Economy & Budget

We have now made a complete mockery of the so-called mock mark-up process. Even when the Finance Committee acts unanimously to adopt an amendment, it has no meaning and no impact on the unamendable fast-tracked implementing bill (establishing a free-trade agreement with Oman) that is sent to the Congress.

Leaving out my amendment preventing goods made from forced labor to benefit from this trade agreement is a slap in the face to the Senate and to American workers. It is particularly appalling that the White House believes that imports made with the benefit of human trafficking, forced labor and slave-like working conditions should get special, duty-free access under bilateral trade agreements. American workers should not be forced to compete with forced labor of any kind.

For the people that actually had to live through the aftermath of the hurricanes, it was obvious that something needed to change with the National Flood Insurance Program. It treated flood victims inconsistently, was slow to respond and unclear to even those who were supposed to be overseeing the process. This legislation will allow people to focus on rebuilding, not fighting bureaucratic red tape.

This tax hits every telephone owner and serves a significant burden to business consumers who rack up hefty long-distance bills from month to month. It’s time to give up the ghost and get rid of this outdated tax. I’m glad the U.S. Treasury agrees it is time to hang up on the long-distance tax and give taxpayers the simple and fair tax code that they long for.

The House passed bill is going to facilitate competition in the cable tv service marketplace and that should lower cable rates. We know competition has worked to lower rates in markets located in Texas, Florida, and Virginia.

Over the past decade we've seen cable bills go up primarily because government regulations make it extremely difficult for new providers to enter a market and compete. The House bill will let new entrants provide service without negotiating individual franchise agreements with each locality in the area they hope to serve. New entrants will have to pay the same franchise fees to local governments as existing providers, carry the same level of public access channels, and local government will continue to have control over rights of way. I had introduced the first franchise reform bill with Rep. Wynn last year and I'm glad to see it push the debate in the right direction and lead to a bill. I hope the Senate will join us on this.

The estate tax reform bill will help local, family-owned businesses and farms - the backbone of communities throughout our country - stay local and family-owned. I have met with small business owners in my district who are facing the prospect of having to sell to giant corporate conglomerates because estate tax burdens prohibit them from passing their companies onto the next generation. Fathers and mothers should be able to pass the farms and businesses that they worked so hard to build onto their children without being unfairly penalized.

This bill is not perfect - I have serious concerns about the fiscal impact of lowering tax rates for estates over $10 million. However, the benefits the estate tax exemption will bring our local, family-owned businesses and farms, and in turn our communities, are worth this current compromise.

This bill also includes a critically important tax provision that will help the Northwest's struggling timber industry, and the more than 45,000 people in my home state who are employed by the forest products industry.

by Michael Franc--Vice President, Government Relations--The Heritage Foundation

The Congressional Budget Office reports that federal revenues are on track to grow 12.8% this year. Last year, revenues grew at an even faster clip - 15.5%.

It's been a long time since federal tax receipts grew at such a torrid pace over a two year period. Back then, a powerful and fleet-footed rookie by the name of Mickey Mantle was trying to replace Yankee legend Joe DiMaggio in centerfield and Humphrey Bogart was pulling down an Oscar for Best Actor in African Queen.

By the end of this fiscal year, tax revenues consume 18.3% of Gross Domestic Product. Remarkably, given all the heated rhetoric about the fiscal devastation wrought by the Bush tax cuts, the tax burden will soon exceed the historical norm of 17.9% that has prevailed since World War II.

Liberals refer to this phenomenon as - "unanticipated revenues." Conservatives simply shrug their shoulders and say "we told you so."

This week the International Relations Committee's Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations approved my legislation to assist struggling businesses in sub-Saharan Africa. This bill will contribute to ending Africa's dependence on handouts from the international community. The Assistance for Small and Medium Enterprises in Sub-Saharan African Countries Act (HR 4319) makes available professional, technical, and other resources for private sector development in sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, it offers entrepreneurship training for small and medium enterprises and helps financial institutions build their capacity for risk management.

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The Republicans control every branch of government, if they really wanted to control spending they could. Instead they chose to pass the buck to a President who has never vetoed a bill. The easiest way to control spending is to enforce the 'Pay-As-You-Go' rules. Americans live by these rules every day and Congress should too.

Broadband is the dial tone of the 21st century. We are all aware that deployment of broadband is crucial for all Americans to compete and succeed in today's global economy. The Universal Service Fund (USF) is essential for ubiquitous broadband service. After Wednesday's USF hearing, I have a new found optimism that USF reform could happen this year. I have worked diligently along with my Democratic colleague Congressman Rick Boucher to draft a USF Reform bill that can reach a wide consensus of industry needs. The USF hearing reconfirmed that all sectors of the industry can come together and agree on reforming USF.

Even today, I have been speaking with fellow Members of the Subcommittee on Telecommunication and the Internet and I am pleased with the positive feedback and strong support of USF from both sides of the aisle. The consistent message I get from everyone is "we need to update and reform the USF.

USF reform is an example of how Republicans and Democrats can work together to move America in the right direction.

Yesterday, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet held the first of a series of hearings focusing on reform of the Universal Service Fund. The Fund ensures, among other things, that residents of rural areas have access to affordable communications services. Affordable communications services not only benefit their individual users, but also, at a time when electronic commerce is central to national economic growth, they are essential for our national economic success. While the importance of affordable rural connectivity has increased, new technologies and new business plans are combining to diminish the long distance revenues that have been relied upon for universal service funding, and reform is now needed. Representative Lee Terry and I have recently introduced the Universal Service Reform Act of 2006, legislation which would control the spiraling growth of the Universal Service Fund while ensuring that universal service support is available to the rural carriers which rely on it to provide service. Our measure would expand who pays into the fund, cap the growth of the fund, and modernize it by allowing its use for the deployment of high speed broadband service. Our bill would expand the existing Universal Service Fund revenue base by requiring VOIP providers and all who offer a connection to the Internet to contribute to the fund, as well as by assessing contributions on intrastate revenues in addition to interstate and international revenues. It would also impose strict limitations on fund growth, assuring that the only growth is in accordance with an inflationary growth factor. I hope that Members will consider our bill as the Congress looks for practical answers to the universal service challenges we face.