Brady on MSNBC, Fox Business: House Republicans Moving Forward on Health Care & Tax Reform

Brady on MSNBC, Fox Business:

House Republicans Moving Forward on Health Care & Tax Reform

This morning, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) joined MSNBC's "Morning Joe" and Fox Business' "Mornings with Maria" to discuss House Republicans' progress on repealing Obamacare, delivering a patient-centered health care system, reforming our broken tax code, and strengthening America's economy.

Read excerpts of his interviews below:

On Repealing and Replacing Obamacare

"We all know this is our best opportunity in seven years to deliver on our promise to repeal the awful law of Obamacare and actually start returning control to people and the states to design health care that they need not Washington needs... We are listening, we are working together. We have a lot more in common than we do that divides us. At the end of the day, the House is going to pass this bill. As President Trump tweeted out recently, we are making good progress."

"Obamacare is a sinking ship. It's going to take [our constituents] down unless Congress acts. That's why we are acting now. Not simply to take away those awful taxes, the mandates that drive people into care they can't afford, but actually begin a thoughtful, deliberate process to make sure there's affordable health care for my constituents when Obamacare frankly hits its death spiral. That's the work we are doing."

On Giving Americans the Freedom to Make Their Own Health Care Choices

"According to the Congressional Budget Office... 11 million Americans next year, given the freedom not to be forced into Obamacare, are saying 'thanks, but no thanks.' We ought to be listening to those Americans who are getting huge subsidies for hugely expensive plans who said 'this isn't working for us.' That's the people we are trying to also cover. Plus, in Texas, for example, we have a million Texans who decided they would find a way to exempt themselves from Obamacare--despite all the subsidies and despite all the promises. They just said 'we don't want this.' We ought to be reaching out to them and we are in this Republican bill to get them affordable health care they actually can use."

On Reforming the Tax Code and Strengthening the Economy

"We are going full steam ahead for tax reform this year. And in the Ways and Means Committee, my goal is to bring it out of the Committee this spring."

"If you are digging out of a hole, first you have to limit your costs as much as you can. You've got to grow your revenue. So, I think [the President's proposed] spending cuts get us halfway back to balanced budget or more. We are going to need a stronger economy to finish the job and actually start paying down the debt. That's where tax reform comes in. That's why the President and Republicans in Congress are so focused on that."

On Ending the "Made in America" Tax

"We know what our competitors are doing in China, Europe, Mexico, Canada, and so the goal is to make sure we leapfrog back into that lead pack of the most pro-growth tax codes on the planet. To do that, rates alone aren't enough--they can help, but they're not enough because our competitors are driving much newer, faster models of tax codes. That's why we have to stop taxing worldwide. That's why we have to border adjust our taxes so that we can get into a competition and win worldwide."

"I wish it was 1986 and rates were enough. They're not. Moving to this cash flow system where we tax only consumption in the U.S. at a low equal business rate, we free up America to compete and win around the world. And we can match any tax code, anywhere, with the approach that House Republicans are proposing. That's where we need to go."