2017: Schweikert Voted For The Final Version Of Trump's Tax Reform Plan, Which Substantially Cut Taxes For Rich Americans And Corporations, And Opened Up ANWR To Drilling. In December 2017, Schweikert voted for the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, also known as Trump's tax reform bill. According to Congressional Quarterly, "This Conference Summary deals with the conference report on HR 1, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which the House will consider Tuesday. The agreement significantly cuts corporate and individual taxes and seeks to simply the tax code, although most individual tax provisions would expire after 2025. It reduces the corporate tax from 35% to 21% and reduces taxation of so-called 'pass-through' businesses where profits are taxed at the individual rate. For corporate taxes it also establishes a 'territorial' tax system that exempts most overseas income from U.S. taxation. Most individual tax rate rates would be reduced, including by dropping the top rate from 39.6% to 37%, and it eliminates personal exemptions but nearly doubles the standard deduction so fewer taxpayers will itemize deductions." The vote was on passage. The House passed the bill by a vote of 227 to 203. The Senate later passed a slightly modified version of the bill, which the House later agreed to. President Trump later signed an amended version of the bill into law. [House Vote 692, 12/19/17; Congressional Quarterly, 12/18/17; Congressional Actions, H.R. 1]
Legislation Opened Up Parts Of ANWR To Drilling. According to Congressional Quarterly, "Passage of the bill, as amended, that would revise the federal income tax system by lowering individual and corporate tax rates, repealing various deductions through 2025, specifically by eliminating the deduction for state and local income taxes through 2025, increasing the deduction for pass-through entities and raising the child tax credit through 2025. It would also open parts of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling." [Congressional Quarterly, 12/2/17]
In 2027, 83 Percent Of The Total Tax Benefit Would Go To The Top One Percent. According to Tax Policy Center, "In 2027, the overall average tax cut would be $160, or 0.2 percent of after-tax income (table 3), largely because almost all individual income tax provisions would sunset after 2025. On average, taxes would be little changed for taxpayers in the bottom 95 percent of the income distribution. Taxpayers in the bottom two quintiles of the income distribution would face an average tax increase of 0.1 percent of after-tax income; taxpayers in the middle income quintile would see no material change on average; and taxpayers in the 95th to 99th income percentiles would receive an average tax cut of 0.2 percent of after-tax income. Taxpayers in the top 1 percent of the income distribution would receive an average tax cut of 0.9 percent of after-tax income, accounting for 83 percent of the total benefit for that year." [Tax Policy Center, 12/18/17]
In 2027, 86 Million Americans Would See A Tax Increase. According to ABC News, "The bill, which carries an estimated $1.5 trillion price tag over 10 years, is not expected to win any Democratic support. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi points to a new analysis from the non-partisan Tax Policy Center that predicts 86 million people would see a tax increase compared to current law by 2027, while 83 percent of the anticipated benefits would be reaped by the wealthiest one percent of taxpayers." [ABC News, 12/19/17]
2017: Schweikert Voted For The FY 2018 Republican Study Committee Budget Resolution Which In Part Called For Opening Up ANWR To Energy Development And Exploitation. In October 2017, Schweikert voted for a budget resolution that would in part, according to Congressional Quarterly, "provide for $2.9 trillion in new budget authority in fiscal 2018. It would balance the budget by fiscal 2023 by reducing spending by $10.1 trillion over 10 years. It would cap total discretionary spending at $1.06 trillion for fiscal 2018 and would assume no separate Overseas Contingency Operations funding for fiscal 2018 or subsequent years and would incorporate funding related to war or terror into the base defense account. It would assume repeal of the 2010 health care overhaul and would convert Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program into a single block grant program. It would require that off budget programs, such as Social Security, the U.S. Postal Service, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, be included in the budget." The underlying legislation was an FY 2018 House GOP budget resolution. The House rejected the RSC budget by a vote of 139 to 281. [House Vote 555, 10/5/17; Congressional Quarterly, 10/5/17; Congressional Actions, H. Amdt. 455; Congressional Actions, H. Con. Res. 71]
2016: Schweikert Voted Against Designating The Coastal Plain Of The Alaska National Wildlife Refuge As Part Of The National Wilderness Preservation System. In February 2016, Schweikert voted against an amendment that would have, according to Congressional Quarterly, "designate[d] the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as wilderness, and therefore a part of the National Wilderness Preservation System." The underlying legislation was a bill that, according to AP would have "expand[ed] access to hunting and fishing areas on public lands, extend[ed] protections for the use of lead bullets in hunting and strip[ped] wolves of federal protections in four states." The vote was on the amendment. The House rejected the amendment by a vote of 176 to 227. [House Vote 99, 2/26/16; Congressional Quarterly, 2/26/16; AP Via US News & World Report, 2/26/16; Congressional Actions, H. Amdt. 961; Congressional Actions, H.R. 2406]
2015: Schweikert Voted For Lifting The Ban On Drilling At The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge As Part Of The FY 2016 Republican Study Committee Budget Resolution. In March 2015, Schweikert voted for lifting the drilling ban at ANWR. According to the Republican Study Committee, "This budget proposes opening up new areas of the Outer Continental Shelf for domestic energy production, repealing the ban on energy exploration in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, allowing states to develop resources on federal land within their borders, and stopping the federal government from implementing any hydraulic fracturing regulations in a state that has already issued its own regulations." The underlying budget resolution would have, according to Congressional Quarterly, "provide[d] for $2.804 trillion in new budget authority in fiscal 2016, not including off-budget accounts. The substitute would call for reducing spending by $7.1 trillion over 10 years compared to the Congressional Budget Office baseline." The vote was on the substitute amendment to a Budget Resolution. The House rejected the amendment by a vote of 132 to 294. [House Vote 138, 3/25/15; Republican Study Committee, FY 2016 Budget; Congressional Quarterly, 3/25/15; Congress.gov, H. Amdt. 83; Congressional Actions, H. Con. Res. 27]
2016: Schweikert Voted To Prevent The U.S. Fish And Wildlife From Implementing Its Conservation Plan For ANWR. In July 2016, Schweikert voted for an amendment that would have, according to Congressional Quarterly, "prohibit[ed] funds from being used to implement the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's conservation plan for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska." The underlying legislation was an FY 2017 interior and environment appropriations bill. The vote was on the amendment. The House adopted the amendment by a vote of 237 to 191. The House later passed the bill, but the Senate took no substantive action on the legislation. [House Vote 460, 7/13/16; Congressional Quarterly, 7/13/16; Congressional Actions, H. Amdt. 1355; Congressional Actions, H.R. 5538]