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With the bill now taking effect, I believe people are about to see their paychecks grow, their job prospects brighten, and their family finances improve.

The overarching objectives of this subcommittee bear repeating: to restore public access to the public lands; to restore good management to the public lands, and to restore the Federal government as a good neighbor to those communities most impacted by the public lands.

I am disgusted that once natural disasters are being used as an excuse to load up an emergency relief bill with spending that could not stand scrutiny in the light of day. The long-standing test for emergency spending is that it must be for needs that are urgent, unforeseen, necessary and one-time. Using these criteria, the administration made a request for $44 billion for the damage from the recent hurricanes and wildfires...

I opposed the House version of the tax reform bill because the loss of broad-based deductions like state and local taxes would have caused significant tax increases on many of my middle-class constituents in the high-tax, high-cost state of California. It increased the marginal tax rate on high income earners and abolished life-line deductions such as casualty loss, medical expenses and student interest. I urged that we should leave no taxpayer behind. I want to thank Chairman Brady, the Republican Leadership and the conference committee for heeding these concerns. Their final product exceeds my expectations, and on behalf of California taxpayers I can now offer my enthusiastic support. The new version leaves the casualty loss, medical expense and student interest deductions intact.