to studentcam.org. indentcam 2018 starts september. we are asking students to choose any provision in the constitution and create a video illustrating why it is important. the u.s. ways and means committee chairman spoke with lawmakers about efforts to change the tax code. he laid out several ideas come including a proposal to lower tax rates and increase charitable deductions. mr. place at the reagan ranch in santa barbara, california. it is 40 minutes. rep. brady: good afternoon. everyone welcome. perhaps you can see where

president why reagan spent so much time here in this beautiful setting. >> i'm chairman of the reagan ranch board of governors. young americans foundation purchased the reagan ranch almost two decades ago. our goals are to preserve it as a historic property and use it as a vehicle to train and to educate young americans about president reagan's principles of limited government, economic growth and an important role for america in today's world. there was no issue that president reagan was more identified with than tax reform. reagan sponsored two major tax bills, one he signed right here in 1981. the second that we formed the tax code for the last time in 1986. as reagan said in a national address in may 1985, for the sake of fairness and growth, he must radically change the

structure of a tax system that still treats our earnings as probably -- as the personal property of the internal revenue service. it treats incomes much differently regarding the tax that they pay. yes, radically change system that still causes some to invest in their money not to make a better mouse trap but to avoid a tax trap. -- to reagan, tax reform was more than academic exercise. by that score record is clear. the two tax bills that he signed plus restraints on federal spending and regulatory reform, resulted a two decade economic boom featuring high growth rates that raised wages, increased jobs and increased federal tax revenues to fund important federal priorities. it is long past the time when the code needs to be reformed

again to take account of our circumstances in the second decade of the 21st century. we are honored to have congressional leaders who are undertaking this difficult job and we wish them well in this important task. i want to thank you for coming. it is my great honor to present the chairman of the ways and means committee, he's going to lead this important work. the honorable kevin brady. rep. brady: thank you very much. good afternoon. my name is kevin brady. i am chairman of the house ways and means committee. i'm joined by key members of our tax-writing body. we are focused on and moving forward legislation this year, bold legislation to reduce taxes on every american grow jobs and paychecks nationwide. we're grateful to our host, the young america's foundation. this is a remarkable organization. they are proud preservationists

of the reagan ranch in president's reagan optimistic, conservative principles. frank, thank you for your leadership for this organization. you have saved this ranch for generations to come. andrew kaufman and the team that directs this ranch, thank you for all that you do. we're here on this historic day at a historic place, location. we're speaking to you on president reagan's tax cut table. a replica of the table that president reagan signed historic tax cuts that helped jumpstart america's economy for 20 years forward. our challenge is to build that legacy once again for our nation. 31 on this day, 31 years ago.

ten members of the house and senate reached agreement to deliver to president reagan the tax reform he signed. the boldest and biggest tax cut in american history. president reagan was here at the ranch that day. he called it a try them for the -- a triumph for the american people. just two months later, he sat down on the south lawn of the white house and he signed that legislation. that day, he said this. "it has been a long journey. many said we'd never make it. , as usual,simists left wanting out of their calculations -- the american people. they didn't build the freest country and the mightiest economic force on this planet by shrinking from challenges.

they never gave up." here we are 31 years later, facing a monumental challenge of our own. how to fix a tax code that is just as broken as the one president reagan and congress fixed nearly three decades ago. if you look at today's tax code, you can't even recognize the principles that made the reagan reforms such a triumph for the american people. the reagan reforms were all about the american people. about workers and middle class families and main street businesses. it was focused on fairness, closing special interest loopholes so every american can keep more of what they earn in their paycheck. it focused on simplicity and certainty. streamlining the tax code so it's understandable and easy to file your taxes. it was focused on competitiveness and economic growth. it was tax reform ground breaking.

