Providing for Consideration of H.R. Restoring Tax Fairness for States and Localities Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BROWN of Maryland. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Representative Torres for yielding me the time and also my good friend from New York, Congressman Suozzi, for his work on this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, this bill fixes several alarming defects in President Trump's tax giveaway to the wealthy. It also takes steps to make our tax code fairer for working people.

In 2017, my Republican colleagues tried and failed to eliminate a $250 tax deduction for teachers buying school supplies for their children in their classrooms.

Smaller education budgets have forced too many teachers to buy supplies to fill the gap. More than 90 percent of public schoolteachers are not reimbursed for these expenses. Nearly 80,000 educators in Maryland claim this deduction on their taxes.

The average teacher spends $479 of their own money buying supplies for our kids, so I am pleased that this legislation incorporates language from my standalone bill that I filed in the 115th Congress and again in this Congress, the Educators Expense Deduction Modernization Act, which increases the deduction from $250 to $500. It is a small benefit for educators who make a financial sacrifice.

It is critical for local school districts and States to better fund education and pay educators. In Congress, we can do more to ensure classrooms are stocked with the supplies that our students, our children need.

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