Washington Meets the FairTax

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“The secret to change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” – Dan Millman

Nowhere is change more evident than in Congress right now where farewell receptions are in full swing, movers are readying offices and K Street is aggressively courting outgoing Members and staff.

To say that this is a chaotic time in Washington is an understatement. Yet this week, while Steve Hayes, AFFT Chairman and President, and I were in Washington, D.C., Member after Member took time to meet with us — including the new Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Congressman Paul Ryan (WI-1).

Ryan, who was extremely generous with his time, confirmed that he had previously read the first FairTax book and was going to read it again. We were delighted when he noted that he often spots FairTax t-shirts when traveling across Wisconsin.

We also met with:

  • Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins (KS-2)
  • Congressman Jim Bridenstine (OK-1)
  • Congressman Rob Woodall (GA-7)
  • Senator Mike Enzi (WY)
  • The Chief Tax Counsel – House Ways and Means Committee, and
  • The Director of Economic Policy – Joint Economic Committee
  • Congressman Kevin Brady (TX-8)

Early next week we will be sending you a special, in-depth report on our meetings and the advancement actions we will be taking as a result of our findings.

While flying home last night, two dominant themes became clear to me:

The economy, job creation and tax reform still dominate the political agenda. This is unquestionably the FairTax “sweet spot.”

Dynamic scoring will most likely become reality during the 114th. This is a major game changer for H.R. 25.

We made significant progress this week and have a lot to share with you about how we can ensure that the FairTax is not derailed by some of the Washington insiders who want to keep the same terrible income tax system.

It’s been said that there are three simple rules in life:

  1. If you do not go after what you want, you’ll never have it.
  2. If you do not ask, the answer will be no.
  3. If you do not step forward, you will always be in the same place.

One message we heard in meeting after meeting was, “you have to be here on a regular basis if you really expect to make progress.” This was followed by, “Can you come back early in January?”

We need to go back to Washington in January and February and every month in 2015.

Thank you in advance for all you have done, all you are doing and all you will do in the future to make our dream of a FairTax for America come true.