revenues, it is spring significant economic growth and that can't be discounted. i yield back. >> we will recess until after votes and begin right after that. >> the meeting will come back to order. >> i ask unanimous consent to enter into the record two letters. >> without objection. >> what an honor and privilege it is to be here at my first ways and means committee hearing. it means a great deal to the

people of indiana, with two great hoosiers having served before me. i hope to follow in their footsteps with hard work, compassion and hoosier common sense. i look forward to working with callings on both sides of the aisle to a progrowth tax, regulatory and trade policy so manufacturers, innovators and job creators can expand, hire and invest. so agricultural producers can compete and win in markets new and old. so families have the best shot at achieving the american dream. i'm glad we are kicking off will -- off congress by highlighting the importance of making president trump's tax cuts permanent. they have been transformational for families and businesses in my district. if they expire the average taxpayer and my district will seek a 27% tax hike, $1252 for

the average family of four in my district. that can't be written off as crumbs. it is real money for the average hard-working hoosier family trying to live within its means. ms. marple, i'm a family of three so i appreciate your time to testify today. i know it is no small task good i thought you were so spot on with your testimony when you called the child tax credit a simple, significant way for the tax code to communicate the value of hard-working parents raising their children at a time of high inflation. that's why i am concerned that over 87,000 families in my district would see their child tax credit cut in half if president trump's tax cuts were allowed to expire. my colleagues on the others of the aisle like to talk about their enlarged child tax credit they temporarily created during the pandemic. you mentioned you and your

husband have worked so hard to support your family and you are not looking for a handout. can you talk more about the value and importance of work as a requirement for receiving the child tax credit? ms. marple: thank you for your question. i think there is a big difference between receiving and encouragement from the government and something that produces encouragement and something that produces entitlement. the truth is, the desire of me and a lot of other parents is to work hard to provide for our family. there is a fulfillment there. being uplifted and having that burden of supporting our family lightened goes a long way.

rep. yakym: if the tax credits of expire, not only with the credit be cut from $2000 to $1000 but requirement for children to have a social security number would expire as well. after four years of the failed open border policy that's all nearly 9 million -- that saw nearly 9 million illegal immigrants come across the border, do you think it's fair your tax credits could potentially go to people not in this country legally? ms. marple: no. rep. yakym: mr. duke you seem to imply that families making over $400,000 a year shouldn't be able to claim the child tax credit at all, fair enough. in august 2024, politico says older income homeowners are scooping up tax credits for making residences more efficient while the poor are getting almost nothing in the same

effort. should the government be subsidizing people who want to put solar panels on their roof making over $400,000? mr. duke: i'm not an energy expert that those credits are about creating a supply chain and industry that puts us in the 21st century. rep. yakym: but you are a tax expert so you do you think those tax credit should go to families , wealthy families making more than $400,000 a year? mr. duke: i think it was designed well. rep. yakym: what about the ev tax credit, should that cap be removed? mr. duke: i think congress and we will see this we talk about the tax law, it has a lot of different -- rep. yakym: what do you recommend? mr. duke: i would have to know more about ev's to know what the right level would be. rep. yakym: thank you for your nonanswer. >> mr. gomez.

rep. gomez: i want to say to angelenos, i'm committee -- i am committed to securing whatever resources to fight these fires but helping people rebuild their lives, i know it will be a long road ahead. also, i did go back because of the fires this weekend. i was in my district and in my household, we divide the chores and one of my chores is to go grocery shopping so i went to the store and i picked up some of the basics. cheerios, eggs, soup, nothing unusual or fancy, no sparkling water or prime rib, the basics. as i was leaving the store, i was looking at this receipt. as i looked at the receipt it was $65, not too bad, then i remembered i went to the store earlier that day and spent $20

for milk, bread, oranges and strawberries. i have a toddler and they eat a lot of strawberries. a few days before that i spent $150 for groceries that included diapers. in one week i spent $235, that's a lot of money. unfortunately my family isn't alone trying to pinch pennies and watch what they are spending so as we start this debate, i will keep in mind all of those families that look at their receipts and how much they are spending, families feeling the pain of higher prices, families with children, families that work multiple jobs. mom and dabs that go to morning job and evening job and we can job just to make ends meet and pay their rent. i want to be clear, last november, families didn't vote to keep treading water, they voted for a government that will lower prices and help them get ahead.

