On Wednesday, several Republican lawmakers spoke on the House floor for a Special Order on progress to pass the GOP reconciliation budget bill.
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00:00orders that it be referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and ordered
00:03printed.
00:07Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3rd, 2025, the gentleman from
00:13Utah, Mr. Moore, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the Majority
00:19Leader. Mr. Speaker, thank you. I ask unanimous consent that all members may
00:24have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
00:27include extraneous material on the topic of this special order. Without
00:31objection. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'm glad to be joined by my colleagues this
00:35evening to talk about our progress on the reconciliation bill, as well as the
00:38importance of supporting our Main Street businesses during Small Business Week. I
00:41understand some of my colleagues have commitments and I want to be
00:44respectful of their time, so I'll have them start us off before I provide some
00:48of my own comments. And with that, I'd like to yield to the gentle to the
00:52gentlewoman and much improved representative from the previous
00:55individual of the great state of North Dakota, Ms. Fedorczyk.
01:01Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Representative Moore, thank you. I'd never get tired of that joke.
01:07Mr. Speaker, as we consider the critical reforms in the reconciliation process, I rise
01:15today to make the case for why we must eliminate the generous federal subsidies for wind and solar
01:21energy paid for by taxpayers. By continuing to incentivize these intermittent energy sources,
01:31with generous tax credits, we are distorting energy markets, sending the absolute wrong signal
01:39to investors and spending hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer money. We must stop providing
01:46generous incentives that run contrary to the types of energy resources we need. And tonight, I want to
01:52highlight 10 reasons why. Yes, you heard me right. There are 10 good reasons to eliminate these incentives.
02:01First, the cost to taxpayers is enormous. Over the next decade, these subsidies are projected to cost up to
02:08900 billion dollars. Second, these subsidies are driving instability in our power grid. Right now,
02:18two-thirds of the country is at risk of not having enough power to meet demand. That's not a few years
02:24from now. That's not a near long-term problem. That is today. Keep in mind, the power needed for AI is also
02:35growing exponentially, further creating a more difficult problem for us. Third, grid operators
02:43are asking for dispatchable resources such as coal, natural gas, and nuclear. Yet, we continue to
02:50incentivize the opposite. These reliable resources are being prematurely retired and we're not replacing
02:57them with the technologies we can count on around the clock. This is not a political statement. It's simply
03:04a matter of physics. We don't need to imagine the consequences of retiring these baseload energy
03:10resources. Spain, just a few weeks ago, experienced nationwide blackouts and their economy came to a
03:18grinding halt. Spain relied on wind and solar for 80 percent of its power, which is ultimately what
03:25jeopardized their grid. This should be a wake-up call for policymakers everywhere. That brings me to reason
03:32number four. Despite the warning signs and the cries from grid operators, 95 percent of the projects
03:40waiting to connect to our grid in the U.S. are wind and solar. 95 percent. That's not because of market
03:49demand for wind and solar. It's because of the very generous subsidies that this body and the rest of
03:57Washington continues to provide for these resources. This artificial growth is making it harder for
04:04reliable baseload generation to connect to the grid. Number five, these same incentives are distorting the
04:12market. Eliminating these subsidies would allow private investment to go toward other technologies
04:18that are more in line with what our grid actually needs. As I mentioned earlier, with the rise of AI,
04:25we're going to need a lot more power. We should be sending the right market signals to bring the
04:31power on that will actually meet the demand that we need for the future. Number six, wind and solar are
04:39no longer emerging technologies. They are mature. They are widely developed. Wind and solar now account for
04:4517 percent of our electric generation. The cost of these technologies has also dropped dramatically,
04:53and this is the seventh reason to phase them out. Wind and solar technologies have less overhead,
04:59longer lifespans, and higher profits than they did when these credits were introduced nearly 30 years ago
05:05in the 1990s. For example, the cost of solar has decreased more than 80 percent since 2010. Truly, the market is
05:15more than capable of supporting continued growth without subsidies. And as if that isn't compelling
05:22enough, there are yet more reasons to phase out these subsidies. Number eight, their efficiency has
05:29increased substantially. Today's wind turbines and solar panels are far more productive than they were
05:35even a decade ago. When I first started permitting these projects 12 years ago, the capacity factor for
05:42wind was around 25 percent. Today, that average capacity factor is up to 40 percent, and in some places,
05:50even 50 percent. Clearly, these are proven technologies. Number nine, the true cost of installing wind and solar is
06:00often misrepresented. Advocates routinely leave out the cost of the massive transmission infrastructure
06:07needed to connect remote wind and solar projects to population centers. They also ignore the cost of
06:14backup generation needed to keep the lights on at night or when the wind isn't blowing. The low-cost claims
06:21don't account for these expenses, but rest assured utility customers still pay for them. And last but not least,
06:30eliminating these subsidies is fully consistent within all of the above energy strategy.
