Michael Conaway (R-TX) is chair of the House of Representatives Agriculture Committee. Conaway is eager to see legislation introduced to change the tax code, immigration policy and trade. He is also ready to listen to all segments of U.S. agriculture as the 2018 Farm Bill is written. The bill starts in his committee of the House, as required for all revenue bills in Congress. Conaway made the following comments late this week and also released an interview on several aspects of his committee’s involvement.
?As we start putting the Farm Bill in place, over the next year, I think it is important that the Ag committee communicates directly with constituents around the country,? Conaway said. ?Folks inside the beltway have access to rumors, innuendo and grape vine that?s relatively effective. I want to use this medium as a way to communicate with folks directly and keep them up-to-date on things that are happening with the Farm Bill.
It is a little premature to talk about specifics, but I would like to say a couple of things about two big ticket items. One is tax reform and it is an essential element that we get done. The tax code that we currently have is way too burdensome on our economy. Quite frankly, it is a real tribute to the American economy that it continues to grow under a tax code that is so burdensome and an overreaching regulatory scheme that the previous administration has put in place. Dealing with both of these will be an important step in unleashing the vibrancy of this economy and letting it grow in ways all of us know it should and must if we are going to provide the kind of opportunities for new job interests. Getting that done in respect to agriculture, there are a couple key points.
Doing away with the ?Death Tax.? Death should not be a taxable event. This came in during the early 1900s, as the result of very large families threatening the health and well-being of the United States. You can?t put the five richest Americans today and argue that they would somehow unduly influence the economy. The policy, reasoning for the redistribution of wealth, has long since outlived its usefulness. It is just wrong-headed on every level, and I am hopeful in this effort that we can completely eliminate the ?Death Tax.? Lower tax rates will affect everyone and the elimination of AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax) will affect everyone. But for all of agriculture, the biggest item would be the elimination of the ?Death Tax.?
The other thing is trade. We grow and produce a lot more than we can eat and use, so that means we need to trade it with folks around the world. Trade deals are important. NAFTA is currently being renegotiated. I am taking a group of four members to Canada to meet with our counterparts there. Part of that mission is to impress on them the need to get this NAFTA negation done and done very quickly.
The Canadians seem to think we are now serious about this, our President is dead serious about it. The Mexicans are on board to get this thing done expeditiously and our Canadian counterparts also need to take it seriously.?