what the republicans are offering is more of the same -- high prices and tax cuts for billionaires and the altar wealthy while working people fall further and further behind. how do i know that? let's look at 2017. in 2017, republicans had a choice and they chose to give permanent tax cuts to corporations and gave temporary tax cuts to families and individuals. if that wasn't true, we wouldn't be having this hearing today. the benefits of the last great tax bill as the republicans claim went to the top incomers. the top 1% got a 250,000% tax cut -- $250,000 tax cut. mr. duke, will extending this tax plan do anything to lower costs? mr. duke: no.

rep. gomez: so let's have a bill that makes it truly affordable. let's lower the cost of childcare by investing in the workforce and the small business entrepreneurs that provide that care. let's lower the cost of groceries by preventing monopolies from squeezing out the little guy. i know republicans often say we don't have the money for these sorts of investments but mr. duke, let me ask you this, if we made elon musk, mark zuckerberg, the altar wealthy and big corporations and the billionaires pay their fair share in taxes, do you think we could afford the things i just mentioned? mr. duke: absolutely, biden budget contained a minimum tax on billionaires that raised trillions of dollars.

rep. gomez: people talk about the establishment ndc -- in d.c., one day it is a blue establishment and then a red establishment. i don't think it is a blue or red, i think it's the green billionaire establishment and it is our job to push back against individuals who want to pass a tax structure that benefits themselves at the expense of the working class. mr. chairman, i have a question for you. chair smith: that's kind of unusual but go ahead mr. gomez. rep. gomez: that isn't the usual time. let's say we get together and negotiate a bipartisan tax plan that benefits the working people and invest in we wanted if elon musk tweets to you to throw that out, will you reject the request or will you guys capitulate like you did in december?

chair smith: mr. gomez the only person the republicans are beholden to our the people that sent them to washington and elon musk is not a constituent. rep. gomez: ok. call me skeptical but what i saw in december was dastardly. if you guys are wanting to negotiate a real bipartisan test cut let's do it and get something that helps lower costs for american people. i yield back. chair smith: mr. miller. rep. miller: i'm glad mr. gomez used his five minutes for a twitter clip. thank you to our witnesses for their time and testimony. i'm honored to be joined ways and means committee to drive forward an economic agenda that ensures the united states remains the global economic leader. today we are here to discuss the need to make the trump tax cuts for working families permanent, ensuring prosperity for families and businesses across the nation.

the tax cuts and jobs act championed by president trump was a transformative bill that provided much-needed relief to businesses and spurred investment across the country as we've heard today. it reduced to the corporate tax rate, introduced full expensing for equipment purchasing and encourage an environment that encouraged more growth. it gave companies the certainty to reinvest in operations, hire workers and strengthen local communities. i proudly represent ohio's seventh congressional district, a region with a strong manufacturing and agricultural background. these policies drove significant job creation and economic revitalization to the area. small businesses and farmers all benefited from the ability to reinvest capital savings, expand operations and provide good paying jobs for hard-working ohioans. but it wasn't just businesses that's all the benefits of this legislation.

for individual taxpayers, and expanded the standard deduction, simplifying taxes and putting more money in the pockets of working families. it was transformative, especially working-class communities were most taxpayers claim the standard deduction. by eliminating the need for a complex and time-consuming itemization process, the expanded standard deduction has made tax season for more efficient and less stressful for millions of americans. in my district alone, 93% of taxpayers and fit -- and families claim the standard deduction when filing their taxes. maintaining the current standard deduction levels allows families to focus on their priorities, whether saving for the future or supporting their children or investing in their homes while enjoying greater financial security. ms. gallagher, we know the

increased standard conduction significantly boost disposable income for families, directly benefiting divisional taxpayers but it is clear to me the advantages for households and businesses are deeply interconnected as stronger household finances drive broader economic growth and support local businesses. can you comment on how the standard deduction effects disposable income for families and have you observed any indirect impacts on small businesses or local economies with high reliance on this deduction? ms. gallagher: thank you for that question my fellow midwesterner. absolutely the standard deduction has been a life changer for individuals and frankly my fellow tax preparers. you were talking about tax season in made so much easier. for me and my staff, it has been a tremendous help from that perspective. the taxpayers however, on that

side, have received significant tax savings. many of them were far under that level even when they itemized. the standard deduction gave them increased deduction, less taxes to pay, and more money in their pocket to contribute to their communities and their own households. i absolutely saw a direct impact on individuals and small businesses in my communities. rep. miller: thank you for that answer and i have as well. i will restate, 93% in the seventh district of ohio use the standard deduction. ms. silver, highlighted how small and medium-size and effectors are leveraging the tcja to reinvest in local communities and expand their workforce. with many of these provisions set to expire at the end of this year, we face the potential loss of nearly a quarter of a million jobs just in my home state of

