As Congress debates proposals to address the budget crisis, conversation about fundamentally reforming our tax code is a key factor in the discussions. Much has been made of the debate between Democrats and Republicans about whether or not to raise taxes in order to bring the budget into balance, but I believe that the problem goes much deeper than that. If we truly want to get our budget deficit under control, we must fundamentally reform our tax code. This is why I opposed legislation passed during the 111th to extend Bush-era tax cuts for two years.
I strongly believe that we will not find a real solution to our deficit crisis unless we fundamentally reform our tax code. This is why I am leading a coalition of over 100 members of the House of Representatives in looking at all options, including revenue, entitlement reform, and spending cuts, to bring our budget back into balance. That being said, tax increases alone cannot address this problem—and neither can spending cuts alone or entitlement reform alone—and I oppose tax increases that would simply kick the can down the road and allow Congress to avoid the difficult decisions that we need to make in order to balance the budget and reduce unsustainable government growth.
What I do support is fundamental tax reform that lowers the tax rate and broadens the base, creating a simpler and fairer tax code. I believe this type of system would create the economic growth necessary to address our deficit crisis. The tax code should be a simple system intended to raise the necessary revenue for appropriate government functions, not a complex system through which the government directs social behavior.
Given the enormity of the fiscal crisis facing our nation, Congress can't continue to produce so-called compromises where everyone simply gets everything they want. Unfortunately, recent efforts to extend the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts represent the “borrow and spend” mentality that has enabled our fiscal crisis and is a product of a broken legislative process that I trust we will begin to repair during the 112th Congress.
