Rep. Delaney Writes to White House, Treasury Secretary, Urging Bipartisan Deal on Infrastructure, Tax Reform

WASHINGTON, March 28 -- Rep. John Delaney, D-Md., issued the following news release:

Congressman John K. Delaney urges the White House and the Trump Administration to focus on pairing infrastructure and tax reform in a letter sent today to President Donald J. Trump, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and the White House's Chief Economic Advisor Gary Cohn. Congressman Delaney has been the leading voice in Congress for using revenues from international tax reform to rebuild America's infrastructure, authoring the Partnership to Build America Act and the Infrastructure 2.0 Act. In his letter, Congressman Delaney concludes, "a major deal on infrastructure and tax reform should be bipartisan and my colleagues and I have the blueprint for such a deal."

In his letter, Congressman Delaney writes, "accordingly and respectfully, I urge you to focus on areas where there is broad bipartisan agreement, which includes simplifying the code, lowering the corporate rate through the elimination of tax shelters and certain deductions, and most importantly, fixing our broken international tax system as part of a major infrastructure investment program. Such an approach would achieve important economic goals while also creating the framework for a bipartisan deal, something the country is desperately seeking."

The full letter is viewable online here and copied below. Congressman Delaney's innovative infrastructure solution and years of work to build bipartisan consensus has led to him being named one of Fortune's "World's Greatest Leaders" in 2017.

March 28, 2017

President Donald J. Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, D.C. 20500

The Honorable Steven Mnuchin

Secretary of the Treasury

U.S. Department of the Treasury

1500 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, D.C. 20220

Mr. Gary D. Cohn

Chief Economic Advisor

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear President Trump, Secretary Mnuchin, and Mr. Cohn,

I am pleased that you are moving on from repealing the Affordable Care Act and onto tax reform and infrastructure investment, but I am worried proposals to implement a misguided Border Adjustment Tax or unfair tax cuts for wealthy Americans will lead to the same divisive and wasteful process as the Affordable Care Act repeal.

Accordingly and respectfully, I urge you to focus on areas where there is broad bipartisan agreement, which includes simplifying the code, lowering the corporate rate through the elimination of tax shelters and certain deductions, and most importantly, fixing our broken international tax system as part of a major infrastructure investment program. Such an approach would achieve important economic goals while also creating the framework for a bipartisan deal, something the country is desperately seeking.

Across the last four years I have introduced two bills - the Partnership to Build America Act and the Infrastructure 2.0 Act - that pair fixing our broken international tax system and launching a massive infrastructure investment program. Each of these bills is bipartisan and collectively, since 2013, have garnered over 100 cosponsors total in the House and Senate, nearly equally split between parties. In particular, Infrastructure 2.0 would fund and fully pay for a $1 trillion national infrastructure program, it would lower international tax rates, broaden the base and create a pathway for over a trillion dollars of overseas cash to repatriate back to the United States.

A major deal on infrastructure and tax reform should be bipartisan and my colleagues and I have the blueprint for such a deal.

Sincerely,

John K. Delaney

Member of Congress

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