ohio, as congressman carrie earlier mention. could you elaborate on the impacts businesses like yours and others across the country would encounter if these critical tax benefits are allowed to expire? ms. silver: i can answer that by saying -- i will expand upon what i've been able to do because of it. when you think about that, it's can i do this stuff when these tax policies expire? one example is i was able to use the 199 a deduction to reinvest in my company. we bought our first collaborative robot. it is integrated with a lathe and allows us to run the machine unattended at night. it increases my three-part -- throughput and productivity, so much so i could go to a customer and come down on his price and have a healthy income for

myself. i was able to use the deduction to reinvest in my company. if it expires these are things i can do. i could give another example if you like. rep. miller: up to the chairman. chair smith: yes ma'am. ms. silver: we created a haskell internship program. it is a program with our local high school, 100% of the students are economically disadvantaged and it allows them to job shadow on the factory floor. these are students who have never been exposed to manufacturing before. i bought a equipment so they can train on this. it has impacted our community, impacted our culture. and i have two full-time apprentices learning the machining trade. rep. miller: thank you for

sharing that with the american people, i appreciate your testimony and all the witnesses here today. i yield back. >> good afternoon ways and means, what an honor to have you here, i know it's hard work to testify for going on our fifth hour. this is my first time speaking to the committee and it is indeed an honor and privilege to serve on this committee. i fought to serve on this committee for the same reason i fought to serve in congress. our country is in trouble and i believe debt is one of our greatest challenges and we've got to fix it. we continue to dig, we continue to go in the wrong direction. mr. chairman, u.n. ranking member neal, i look forward to working with each of you as we build a strong america that can again be the shining city on a hill to serve as a beacon around

the world. ms. marple, you've testified what a game changer the tax credit is. you've said it's made a tremendous difference for your household, is that correct? ms. marple: yes. rep. bean: are you a billionaire? ms. marple: no. rep. bean: you must run a fortune 500 company, is that correct? ms. marple: it's more like a small business. rep. bean: and confused, all i hear is trump's tax cuts have only benefited billionaires, fortune 500 companies and i looked at your income and it's part of your testimony, it is $75,000, is that correct, about right? ms. marple: that year. rep. bean: it's true you are not a billionaire, i don't understand how the trump tax credits could help someone like you making that amount of money

but yet it did, was it a game changer for you? ms. marple: we work for the wealthy and they pay our paychecks. rep. bean: getting that tax credit was a big deal for you. we are all very proud of you. your folks for raising their three boys, i also raised three boys and before you know it they are taller than you and alta door and it's the most important thing we do on this planet's launch successful kids and you are doing the right thing and we are proud of you. ms. count, you testified, i've watched you grow, 200 clients . you testified your clients have done well, is that correct? ms. couch: they are doing well. rep. bean: are they all billionaires?

you just did fortune 500 exclusively? ms. couch: far from it. rep. bean: all we hear is it helps the top 10% or 1%, but we both know -- i can see the look in your eyes, the movers and shakers, the people that put the country to work or your clients and i know your folks are proud of you. ms. silver, we are proud of what you've done. i will go to a scary place, a scary question, that is this -- if the qualified business income credit were to go away and you are faced with a 43% tax rate, your company, that rate, which is much higher than communist china, what does it look like? is that a scary question, what will happen? ms. silver: it's not good. rep. bean: you might have to lay

off mr. robot you bought or do drastic decisions. you have 20 employees depending on you whether or not food goes on their table, can they depend on you if you have to pay a 43% income tax rate? ms. silver: no. we've been talking about what we do with these tax policies, how we reinvest, but a contrasting example i can give you is there are economic downturns and normal business fluctuations. rep. bean: hard decisions. yes, it is hard and scary. taking you back to 2017, we've got the receipts of what happened, adele's "hello" was on the radio and trump just past tax cuts. network -- net worth working

families increased even the bottom earners rose. we sell the economy getting on fire and that's what we have to do if we are going to solve economic woes, yes we have to have economic growth and make cuts pitted we are going to make cuts but we also have growth in our economy. i've only got three page one, it will be tough to ask these questions. with that, looking forward to working with you and i yield back. chair smith: thank you. >> thank you mr. chairman in the ranking member for this important hearing and for our witnesses being here for a long day for all of you. my colleagues have noted and it is fact that the top 1% of households receive the most benefits from the tcja.

