CONGRESSIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Rep. Kevin Brady
R
THE RETIRING TEXAS REPUBLICAN REFLECTS ON HIS LEGACY
ep. Kevin Brady represents the 8th district of Texas and serves as the top Republican on the Ways & Means Committee. As you leave Congress, what pieces of legislation are you most proud of? As Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, I worked across the aisle to pass major legislation that helped America. One of my first victories as Chairman was negotiating an end to the 40-year ban on selling U.S. crude oil overseas, which remains one of my proudest accomplishments for my district, for Texas and for the country. America’s ability to produce and export natural resources has provided countless jobs, kept energy prices low for families and businesses, and enhanced our national security. Additionally, we recently celebrated the first anniversary of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). This trade agreement is a victory for America’s workers, farmers, manufacturers and small businesses, and has leveled the playing field. Ratifying this agreement with our biggest trade partners gave farmers, ranchers, and small businesses a leg up and was achieved in a bipartisan way. USMCA had the support of every member of the Texas delegation, a remarkable example of putting politics aside to do what’s best for the people of Texas. Perhaps my biggest legislative accomplishment was leading the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the first comprehensive overhaul of America’s tax system in more than 30 years. Rewriting the tax code made the U.S. more competitive, stopped offshoring jobs, decreased unemployment to a 50-year low, increased investment in our economy and resulted in the fastest wage growth in a decade. Will a tax package pass during the 117th Congress? Democrats have a lot of hesitation about President Biden’s tax proposal, because of its effects on over a million small businesses, when even the left-of-center Tax Policy Center has found that the individual tax increases hit the middle class. These would be the highest tax increases in the history of the U.S., so they are right to be concerned. Middle class and small business tax increases that kill jobs are deeply unpopular among a bipartisan majority of Americans — especially ones that would require a slim partisan majority to pass. Washington seems polarized on major issues. Are there areas where Congress can come together?
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Well Servicing Magazine/July 2021
I work with some of the most dedicated people in the nation, on both sides of the aisle, who are hardworking, talented and serious about representing their constituents. After 25 years in the capital, I have yet to see a problem we can’t solve when we put our best ideas and intentions together. I’m proud to have worked with President Trump and lawmakers to reform America’s retirement system, ban surprise medical bills, eliminate the ObamaCare individual mandate and make the Research & Development tax credit permanent. Through bipartisan negotiations, I have seen America recapture the title as the world’s most competitive economy, bringing manufacturing jobs and investment back home. When I retire at the end of this term, I’m leaving Congress the way I entered it – with the absolute belief that we are a remarkable nation, the greatest in history. What’s driving the “More Energy More Jobs Act” you and Rep. Henry Cuellar introduced? My district relies on energy, manufacturing and trade. When it comes to protecting U.S. national security, our economy and the livelihoods of thousands of American families, there is always a way to find common ground. I’m grateful for Rep. Cuellar’s support on the “More Energy More Jobs Act,” because he understands the value
