Research and Development Expensing

Floor Speech

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Mr. KUSTOFF. Mr. Speaker, I thank our colleague from Kansas for getting this together this evening to discuss our important issues so the American public can hear from us.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about three progrowth tax policies that are critical for businesses and workers across west Tennessee and across the Nation: bonus depreciation, business interest deductibility, and immediate expensing for research and development costs. These policies help businesses grow, create jobs, and invest in our communities.

It is crucial that Congress extend these policies to ensure our tax code remains competitive and encourages economic growth.

Mr. Speaker, Republicans passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, and it led to one of the strongest economies in our Nation's history.

One important piece of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, known as bonus depreciation, allows businesses to fully and immediately deduct the cost of certain capital investments. If we want businesses to continue investing in their workers and in their future, bonus depreciation must be extended.

Domestic investment will also be strengthened by restoring business interest deductibility. Interest deductibility has served as a vital tool for manufacturing and other capital-intensive businesses. Restoring this provision will protect American jobs and keep manufacturing right here at home in the U.S.

Mr. Speaker, for decades, America has been the global leader in innovation and the go-to destination for startups and entrepreneurs. It is important that we keep it that way.

Allowing U.S. businesses to immediately deduct research and development costs will lead to more innovation, more domestic investment, and more jobs.

I have heard from west Tennessee businesses, large, medium, and small, and they are asking Congress to pass these three provisions.

Mr. Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues in the House of Representatives to stand with American businesses and workers and extend these critical provisions.

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