it was found that those making over $800,000 on average saved $61,000. congress's own nonpartisan joint committee on taxation says millionaires saved over $78,000 each year. for someone living in the rural part of my district in the center of nevada, that is double their median salary. the constituents in my district have called on me to help them cut household expenses, to put more money back in the pockets of hard-working people like them and that's why i introduced the shift income support -- tipped income support act. no tax on tips. i hope the chairman will agree and work with me on my bill. the tips act would exempt income

tax on tipped wages for many working-class families. let me be clear, i will work with anyone on this committee that wants to help working families keep more money in their pockets. however, working-class families cannot afford a tax scheme that benefits the top 1% and doesn't help them. mr. duke, and drafting the tips act i put income caps to ensure only working-class families can receive the bills benefits. should we consider income caps on tcja programs that predominantly benefit the wealthy like 199 a? mr. duke: that's right. rep. horsford: i'm glad we have so me small business is here today, and that is intentional because there was a choice made when they passed this bill in 2017. they made the tax breaks for the big corporations and the wealthy

permanent and they made the tax reductions for you temporary. now they are here to say that unless we pass the entire bill it will hurt you. my question is why didn't they prioritize you to begin with? why didn't we make the small business tax reductions permanent and the corporate tax reductions temporary? that was the choice they made. what's also important is the bottom 90% of workers wages were unaffected by changes to the corporate tax rate. i'm glad we have business owners like ms. silver in the discussion because we need to focus more on small business efforts and i commend you for everything you're doing, including your jobs program. you are the ones who have accounted for 62% of net new job

creation since 1995. you, small businesses. small businesses account for 98% of the firms in the state of nevada. mr. duke, the topic of this hearing is the need to make permanent the trump tax cuts for working families. given the information i just shared, can you expand how reducing the corporate tax rate helps small businesses and working families? mr. duke: no i cannot. cutting the corporate tax rate -- for one thing it increases our debt which increases interest rates which makes it much harder for startups and small businesses to survive and at the same time, they have to compete with big corporations, especially multinational corporations that pay half the corporate rate on overseas profits, that's not available to american small businesses. rep. horsford: here we are now, this is a tax scheme that if we

renewed it with no changes would cost the american people $4.6 trillion. what can we do with $4.6 trillion? we could lower cost, expand the child tax credit which is not an entitlement. working families like ms. marple deserve to get benefits from our tax code, not just big corporations. we could build more affordable housing, put money into low income and affordable housing for all families including veterans. that's why i introduced legislation to take on corporate landlords gouging renters and making housing less affordable. yet the tcja is not helping the housing market. extending the bill doesn't help the supply of housing nor is it helping lower housing costs for buyers and rmy bill would do, the home act. work with us, let's come up with a more reasonable approach, but

to use the tax code to help small businesses, to drive the economy, to help families who are struggling, that should be our priority, not billionaires and big corporations. i yield back. chair smith: mr. moran. rep. moran: let me give you a foundation about my district. 17 counties in rural texas. let me provide the impact of the tcja and what would happen if it expired. expiration in my district alone for our businesses would put 12,000 plus family-owned farms in texas in jeopardy of having their tax exemption slashed and half last -- next year. they would be hit with a 43% tax

rate increase if the 199 a small business deduction expires in the failure to renew certain pro manufacturing initiatives puts nearly 14,000 jobs in my district at risk. these statistics underscore a larger theme that across several industries whether it is agriculture, small businesses or large manufacturers, the tcja promotes the growth of business in america. now more than ever it is important to ensure congress continues to put americans first by providing tax incentives for american businesses to grow themselves. restoring the immediate r&d expensing provision is a prime example of putting american businesses first. as you are aware, until 2022 the tax code allowed manufacturers to immediately deduct 100% of r&d expenses in the year they were incurred. at present the u.s. is just one of two countries without this essential innovation incentive.