it was the most modern tax code in the world. it made sure our american businesses and workers can compete and win anywhere in the world. in short, the reagan tax reforms were built for excellence. built to ensure every american could achieve their american dream, whatever it might be. like others, i think president reagan would be pretty disappointed in the tax code we have today. fairness has been replaced with favoritism for washington special interest. simplicity and certainty has been replaced with complexity. incrediblen from people who cannot hope to understand the tax code. competitiveness, that's become

a casualty of washington's inaction. america, it was designed to allow america and our businesses to compete around the world. but in those 31 years, america has fallen so far behind. it's our competitors. they are inspired by president reagan and who moved forward to improve their tax codes in order to compete and win against us. it's our competitors around the world who move to lower their rates for families and businesses. they one upped america by simplifying their tax code. so their businesses can compete around the world and create jobs locally. through that, they have left america in the dust. inspired by president reagan, they're continuing to run ahead of us in tax reform. how has washington responded?

principally by sitting on the sidelines and reverting to its old habits. as a result, for years americans have watched our jobs, our manufacturing, research, our headquarters move overseas. they have seen america struggle in raising paychecks for every american. after all these years, it really begs the question of every american. why are we standing idly by watching our jobs leave our shores? at what point have we given up on the reagan principles of simplicity and fairness and competitiveness? when did we decide to give into washington special interests at expense of hard-working

americans who truly contribute to america's economy? i just don't accept where we're at right now in the tax code. our local businesses, middle class families, they don't accept it either. on this historic day, it's time for us to come together and show the world as a nation we don't accept this tax bill. it's time to change it. for the first time in 31 years, we have a white house, house and senate truly committed to fixing this broken tax code. providing relief for every family while we're growing jobs and growing paychecks. it will not be easy. tax reform, legislatively, it is the biggest challenge of any generation. social media on twitter already has a hashtag for it.

#trih, tax reform is hard. it is. to be successful as president reagan was, it's important to remember what we're fighting against and more importantly , it's important for remember what we're fighting for. we're fighting against this monster of a tax code. this tax code has been winning. it's on the 31 year winning streak. it has tripled in size since president reagan reformed it. once again, we have all these lobbyist loopholes, deductions and carve outs. today, our tax code is back by by powerful, special interests who will fight tooth and nail to preserve their sweetheart deals. even if it means they bring tax reform down. we cannot let the status quo win.

if you remember nothing else i say today, we cannot let the status quo win. what we're fighting for is too important. who we're fighting for is too important. we're fighting for what president reagan termed as the greatest special interest of all, the american people. we're fighting for those reagan principles of simplicity and fairness and growth and competition. more importantly, i think we're fighting for a bigger and better future for our children and grandchildren. a better future, a future like cathy and i hope for our two boys. when this fight gets tough, it will over the coming months, we can't give up. we won't give up. the american people are

counting on us to persevere, to win. together, with their support, with your support, we will. as you know, coming from texas, i don't necessarily talk fast. i don't talk long, either. let me close with this. today, we commit to a new chapter in america's great story. today we commit to a new tax code, written for a new era of american excellence in prosperity. with the american people, we can cut all these loopholes how. -- cut all of these loopholes out. we can lower the tax rate for every family, for every business, for every neighborhood in america. vault america from nearly dead last in the world

back in that lead path. best place on the planet for next new job, next new plant, that next new technology. together, working with president trump, congress and american people, i'm confident we can meet this challenge. we can rise to this challenge just as our nation has risen to and prevailedoo over so many challenges before in our history. i believe this with all my heart. because, just as president reagan did, i believe that there's no limit to what this nation can achieve when we put our faith in god, in each other and in the countless -- boundl ess potential of america's ingenuity. 2017 is the year we make history. together, we truly together, we will.

with that, i like to introduce peter roskam of illinois. the chairman of the tax policy subcommittee. one of the key leaders on tax reform in the house. thank you,: chairman. i like to pick up on one of the things that was articulated. the subtext what he was talking about and the symbol of being here is the american dream. what's so interesting about americans is historically, when people are successful around us, what do we can -- what do we tend to say? we tend to say, how nice for you. the reason we say how nice for you, we think, that can be me. that could be my daughter or grandchild. there are aspirational elements of our economy that create incredible buoyancy. for the past several decades

