Moreover, from reforming the tax code to our immigration system, to commonsense legal reform, President Bush put America on notice that he will continue fighting to make the country, and the world, a better place for future generations.
As president, I will fight illegal immigration in order to preserve an appropriate level of legal immigration. At the same time, I believe our system of legal immigration needs to be re-examined. As part of this re-examination, I support a modest, temporary reduction in the annual rate of legal immigration.
Now, the president would like to do tax reform, which would obviously lower rates for most people in America and make the tax code fair and get rid of loopholes and special treatment. But absent tax reform, the president believes the right way to get our fiscal house in order is ask the wealthy to pay their fair share.
We really believe that we can bring about changes in the tax code that will make America more attractive for investment and job creation and business. But the president has also made it very clear that he wants to put - he wants to put new elements in the tax code that are going to have companies pay a price if they decide to take jobs out of the country and then sell their goods back into the United States.
There is no quick fix for illegal immigration. But only when we achieve better control of our borders and better respect for our immigration laws can we give meaning to the discussion we need to have over reforming the numbers, categories, and procedures for legal immigration into the United States.
Tax reform is the legislative challenge of a generation for America. It hasn't been accomplished since 1986, when President Reagan and Congress delivered the most sweeping overhaul of our nation's tax code in American history. 2017 is the year to change that and make history of our own.
We need a new tax system. We need entitlement reform. We need immigration reform. These are not easy things. But it is going to take our political system working better.
America's future as the global leader in innovation remains in the balance until our immigration system is fixed. A large portion of a reform package should focus on updating our system to better reflect the business landscape and market realities of the 21st century.
In 2007 the 'dagger' of an idea that killed President Bush's effort at reforming the immigration system was lax border security.
As chairman of the tax-writing House Ways & Means Committee, I continue to be inspired by President Reagan's 1985 national address to the American people as he challenged them to join him in boldly reforming the broken, complex tax code.
Even if we didn't have a single person in the USA in violation of immigration laws, we'd still have to do immigration reform, because our legal immigration system is broken. It's not good for anybody.
The U.S. can become carbon neutral in our lifetimes. In the process, we will put millions of Americans to work, make our companies more competitive, and shield our communities from extreme weather. And we will honor our obligation to leave the world a better place for future generations.
Independent economists say immigration reform will grow our economy and shrink our deficits by almost $1 trillion in the next two decades. And for good reason: when people come here to fulfill their dreams - to study, invent, and contribute to our culture - they make our country a more attractive place for businesses to locate and create jobs for everyone. So let's get immigration reform done this year.
Have you ever noticed how statists are constantly "reforming" their own handiwork? Education reform. Health-care reform. Welfare reform. Tax reform. The very fact that they're always busy "reforming" is an implicit admission that they didn't get it right the first 50 times.
Our broken tax code is one of the main reasons the United States lags behind when it comes to economic growth, job creation, and competitiveness. Without pro-growth tax reform, our workers and our businesses will continue to suffer.
Our best days are in front of us. We can reform those entitlements, we can change that corporate tax code and lower it. We can put America back on track on a growth level and a growth rate that we've never seen in the history of this country.
I am in favor of reforming our tax code. It's over-burdensome. It's complex. It's unfair. But the one thing that we have to do is make sure that all Americans receive a tax cut.