china offers things like a super deduction for research spending and it's not the only nation providing that attractive incentive. over 15 other countries offer deductions surpassing 100% of eligible r&d costs, making the u.s. a less attractive and competitive environment for research and development. ms. silver, since you were the national association of small manufacturers of chair, what impacts if any results from the u.s. having weaker r&d incentives and other countries especially like china? ms. silver: r&d is what our country is built on. i manufacture parts, i machine parts that are built from companies, mainly equipment manufacturers using r&d tax policies, r&d money, r&d support

to innovate with new product lines. this is what our country is built on his research and development and innovation. rep. moran: it's critical to have that immediate 100% expensing the years those expenses were taken so businesses can innovate and grow, is that right? ms. silver: absolutely. rep. moran: ms. gallagher you talked about the 199 a provision. what do most small businesses do with the money they save from reduced tax rates? ms. gallagher: reinvest it back into their businesses by way of employees, hiring more employees , or buying more equipment or increasing infrastructure for future growth. rep. moran: in your written testimony you talked about how these companies you work with will reinvest and pay for health insurance a lot of times for employees or by new facilities or upgrade equipment and computers, things they need to

grow and expand production, all of which creates new jobs, correct? that's what we want, the economy to grow, we want more opportunities for american working families. isn't that the point of 199 a? ms. gallagher: absolutely. rep. moran: if we take that away, what happens if those businesses no longer pay the lower rate but are paying 43%, more than 99% of the businesses in america would pay. what would happen? ms. gallagher: an economic downturn. rep. moran: that's what happens. i want to end by agreeing with mr. gomez when he says we should consider the impact of working families when we consider the tax cuts paid in my district we have a median income of $61,000. a family would see a $1142 tax

cut. it is worth about six weeks of groceries in my region. it's enough money to cover about 27 full tanks of gas even in our big trucks. that's based on the average pricing. those are important things. groceries and gas are important to every american and every texan i represent. the tax cuts and jobs act cannot expire, we must continue the provisions to allow families to thrive and businesses to grow. rep. plaskett: it's great to be part of these discussions that affects so many americans pay the notion of taxes and trade, this is the most important committee and the work we are doing will affect every american, as we've said.

i'm grateful to be part of the debate on the ways and means in which we fund american government and particularly fund businesses and fund how the mechanisms of our economy grow in the 119th congress. i am eager to serve as one of three democrats on the budget committee as well which will know but -- no doubt be a place of fierce debate in the next three years. i look for to sharing priorities with republican colleagues. i'm one of the few members of congress who actually worked in was a member of the other party at one point. i worked in the bush administration for a number of years after september 11. i see myself in some ways as a bridge in the actual policy ideas i put forward. we have come together in both of these parties to try and make

permanent and work on a way that supports the american dream. i have to say that i see the work on the 117th with president trump's crowning achievement being the tax bill as an un-equitable piece of legislation for all americans. it gave .01 percent, an average of 250 $200,000 of tax cuts, the poorest fifth of americans only received $70. it seemed the largest cups were filled with no overflow going to those most in need. 56% of the tax cuts enriched shareholders, 44% lined the pockets of executives, and zero went to 90% of the workers in those businesses. in the early days of our nation,

a native of my island st. croix, our founding family -- founder alexander hamilton famously wrote, a national debt if it is not excessive to us will be a national blessing. if it is not excessive, that phrase has always been important but never more important than today. the need for tax reform is critical for so many different people. i've been listening to my colleagues, we are at the end so we get to listen to a lot of discussion and i thought of some of the things discussed were very interesting. we talked about the child tax credit and how important it was. i have five children. i understand the importance of the tax credit. i was not always a member of congress. i was not always an attorney. i struggled for many years. i worked a full-time job and went to law school at night and

have small children. i understand the need for that. but the children who need the most are not helped could by insisting on the earning requirements for the refundable tax credit we are leaving out children who need those resources the most. also when we talk about manufacturing, manufacturing capacity contracted in the years following the passage of tcja. i'm grateful we have individuals who did receive the manufacturing benefit but so many did not. according to the federal reserve, manufacturing capacity contracted half percent on year on average -- each year on average. and an expanded half a percent in 2022 and 1.2% in 2023. manufacturing capacity is expected to grow by 1.3% in 2024. let's get the facts correct.

research published in 2022 by others affiliated with the joint committee on taxation and federal reserve found the benefits of the tcja corporate tax reductions did not trickle down to workers. the authors concluded the earnings do not change for the workers in the bottom 90% of those corporations. there is work we can do, ways we can come together. i think supporting our businesses is important. not just small businesses. i listened to my colleagues say there will be cuts. we need to make sure those cuts do not affect the people who need those resources the most. i yield back. chair smith: mr. suozzi. rep. suozzi: thank you so much for sticking around, it's been