there has been a heaviness about these things. there's a feeling about from among our citizens, where they feel like they can't catch a break. they got things that are so overwhelming and so complicated, so debilitating and heavy, frankly, they cannot move forward in a way in which they want to. it is not about class envy, jealousy, it is about feeling overwhelmed. you have a tax code that makes people feel overwhelmed. the symbol of this place is that ronald reagan rejected that notion. ronald reagan was somebody to whom we aspire. reagan called out the very best of us. can you imagine the national disposition in the next month if we are able to cut this knot and get to fundamental tax reform that creates real growth, real opportunity that translates into

real jobs, more money into paychecks for middle class americans? you can imagine what that would be like moving into 2018. let me close by saying this. ronald reagan is not here. ronald reagan had faith in generations that followed him. we're that generation. if you look around and you interact with folks, all across the political spectrum today. there's a real desire to have things get done in ways that benefit everyone. i have a great deal of confidence in our capacity joined by our friends all across the spectrum who are engaging on this process. we can get tax reform done and have real growth and real buoyancy moving forward. >> we are also joined by david schweikert of arizona key member of the tax writing committee.

schweikert: as you approach the microphone, you start thinking about what do you share. how many of american people had the experiment -- the experience of when you just finished filling out your tax forms, you did it online and you hit the button. you have that sort of sinking feeling in your tummy. did i get it right? him i going -- am i going to be in trouble? you wake up, you get your mail and you have a letter from the irs, that horrible feeling of am i in trouble. we need to make that go away. in many ways, this sort of cruelty that's been rolled up from this tax code on the american. it is so complicated. even folks who bathe their entire life in the tax code often will look and say, i think , it's my best guess. we can call the i.r.s. but it's

so complicated. when you hear us talk about simplicity, fairness, growth, don't underestimate that word simplicity. i have been just elated -- home in the phoenix area, the number of conversations i'm having or group presentations where simplicity, getting rid of that fear of making a mistake because there is no way to know a tax code that's this complicated. along with the lower rates, along with the economic growth, along with the fairness, that simplicity is going to be really powerful gift to the american people if we do our jobs. thank you. >> along with peter and david, carlos curbelo of florida brings his real life business experience to our effort to rewrite the tax code.

curbelo: thank you chairman brady. thank you for your leadership and for inviting us to be a part of this special day. i'm truly honored to be here for my family who came to this country with nothing, ronald reagan was and is a hero. as far as i'm concerned, this is hollowed ground we're standing on here. i thank everyone who made this day possible. we're here to seek inspiration and to make this commitment that the chairman mentioned. it's easy for discussions about tax reform to become technical in nature. over the coming weeks, i'm sure you're here about corporate interest, deductibility and technical terms. but at the end of the day, this is about every american family. about every american. it's about prosperity, opportunity. it's about a lot of young people who feel like the economic recovery hasn't reached their households. young people who may have gone

to college but can't find gainful employment. a lot of immigrant family who have come to this country seeking opportunity and are getting by but not enough of them are getting ahead. that's what this is all about. of course, it's not going to be easy. it wasn't easy for ronald reagan either. the same way he infused our nation with optimism in the 1980's and now it's our turn. it's our turn to renew the confidence of the american worker. to show american families that they can succeed here. that this is the greatest place in the world to get a job, to start a company, to invent a new product. that is what tax reform is all about. it's up to us to meet the expectations of the american people and to help them accomplish and reach their aspirations. i feel grateful to have the

privilege of hopefully being a small part of taking a giant step towards greater prosperity and opportunity for every american in our country. >> thank you. to wrap up, we are fully committed to delivering pro growth, pro jobs tax reform this year. whether you're a democrat or a republican, if you're serious about delivering pro growth tax reform to the american people this year, we're serious about working with you. i'll be glad to take questions. reporter: one of the hallmarks of the reagan tax reforms was it was a bipartisan effort. a bipartisan e effort to unwind it? rep. brady: i agree. i'm hopeful our democratic colleagues joins us in this effort. they his -- they have good ideas

on how we can get people back to work. secondly, what their communities -- they're suffering the same things we are. they're seeing the same american companies move jobs and manufacturing overseas. they see the same young people who can't find good paying jobs. i think they bring so much to the table. we're working in the house with our house democrats to explore common ground on tax reform. i'm hopeful those discussions are fruitful. i would love to see bold, bipartisan tax reform delivered to the president's desk. reporter: are you at all looking at a partial expensing plan with a three year phase in? rep. brady: no. we are focused on simplicity and fairness. both for families and business. where we know growth comes from is from the lowest rates we can get for our businesses. large and small.