06:36I believe in competition. Wind and solar are viable, market-proven, widely available technologies.
06:44Mr. Speaker, it is time to let them compete and succeed without the help of federal taxpayers.
06:51Phasing out these tax credits will save taxpayers billions of dollars, help restore reliability to our
06:58power grid, and help deliver on the promise of one big, beautiful bill to make America stronger,
07:05safer, and more competitive. Let's retire these subsidies permanently. Mr. Speaker, I yield back.
07:12Thank you to the gentlewoman from North Dakota. And I will now yield so much time as he may consume
07:19to the gentleman from Indiana, Mr. Stutzman.
07:27Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the opportunity to talk on such an important issue that faces our
07:33country. Our country's been ailing since 2020. But thankfully, President Trump is back along with
07:42Republicans in both the House and the Senate, and we're ready to govern responsibly. The prescription
07:49that will help heal our country and get us back on track is the beautiful reconciliation bill that
07:54Republicans have been working on diligently to get to President Trump's desk. It cannot be overstated.
08:01Our debt crisis is out of control. When I was first sworn into office in 2010,
08:07our federal government had $9 trillion of debt. When I left temporarily in 2017, despite our efforts
08:16to curb spending, it had doubled to $18 trillion of debt. And now today in 2025, we're staring down the
08:25barrel of $36 trillion of debt. This is only going to hurt our children, grandchildren, and frankly,
08:32it's going to hurt us today. Republicans' big, beautiful bill was passed out of our budget committee
08:38just under three months ago and is already well on its way to being approved by this body by Memorial Day.
08:46The legislation that committees are marking up this week and next are going to usher in the new golden age
08:52of America by prioritizing revolutionary conservative agenda that will improve the efficiency of
09:00government and finally get a handle on runaway spending that has gone unchecked for far too long.
09:08This bill is going to lower taxes. This bill is also going to increase border security and restore
09:14fiscal sanity back to the greatest country on earth. Gone are the days of prioritizing wokeness,
09:21frivolous spending, and the leftist dream of open borders. And here to stay is a new era of putting
09:28America first. The American people spoke loud and clear in November. They are ready for Washington to
09:34operate in a new patriotic way and a responsible way. And our reconciliation package is the first step in that direction.
09:43Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of such a historic opportunity. And we as
09:49Republicans cannot let this opportunity slip by. And I appreciate our speaker and the leader in the
09:55Senate working together well and this body working together to make sure that our country is strong,
10:00not only for our generation, but for generations to come and continue to keep America great. Thank you.
10:06And I'll yield back. Thank you to the gentleman from Indiana. I appreciate his work. We
10:11share a lot of work together on the budget committee and it's been a very active time. I will now yield
10:17so much time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from quite possibly maybe the second best state out
10:24there in the west, second to Utah, of course. I think we have that mantle pretty well locked up,
10:30but there's some other good ones in the running. Ms. Hageman. I like being in the top five.
10:36I rise to recognize Wyoming's outstanding small businesses during this small business week.
10:44Like Wyoming's diverse topography from pastures to sagebrush to majestic mountains, our small business
10:51landscape boasts a robust variety of services and industries. We have small businesses catering to
10:59the oil and gas industry, mining and energy, and we have boutique shops that make up our incredibly vibrant
11:06downtown areas. We have international businesses like Brunton within our state and those with similar
11:12national prominence, even some supporting our space mission, our military and putting food on the tables of
11:19Americans across this great country. I recently had the opportunity to meet Wyoming's small business
11:26person of the year, Lauren Hirschchap of Brunton International. Lauren is an innovator who saw an
11:32opportunity to improve a product she used every day. She worked with her husband to refine the tool and
11:38presented it to Brunton, a company which at the time was just a business whose equipment Lauren was using.