cold in here, it's a little warmer now. thank you for being here. first i want to note something noted earlier by one of my colleagues who said steve bannon, who is very much affiliated with republicans these days, is saying we should increase taxes on the wealthy, increased taxes on corporations to pay for tax cuts for the middle class. just wanted to point out that is happening with some of your big supporters, jason. ok. i'm here to talk about -- one thing i've learned since i've been in congress, i guess we all know this but i've really learned it in congress and talking to collects is how different it is for different people in different parts of the country, in different states in different neighborhoods. people's incomes are different in different parts of the country but so is there cost-of-living and so is your property taxes and income taxes. it's a big difference. mr. moran, the average income in

his district is $61,000 i think he said, i have one of the higher incomes in the country but our property taxes are higher as well and income taxes are much higher, i am from new york state. the 2017 tax law delivered a lot of benefits to some people in america but hurt the people in my district and hurt people in different parts of the country very badly. i'm concerned about especially the state and local tax deduction. it was put in place by the federal government over 100 years ago when they first developed the progressive income tax in america, the federal tax. when they were debating it, the governors and mayors said we don't want a federal income tax because we want to be able to tax at the local level to pay for police and fire and local services. they said don't worry, we will give you a state and local tax

deduction because we recognize it wouldn't be fair for you to pay federal income taxes on the state and local taxes you've already paid it's just not fair. it's not fair the states like mine and others across the country have relied on the tax deduction for 100 years until 2017 and then it was capped at $10,000. that's why when we passed three times when i was previously in congress a restoration of the state and local tax deduction it was supported by the u.s. conference of mayors, national league of cities, u.s. association of counties, firefighters, teachers, police throughout the country, they all support restoring state and local tax deduction because it's not fair to pay taxes on taxes you've already paid and is not fair governments have relied on that deduction for a long time and it was taken away from them relatively quickly. it's not fair people did get tax cuts and part of the country at

some income levels but in other places like mine they didn't get those benefits. i want to ask each of the witnesses, if you recognize that the state and local tax deduction is important to a lot of taxpayers in the country, ms. gallagher, you are an accountant? ms. gallagher: yes, cpa. rep. suozzi: i used to be a cpa. do you think the tax deduction was beneficial to a lot of people at one time? ms. gallagher: when it was fully deduction impacted all taxpayers, probably higher income taxpayers more just because they pay more tax. rep. suozzi: that's an interesting point, higher income, like what is the middle class? my district if you are a police officer and you are married to a schoolteacher you are making $200,000 a year. in some places -- when i said

that ms. marple, her high-res -- her eyebrows went up, how is that possible? in other places you are in a gated community and you have an indoor pool and you're going to the country club. where i am you're just getting by because your taxes are higher, your cost of living is higher, your property taxes are higher. it's different. that's why it's better if we work in a bipartisan fashion to try and find common ground and find a way to address different people throughout the country and not just make it like it was the first time when they asked president trump, will this hurt the people in new york? he said they didn't vote for me anyway. that's not how we should do our business. ms. marple you already answered with your eyebrows. ms. couch, do you think the state and local tax reduction helped families in america? ms. couch: i'm sure it did. i think for georgia --

rep. suozzi: very different place. ms. silver, where you from? ms. silver: north carolina. rep. suozzi: very different place. a lot of people in my district are leaving to go places like north carolina and florida. but when i asked steven mnuchin, when those people leave, who gets left behind to pay the taxes, he said the people still living there. he said you can cut their services. do we want to cut fire and police and teachers? thank you for letting me go over. chair smith: i'd like to thank our witnesses for appearing before us today, it's been a long day and you've done a phenomenal job. members have two weeks to submit written questions to be answered leader in writing. those questions and answers will be made part of the formal hearing record and without the

committee stands adjourned. [gavel] american history tv saturday on c-span two, exploring the people and events that tell the american story. this weekend at 6:45 p.m. eastern we visit mount vernon to tour recent renovation and preservation efforts. at 8:00 p.m. on lectures in history duke university professor cecilia marques discusses latino migration trends in the 20th and early 21st century. at 9:30 p.m. eastern on the presidency a historian speaks about second u.s. president and massachusetts favorite son john adams. his presidency unfolded against

the backdrops of the politics and personalities of the new nation. exploring the american story. watch american history tv saturday on c-span two and find a full schedule on your program guide or watch online anytime at c-span.org/history. >> c-span. democracy unfiltered. we are funded by these television companies and more including wow. >> the world has changed. today a fast reliable internet connection is something no one can live without. wow is there for our customers with speed, reliability, value, and choice. now more than ever istarts with great internet. >> wow supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> next, a hearing