Illinois members Roskam, Shimkus, LaHood applaud House approval of federal budget

Illinois Republican U.S. Reps. Peter Roskam, John Shimkus and Darin LaHood supported House passage of a budget resolution for fiscal year 2018 on Thursday that would cut federal spending and provide a path toward fundamental tax reform.

The House passed the Building a Better America budget blueprint by a 219-206 vote, a plan that was spearheaded by U.S. Rep. Diane Black (R-TN), the chairman of the House budget committee. It would balance the budget within 10 years without raising taxes and strengthen national defense and Medicare. The budget would reduce the deficit by $6.5 trillion over 10 years, while incorporating pro-growth policies, regulatory reform and comprehensive tax reform.

“While there is still work to be done to reconcile House and Senate budgets for FY18, we have taken another crucial step towards passing a budget that will allow us to continue our efforts on tax reform,” Roskam, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Tax Policy, said. “It’s time to move forward with tax reform that will help millions of American families and small business and passing a budget is the first step to making that a reality. We’re pursuing aggressive growth and relief for middle-income families. Growth is a priority.”

Speaking in support of the bill on the House floor, Shimkus noted that national debt now exceeds $20 trillion and that his work as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Environment ties into the long-term fiscal health of the nation. Specifically, Shimkus has worked to address budget challenges related to the need to dispose of spent nuclear fuel.

“Last year alone, the nuclear waste costs were about one-third of all federal government payments due to litigation,” Shimkus said. “Put another way, American taxpayers are paying over $2 million every single day in which we neglect our moral and legal obligation to permanently dispose of spent nuclear fuel.”

Shimkus explained that Congress passed the Nuclear Waste Policy Act in 1982 and enacted a formal nuclear waste management program for the federal government, setting a 1998 deadline for the Department of Energy (DOE) to begin disposing of used fuel. However, the federal government missed that deadline and has been held liable, resulting in DOE’s total liability having increased to nearly $30 billion since 2009.

Shimkus said he would continue to work to get the nation’s nuclear waste management program back on track.

LaHood, meanwhile, agreed that it’s time to get serious about federal spending so that important programs can achieve long-term sustainability.

“That is why it is so crucial that we pass this common sense budget as the first step in reforming our nation’s outdated tax code,” LaHood said in comments on the House floor. “Our current system continues to fail small business owners, farmers, and middle class families with its overwhelmingly complex system. That is why over 90 percent of Americans have to pay for help with filing their taxes every year.”

He noted the combined 8.9 billion hours taxpayers spend filing their taxes every year, time that could be spent working or with families.

Elimination of the death tax, LaHood added, is another key element of tax reform so that small businesses and family farms can safely reinvest their earnings. And according to the Tax Foundation, full expensing would save businesses money, leading to nearly a 5 percent increase in income for low- and middle-income workers, he said.

“… Tax reform is about getting our economy back to working for the middle class, and for our small businesses, growing it from the inside out. This budget is the necessary first step in that process, and I am proud to support it,” LaHood said.