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Vice President talks Harvey recovery, taxes at Chamber Summit

By ANDREA LANNOM

The Register-Herald

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va.  — Vice President Mike Pence addressed attendees at the Annual Meeting and Business Summit of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, marking the third visit to the Mountain State in two months by the Trump administration.

Vice President Mike Pence speaks with supporters at the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Meeting and Summit at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs Wednesday.
(Register-Herald photo by Jenny Harnish)

Pence delivered keynote remarks at the event the Chamber is hosting at The Greenbrier.

In July, Trump addressed more than 40,000 Boy Scouts, leaders and volunteers at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in a speech that touched repeatedly on politics.

Earlier this month, Trump spoke to a crowd of supporters in a campaign rally in Huntington. At his rally, he touched on topics including coal, immigration, repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act and Russia.

Wednesday, Pence talked about ongoing recovery efforts in states devastated by Hurricane Harvey and ensuing floods. In his 20-minute speech, he also asked people to urge lawmakers to support President Donald Trump’s proposal involving income tax cuts and decreases to corporate taxes.

He commended Trump and Texas officials and first responders. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visited Texas Tuesday and Pence said he and his wife will travel to Texas Thursday.

“They asked me and my wife to travel tomorrow with the same heartfelt message. We are with you today. We are with you tomorrow. We are with you every single day to restore, recover and rebuild,” he said.

“The road to recovery is a long and difficult process, but as the president said, we will endure. We will overcome. We all need to do our parts to help them get on their feet.”

Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Meeting and Summit at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs Wednesday.
(Register-Herald photo by Jenny Harnish)

He asked attendees to contact lawmakers and urge them to take action to pass funding for federal disaster assistance.

“We ask for your support and the support of the House and Senate to move this legislation forward.”

Lastly, he asked attendees to pray for those affected by the devastating floods.

“Pray for the families who have had such a great loss,” he said. “Pray for first responders who are working to save lives. Pray for state and local officials on the ground. Pray for the countless volunteers. With the leadership of our president and dedication of state and local officials, courage of our first responders and goodness from people of Texas and Louisiana, we will come through this terrible tragedy. The Gulf Coast of America will be bigger, better and stronger than ever before.”

Pence also talked about a plan Trump addressed in a Wednesday visit to Springfield, Missouri. According to the New York Times, Trump pitched sweeping tax overhaul that he said would help the nation’s ordinary people. He also promised a large corporate tax cut and cuts to individual income tax rates that he said would boost the middle class.

“Cutting taxes is the single most important thing we can do to restore jobs,” Pence said. “We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do just that.”

Pence mentioned several times in his speech what he sees as a need to simplify the tax code, saying it’s “10 times the length of the Bible with none of the good news.”

“Tax cuts spark growth. The bigger the cut, the bigger the growth,” Pence continued. “Taxes burden American families and hinder growth.”

According to the New York Times, in his Missouri speech, Trump gave few specifics on the tax plan besides cutting the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent and eliminating loopholes and complexity.

Pence said cutting corporate tax would help businesses compete.

Vice President Mike Pence speaks at the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Meeting and Summit at the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs Wednesday.
(Register-Herald photo by Jenny Harnish)

“We need to simplify the tax code so working Americans can file their taxes by themselves on a single sheet of paper,” he said.

He encouraged the crowd to tell lawmakers to support Trump’s plan.

“Your voices are needed,” he said. “You need to be more outspoken than ever before. It’s time to do what’s right — put the American people first,” he said, later adding, “Both your senators and congressmen, America needs this. West Virginia needs this and let me say to Shelley (Moore-Capito) and especially Joe (Manchin), the president and the people of the Mountain State are counting on you.”

Email: [email protected]; follow on Twitter @AndreaLannom

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