so they can send must washington and invest more in workers, business and future. we know too when businesses can immediately write off their business investment in buildings, equipment, software and technology, it drives main street jobs. it drives productivity of the american worker. we are focused with the president and senate on unprecedented expensing. to get that going. those two issues, growth and unleashing investment. those are the twin towers of tax reform. reporter: building off that issue. are there any discussions about perhaps making that provision retroactive to give businesses additional relief? rep. brady: we're working through the details of the tax plan with the

white house and senate tax writers, as well. we're looking at ways to drive the rates lowest to be competitive. to redesign our international tax system so we can compete anywhere in the world. we're also looking at how we pull all of this together. we have more work to do. i anticipate continuing to work through august with the white house and senate bringing forward a tax reform plan at the ways and means committee. after we return and move forward on the timetable for delivery to the president's desk this year. concern one there of the side effects of that would be to minimize incentives for people who give to charities? the brady: let me tell you, strongest incentive for charitable giving is a strong economy. at no level do people give more

than when they have extra money in their pocketbook. this tax reform is estimated to drive the u.s. economy and growth by over 9%. grow paychecks over 8%. that allows americans to be incredibly generous in charitable giving. but we are not stopping there. we are keeping charitable deductions on. we are working with charitable organizations to explore ways to unlock more charitable giving. we want americans to give more to their church, to the scouts in the causes they believe in. we're exploring fresh ideas how we can encourage and reward charitable giving across the economic spectrum. reporter: the mortgage production -- mortgage destruction [indiscernible] rep. brady: we will continue to reward homeownership. we are exploring ways just like with the charitable deductions, where we can reward and encourage

homeownership across the economic level. we know too, nothing drives new , nothing drives home values like a stronger economy. if we can get people back to work, increase those paychecks we know it helps to make it easier for young families to buy that first home or middle class family to move up to something for a growing family. reporter: [indiscernible] what lessons have you learned from that? how do you guys stay on the same page as the senate? rep. brady: what is different between health care and tax reform is just about everything. americans are truly divided over obamacare, there's no one who defends the status quo of this bloated, complex tax

code. secondly, president trump to his credit, agreed to work with house and senate tax writers to unify behind one bold tax reform plan. the president has committed to this tax reform approach. we are moving forward together on tax reform and as we travel the country, as we do town halls in our own districts, to talk and make the case about this and listen to constituents, there are others in america right alongside of us making the case for pro growth tax reform. at the end of the day, president trump will be incredibly crucial to this success of this. this tax reform is a signature issue of this presidency. i would say it's a signature issue for america. because of this second-rate economy we've been stuck on for so long cured reporter: didn't the president commit to the same schedule the same plan to be on the same page as the house and senate on

healthcare too? rep. brady: no. i didn't see it that way. i think one of the lessons learned is the sooner we move together on tax reform, the more likely success is to achieve it this year. reporter: i have a related question. can the senate incorporate plans to lower the effective corporate taxes? rep. brady: we've asked the senate and the president as well and i appreciate the work that secretary mnuchin and director cohen are doing. to bring their best ideas to the table. so we can find a way -- not only we lower rates to become competitive, we want to stop eliminating -- to moving american jobs and companies in overseas. we want to look at every incentive to bringing those job back to the united states. we continue to explore ideas the white house and senate and the house have brought to the table. proposal,in the tax