11:44Within only a few years from presenting that idea, the company deciding to move forward with then
11:51manufacturing and eventually marketing the new product, Lauren and her husband David purchased that
11:57company. And thanks to Lauren, Brunton International is now once again an American owned company and it is
12:04a beacon of resilience and prominence in no small part due to the company's passionate leaders who are
12:10willing to take on new opportunities with enthusiasm and trudge through challenges with tenacity.
12:17Wyoming businessmen and women are a special kind of people. If you're in business in Wyoming,
12:22you're willing to be both the janitor and the CEO, sometimes even on the same day. You have a growth
12:29mindset and are willing to take on the challenges brought by fluctuating markets. You both strive to
12:35progress into new areas but are willing to take time for one-off projects in order to help an
12:40individual in your hometown. For Wyoming's business community and small businesses across our great
12:46nation, I am committed to ensuring that we pass legislation that creates a legacy and regulatory
12:53climate that allows our small businesses to be competitive and to grow. Small businesses are pivotal
13:00to the success of our nation's economy. I join my colleagues this week in celebration of the small
13:06businesses that keep our country thriving and I will work with them to ensure that there is opportunity
13:12long into the future. With that, I yield back. Thank you to the gentlewoman from Wyoming. I appreciate
13:20her being a part of the special order this evening. And our last colleague that is going to address us this
13:27evening is a new member from the great state of Kansas, Representative Schmidt. Also an improvement
13:35to the previous member. He's a good friend. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I'll have no comment on that last
13:42comment. My colleague from Utah. Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to join my colleagues tonight in recognition
13:52of National Small Business Week and actually all the parts we've talked about are connected. National
13:59Small Business Week recognizes the importance of the small businesses throughout all of our communities
14:05and the numbers aren't that different state to state. In my home state of Kansas, 99 percent of the
14:12businesses that operate are small businesses. Whether they're small businesses on Main Street, small mom
14:18and pop shops, little manufacturing operations, farming operations, supporting operations, 99 percent of our
14:26businesses are small businesses. And those 99 percent in my state employ about 600,000 Kansans, which is roughly
14:37half the total number of Kansans who work. So all but one percent of our businesses, 99 percent, employ half of our
14:47people who rely on them for their livelihood, for their hopes, for their jobs, for their benefits in many cases,
14:56and for filling their days because they obviously have to work in order to support their families
15:02and pursue their dreams. So we cannot overstate the importance of small businesses to all of us, the
15:10people we represent. And yet that often doesn't get itself reflected in the decisions and the actions
15:19that come out of this town. We've talked, my colleagues have talked a bit about reconciliation,
15:26and I say these are connected because we are going to make large policy decisions here in the House and
15:33in the Senate and with the President over the course of the coming weeks that are going to have huge
15:40implications for all of those small businesses on our Main Street and all of those individuals who work
15:47in them and rely on them for their livelihoods. We talk a lot about the tax implications and that's not my
15:54focus this evening. It's critically important. We have to extend the small business and middle class tax
16:00relief so that those businesses can continue to operate and continue to employ the people we represent.
16:07But I want to talk a little bit tonight about the regulatory environment and the burden that we
16:12have created really attacks by another means. When the government says to a small business,
16:18thou shalt do this, the compliance cost of doing this is borne by that business. And it comes out of their
16:25bottom line or out of their pockets. It takes away from their ability to invest in expanding and growing
16:32and hiring more people. It has the same effect of taking another dollar of tax out of their pocket
16:39to pay not for their priorities or their community's priorities or their employees priorities but for
16:45the government's priorities. And that is true whether it's a dollar taken out of their pockets
16:51and ordered by the government to be used to comply with a government requirement, a mandate, a regulation.
17:06I am one who believes, because my constituents have told me this, that one of the most important things
17:12we can do and must do in this Congress is make real progress on regulatory relief for the small
17:19businesses that all of our communities rely on. And we've begun to take some steps. You know, Mr. Speaker,
17:26that we are currently using one of several tools available to us in this body to undo some, a small
17:36number, but some, of the newer regulations that have piled burdens onto our small businesses. We're using
17:42the Congressional Review Act. We only have a short amount of time we can use that tool, so we got to
17:46strike while the iron's hot. We have, so far in the House, used that tool to propose undoing 15
17:54new regulations that were adopted in roughly the last six months of the prior administration.
