew that its future would require another compromise.\u00a0 And today, we have it before us.\u00a0 We are not asking to develop all of the 1002 Area, we are asking instead 2,000 federal acres, about one ten-thousandth of ANWR.\u00a0 And we have waited for nearly 40 years for the right technologies to come along, so that the footprint of development is small enough to ensure the environment is protected going forward.\r\nSo Mr. President, I encourage members to recognize the tremendous opportunity that we have before us.\u00a0 Clear from my words today and that leading up to it, that I support this legislation\u2014and encourage every member to vote in favor of its passage.", 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://www.murkowski.senate.gov/press/release/floor-speech-reconciliation-legislation"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8155780378729105, "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"}