do you want it to be revenue neutral or are you willing to increase the deficit, especially by cutting the corporate tax rate? rep. brady: i want the greatest growth for the greatest number of years. we achieve that with bold reform that's permanent. we want businesses who are considering bringing their jobs and plants- jobs back to america to be able to count on it. we want families to have certainty when they make their long term decisions whether it's saving for college, investing in a home. whatever it takes to look out for that certainty. that means we balance the budget over time. yes, we will be open to losing tax revenues in these early years. economic growth and eliminating special provisions in this bloated tax code. so we can lower the rates for everybody, that will help us balance for everybody. reporter: [indiscernible]

rep. brady: so i had hoped, and all of us here, our committee wrote about half of the health care were that passed the house, we were hopeful that senate would do its job in eliminate $1 trillion of tax hikes. they are a drag on the economy. they hit every person in america and every local business in america. they are harmful to the economy. we never anticipated that we would have to import those tax cuts into tax reform. there simply is not enough room. those provisions are staying in the health care bill. i will continue to urge the senate to do what it needs to do to repeal those taxes, repeal those mandates. let's start giving people help who are trapped in obamacare.

both begin the transition to affordable health care. reporter: when we going to get more details on what you're looking at doing? also, some of the things you like to deal with part of this effort in reforming the i.r.s. don't sit in reconciliation. how you're going to get those non-reconciliation measures that you promised us? rep. brady: let's start with the second one. i like chairman roskam to address the i.r.s. reforms. on the first, we continue to work with the white house, including the president and senate on the details and designs of this tax reform. we'll continue to do that through august and after we returned, as well. i expect as i said, to bring tax reform plan out with the frame work agreed to and unified by the white house and senate after we return. at that point, we'll have tax reform plan flushed out through all the details.

on reforming the i.r.s., i like to have peter roskam to address that. if you look at the nature of how the committee has approached the i.r.s. and some of the issues, best place to turn to is a unified ways and means committee that challenge the i.r.s. on civil asset forfeiture abuses. we marked up a bill unanimously out the committee. passed unanimously out the house. chairman vernon buchanan has been working on this issue. trying to bring things together. you're right, it's bifurcated. you would do tax reform in one tranche and come back again. but there is a lot of interest on both sides of the aisle on trying not just to reform for the sake of challenging the overreaches and some of the abuses of the past of the irs, but updating the irs in ways we have an expectation that other

elements of our economy would be updated, as well. rep. brady: we are. thank you. chairman roskam's points, we are proposing a dramatically simpler tax code. it demands dramatically simpler tax collector. we do propose to buff up the up the irs and redesign it into the 21st century with a singular mission, customer service. i'm hopeful that with the leadership on the way and means committee outreach that we've done with our democrat colleges as well, this is another area where we can explore bipartisan support. make sure the i.r.s. is working for our families and not against. are there those who haven't asked the question? reporter: [indiscernible] he quoted someone, i can't remember who it was. taxation without representation.

i was wondering what your take was on that? tax is the the death most unamerican tax in this horribly bloated code. you thought you work your whole life to build up a nest egg, then you pass away intrafamily -- and your family, uncle sam can swoop in and take over 40% of everything you've earned over a certain amount. it's just wrong. it is still the number one reason our family-owned n'tinesses and farms are passed down. fast why, permanently repealing -- that is why permanently repealing death tax is in the house republican blueprint. it continues to be a key discussion item wi c-span, monday,

the solar eclipse. >> the eclipse is important because these bodies come in to alignment at a cosmic moment that we are only part of. >> tuesday, president trump tro in phoenix. andednesday, george w. bush bill clinton on leadership. i got lucky. i don't care what anybody says. thursday, we will look at the new proposals for the federal budget. friday, a profile interview with sonny perdue. -- i political history was tell people when i was born, they stamped democrat on your birth certificate.

i became a republican. by a conversation with jeff moss. >> there was no jobs in information security for any of us. so this was really a hobby. as an internet group, and there were jobs and people or paintings online and there's money at risk, all of the sudden, hackers started getting jobs doing security. >> watch on c-span and c-span.org a listen using the c-span radio app. >> joining us now is james grossman, the executive director american historical association. he is here to discuss the debate over removing confederate monuments. e over removing confederate monuments. thank you for joining us today.