e-News 7/1/16

• This Fourth of July, the Stakes Are High
• Veterans Funding Bill Stuck in the Senate
• A Better Way to Reform Taxes and Promote Economic Growth
• Salute: Picatinny’s STEM Achievements

This Fourth of July, the Stakes Are High

As I do on every 4^th of July, I urge readers of this eNewsletter to be sure to take a moment to remember those who cannot be with us at our Independence Day celebrations, neighborhood barbeques or community fireworks displays – the men and women of our Armed Forces who are away from home serving us and doing the hard work of freedom every day. 

Wherever they are – in a combat outpost in Iraq or Afghanistan, a garrison in faraway Asia, a training barracks in Africa, a forward installation in Europe, a stateside military base or one of our many diplomatic facilities across the globe - their work is critical to protecting Americans at home and abroad.   

This year, the stakes are higher than they have been in a long time.  Why? Because we are engaged today, as previous generations were engaged, against enemies who pose a serious threat to all civilized peoples.

As recent generations defeated Nazi facism, Japanese imperialism, Korean aggression and communist totalitarianism, we have to work every day to defeat these enemies who cynically use a perverted interpretation of religion to incite hatred and violence and justify the murder of innocents. This week alone we saw bloody attacks in Yemen, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.

We will not and cannot forget the murder of more than 3,000 of our fellow Americans, 700 from our state of New Jersey, on September 11, 2001. Since those attacks, our nation has been at war.  It is our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and intelligence officers, all volunteers, who will continue to stand between us and these cruel barbarians.

We all should remember these facts this 4^th of July. 

Veterans Funding Bill Stuck in the Senate

One of the ways we thank our current military servicemen and women is by providing a generous, stable support programs, administered by the Veterans Administration (VA), for those who served in uniform before them.  

Unfortunately, the bill that funds VA veterans programs and provides new money for the fight against the Zika virus was blocked this week by Senate Democrats.  On Tuesday, they voted to reject:

• Critical resources to help our veterans. This bill includes funding for military construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs, including additional funding to address the VA’s health care shortages and wait times.
• Additional health care resources.  This measure also increases funding for community health centers, public health departments, and hospitals. 
• Needed resources to stop the spread of the Zika virus.This legislation makes $1.1 billion more available to address the Zika crisis. This is the same level of funding that previously passed the Senate with unanimous support. And by using unspent or unobligated resources, the legislation does not further burden U.S. taxpayers. In other words, it’s ‘paid for.’ 
• Temporary and targeted mosquito control measures. This plan permits the use of certain pesticides to control the mosquitoes that spread the Zika virus. Despite claims it “endangers clean water protections,” this is a temporary and targeted measure: it is for mosquito control and Zika prevention only, and it expires in 180 days.

For more information on Zika, mosquito control and related issues, clickhere.

A Better Way to Reform Taxes and Promote Economic Growth

Last week, the House Leadership unveiled the sixth plank on our “Better Way” agenda to tackle some of the country’s biggest challenges: a plan to reform our tax code so it promotes economic growth and opportunity.

The plan is based on three pillars:

• Simplicity and fairness. Make the tax code simpler, fairer, and flatter, so that it’s not only easier to do your taxes, but it’s also easier to have peace of mind at critical moments in life.
• Jobs and growth. Make it easier to create jobs, raise wages, and expand opportunity for all Americans.
• Service first IRS. Match a simpler, fairer tax code with a simpler, fairer IRS that puts taxpayers first.

Tax Reform by the Numbers

• 47. This plan includes at least 47 ideas to reform our tax code, grow the economy, and make the IRS work for taxpayers..
• 70,000. While the IRS code itself runs 2,600 pages, the entirety of federal tax law spans a whopping 70,000 pages. That’s almost triple the amount of bureaucratic red tape since the last reform in 1986. This plan simplifies the code so that most Americans can file their taxes on a form the size of a postcard.
• 20%. At 35%, our corporate tax rate is the highest in the developed world. This tax burden is driving businesses out of our country. In 1960, 17 of the 20 largest global companies were headquartered in the United States. As of 2016, that number has dropped to just 6. Our plan lowers the corporate tax rate to a more globally competitive level of 20%.
• 6. A pro-growth tax code only works if it’s administered by an IRS working in the best interest of taxpayers. In recent years, agency leadership has failed the very people it purports to serve.The new, customer service-focused IRS will be led by a commissioner limited to six years in office, or two three-year terms.
• 30. It’s been nearly 30 years since we last updated our tax code. The world has dramatically changed over the past three decades, but our tax system has gone unchanged. This plan offers a 21st Century built for real economic rowth and opportunity.
• 3. Today, there are seven different regulator tax brackets for individuals, with a top rate of 39.6% for the highest earners. In order to simplify the code, this plan consolidates the current seven brackets into three brackets, and also lowers the top individual income tax rate to 33%.
• 100%. The existing U.S. international tax regime has led to trillions of dollars in foreign earnings of American companies being effectively stranded overseas. Our plan will replace the existing outdated worldwide tax system with a 100% exemption for dividends from foreign subsidiaries of American companies.

To learn more about the entire “Better Way” agenda, click here. 

Salute: Congratulations to the Armaments Research Development Engineering Center (ARDEC) at Picatinny Arsenal which was recently recognized by the New Jersey Assembly with a joint resolution commending their Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education program. ARDEC has a long history of developing technologies that support the nation's military forces, civilian authorities and general population. Future STEM education for the nation's youth will be essential for them to develop the 21st Century skills needed to successfully compete in this Century's employment market. Read morehere.