18:00Of those 15 that we have approved here, three have been signed into law by the President. So we've done
18:05three. Another six have been approved by the Senate and are currently awaiting President Trump's signature.
18:12And then there are an additional six that are awaiting consideration and I hope and expect
18:19passage in the Senate. So that's good. It's a good thing. We're using the tool available to try to make
18:25progress to provide some relief for those small businesses. But Mr. Speaker, it's barely a drop in the
18:33bucket. It's barely a drop in the bucket. The chart next to me was compiled by George Washington University.
18:43It shows the number of pages in the Federal Register starting back in 1950. The Federal Register, of course,
18:53is the government book, the government entity, where all of the agency regulations, not the laws passed by
18:59this body. But the agency regulations, the bureaucratic regulations, get published. And they have the force
19:07and effect of law. They are just as burdensome and binding on somebody running a mom and pop shop on Main
19:13Street in Kansas as is a statute enacted by this body. Usually they are regulations adopted by an agency at the
19:21direction or with the permission or arguably with the permission of this body. We fight over that
19:26sometimes when agencies exceed the authority they were given. But there's a penchant here in Congress
19:33to avoid some of the hard decisions and just ship it downtown, let the agencies have a lot of running
19:39room. And as a result of that, you get lots of decisions. And sometimes they're not consistent.
19:45So one administration goes one way and another administration goes the next way. Or they adopt one
19:49regulation and then they pile another regulation on top of it and then another on top of that. I heard a term
19:55the other day. I've never heard it before. Coral reefing. This idea that you lay down something
20:00that's living and makes sense and then that layer dies and you just build another on top and another
20:04on top. And eventually you get this giant dead mass. That's what we've done with a lot of these agency
20:10regulations. Part of it's Congress's fault. Part of it is the agency's fault. If you look at this chart,
20:17Mr. Speaker, back in 1950, roughly the time they started publishing the Federal Register, compiling all these
20:23agency rules, diktats, actions, there were about 10,000 pages. It's about how long it was the sum of
20:31all regulations adopted by agencies. The year I was born in 1968, it had grown five-fold to 50,000 pages.
20:40And when this chart was compiled about a year ago, a little more, it was nearly 200,000 pages. Nearly
20:46200,000 pages of regulations that folks in our country, our small businesses have to comply with.
20:55And by the way, to put that in comparison, the number of pages in the US code, the law is actually
20:59adopted by the people's representatives in this body. Last time it was compiled, it was around 60,000
21:05pages. So about four times roughly, three, four times as many rules and requirements on main street
21:11businesses written by people nobody out in the real world ever voted for, as opposed to laws
21:16that their elected representatives are accountable for. And by the way, this chart is not current. It
21:22doesn't include those regulations piled on top of this last tallest bar. Since this chart was compiled,
21:30we know that in the last five months of the Biden administration alone, more than 1,400 new
21:36regulations were adopted and shoved out the door. That's not 1,400 pages. That's 1,400 regulations,
21:42most of which were long. So this chart is actually much higher. So Mr. Speaker, I just rise tonight to
21:49remind all of my colleagues and all of us who serve in these roles how important it is that during this
21:56small business week, as we are doing our reconciliation bill and we're doing all the things we do,
22:02that we not forget about this hidden tax, that we have created this burden that we have placed on the
22:1099% of businesses, small businesses in our community, who employ half the people working in my state,
22:17making it harder for them to do what they do, what we rely on them to do, what we count on them to do,
22:25and more importantly, what the people we represent, our constituents, count on them to do. We can't lose
22:31sight of it. We must fix this system, tear down some of the coral reef, and get those lines moving back down.
22:39Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I yield.
22:41Thank you to the gentleman from Kansas. Excellent points. We just, we all talk small business. We all use it as a
22:49line and bullet point, and we all say we support them, and then where does the actual policy come in?
