Vice Ranking Member Bill Johnson (R-OH) Opening Remarks at Hearing Entitled: Solutions to Rising Economic Inequality

As Prepared For Delivery:

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It seems this Committee has once again convened a hearing that does not focus on what we are here to do – advance a budget and manage our ballooning national debt.

The title of today’s hearing is “Solutions to Rising Economic Inequality”, but I’m concerned this hearing is focused on the wrong premise – that income inequality can only be solved by redistributing wealth, increasing the minimum wage, and eliminating pro-growth, pro-family policies like the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

Instead, we should be focusing this Committee’s time on policies that create jobs, increase wages, and expand opportunities for all Americans. Having lived in extreme poverty as a child, I am so grateful that we live in a country where Americans from all walks of life have the opportunity to improve their economic situation.  And, we must continue to build upon pro-growth successes, such as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, to ensure upward economic mobility is within reach for all hard-working American families.

Today, I look forward to hearing more about the leading proposal for wealth redistribution: Universal Basic Income. We have heard a lot about Universal Basic Income over the last few months, as presidential hopefuls discuss ways to address what they call the “income inequality crisis” in our country.

Just last week, we heard one presidential candidate reiterate his support for a program that would give $12,000 a year to each and every American adult. With a $28 trillion price tag, this type of proposal would not just bust the budget and compound our existing mandatory spending crisis, but it would also diminish the dignity of work.

The Budget Committee is supposed to be the Committee of fiscal discipline, and we have a responsibility to ensure that our government’s finite resources are helping to grow the economy, create jobs, and raise wages for all. That’s why my Republican colleagues and I will continue to support pro-growth policies that expand opportunities, create jobs, and ensure that wages continue to rise.

This past year was the first tax year under the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and American families kept more of their hard-earned money. As a result of the law, a family of four with $73,000 of income received a $2,000 tax cut – a 58 percent reduction in federal taxes. And, by nearly doubling the standard deduction and preserving and strengthening provisions that support families such as doubling the Child Tax Credit, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ensures that Americans can keep more of their hard-earned money to spend, save, and invest as they see fit.

Families are seeing bigger paychecks with the median income rising by 3.4 percent in 2018, and fewer Americans are living in poverty, with the poverty rate dropping from 12.3 percent to 11.8 percent, according to the latest Census Bureau data. Mainstream economists agree that strong economic growth is the key to increasing wages and living standards, so we should be doing all we can to ensure our current economic growth continues and expands. Once again, I return to this idea that we are here asking the wrong question – this hearing should not be about income inequality. Instead, it should be about policies that encourage economic growth to provide all Americans with more opportunities and upward mobility.

And, while we have made important strides over the past few years, the cost of living for middle-class families continues to rise – predominantly in heavily regulated and subsidized sectors of the economy, including health care, higher education, and housing.

Republicans stand ready to tackle the root causes of these cost increases, so we can put the American dream within reach for more families across our great nation.

Implementing free-market policies to increase competition and drive down prices in these important sectors can build upon our current progress, rather than exacerbating our problems by raising taxes and slowing economic growth.

It is my hope that in today’s hearing, we will discuss how we can help people succeed in our economy by enacting policies that grow the economy, create jobs, and boost paychecks for Americans from all walks of life.

With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

###