Business Associations Call on Congress to Pass Tax Reform Soon

June 28, 2017

The Honorable Paul Ryan
Speaker of the House
1233 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Majority Leader
317 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Charles Schumer
Minority Leader
322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Minority Leader
233 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Speaker Ryan, Leader McConnell, Leader Schumer, and Leader Pelosi,

As the leaders of the nation’s preeminent business associations representing businesses of all industries, interests, forms, and sizes in all 50 states, we urge you to reach common agreement on a tax reform plan and move quickly to enact tax reform legislation. No initiative likely to be considered in this Congress offers more promise than comprehensive tax reform to accelerate out of the current pattern of slow economic growth. Comprehensive tax reform can transform America’s underperforming economy into a high performance growth engine, creating jobs, raising wages, and strengthening the global competitiveness of America’s workers and businesses.

In the short-term, we urge you to press forward with the adoption of a Fiscal Year 2018 concurrent budget resolution including reconciliation instructions that would aid the swift passage of comprehensive, pro-growth tax reform. We understand that the Senate is actively considering health care legislation, but it is important that the House start the budget process now, so that reconciliation instructions will be available to move tax reform legislation expediently.

The federal tax code has weighed America down for far too long. You now have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to substantially improve America’s economy, but accomplishing this task may well require the special legislative procedures attendant to a budget resolution’s reconciliation instructions.

We understand the competing priorities inherent in the FY 2018 budget resolution process, several with laudable purposes which we support. We urge careful consideration of these matters to ensure that the timely passage of the budget resolution with tax reform reconciliation instructions is not threatened. In our view, given the historic opportunity before Congress, no other reforms under consideration rise to the importance of pro-growth, comprehensive tax reform.

Respectfully,

Thomas J. Donohue
President and CEO
U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Joshua Bolten
President & CEO
The Business Roundtable

Juanita D. Duggan
President and CEO
National Federation of Independent Business

Jay Timmons
President and CEO
National Association of Manufacturers