22:54And those are incredibly important points to highlight, that they are the lifeblood. We've got data that
23:05suggests Utah, which has an incredible economy, a strong work ethic, low unemployment, good volunteerism
23:13across the board, like just ranked high in the economic indicators for the country, and we are heavy,
23:21heavy, heavy tilted towards small business out of Utah. Not an enormous amount of global
23:27headquarters for big multinational firms. It's a ton of small businesses, so thank you for highlighting
23:32that. Thank you to my other colleagues for being here to discuss the ongoings for this week. We've
23:40heard so much about the reconciliation process and the dangers of not getting this done. There is a real
23:45threat. We're working under unique circumstances, because there's a time limit set for the end of this
23:50year that if we don't accomplish this piece of legislation, there's no other way to look at it,
23:58except for the fact that taxes will increase on virtually every American family and business.
24:07We desperately want to create good, strong, predictable tax policy so our companies and our families can
24:16continue to thrive can continue to understand what their landscape is for them to compete and go and
24:21create more job growth. Actually go and create more revenue for our nation to become a wealthier nation.
24:31This is a priority for Republicans. It's a priority for House GOP leadership, President and his administration,
24:39and we are neck deep in the process of getting this over the finish line. This bill will deliver on our
24:44conservative agenda and make positive changes that we know Americans want. From a more secure border to stronger
24:49domestic energy resources to more efficient federal programs to a tax code that supports families and businesses.
24:57This is a once in a generation moment, and I'm grateful to be a part of this effort on both the Ways and Means and
25:02Budget Committees. There is obviously a lot going into this, and on the Ways and Means Committee we're
25:07trying to find the sweet spot of many considerations at play. We need to ensure the provisions in the 2017
25:12Tax Cuts and Jobs Act aren't just extended, but where possible made permanent. If we don't act,
25:19we risk seeing critical policies roll back, such as the child tax credit, which goes back to just $1,000.
25:24It was $1,000 prior to 2017. Republicans doubled it.
25:28That reverts back to $1,000. $1,000 in 2026, after the inflation that we've seen over the last four
25:36years in the previous administration, is a significantly different number than it would be
25:42from pre-2017. And while we can't solve the debt crisis with this bill alone, it will drive strong
25:51economic growth, bolster GDP, we know this because we've seen this, and it puts us in a better position
25:56to address our national deficits. This is probably the most substantive action I've been a part of,
26:01and it's been an honor to have been right in the thick of it. Over the last few weeks, several
26:06committees have passed bills aimed at saving billions of dollars, hundreds of billions of
26:09dollars, and we're well on our way to making historic savings a reality. And as we work on this,
26:16as we work through this, we're doing so with a clear focus on the needs of our economy,
26:20particularly on small businesses. This week is Small Business Week, and recognizing the hard work of our
26:25small business owners is something that we can all support from both sides of the aisle. Small
26:29businesses are the backbone of our economy, as I mentioned, what it means to the state of Utah,
26:33and they are critical to every local community across this country. In this role, I'm grateful to
26:38get to know as many small business owners and hear their concerns, understand their areas of growth,
26:42what their opportunities are, and most importantly, what their challenges. Going back to the reconciliation
26:47package, and we're working on particularly the tax portion, we're looking to deliver positive results
26:52to our small businesses and craft policies that allow them to thrive. The 199 CAFE small business
27:00LLC S Corp deduction from their qualified business expense, a 20% deduction, expires at the end of
27:07this year. That is a massive tax hike on small businesses, and this is oftentimes a category
27:16that gets overlooked because you talk about corporations, and you talk about high net worth
27:21individuals, but the small businesses are structured that their ordinary income is taxed at what the,
27:28you know, some of the highest income individuals of our tax situation. And so these small businesses
27:37are taxed at a significantly high rate, oftentimes higher than other corporations. We need to make sure
27:44that 199 CAFE is extended, and if not just extended, made permanent. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made our
27:53small businesses more competitive, and we want to continue to pursue policies that provide regulatory
27:59relief, economic stability, and the ability to grow and create jobs. Again, I thank my colleagues for
28:05joining me tonight to talk about these important issues, and we will continue to dig into this in the weeks to
28:11come. And with that, Mr. Speaker, I yield back the remainder of my time to the chair.
28:16Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3rd, 2025,