U.S. Rep. David Kustoff, R-Tennessee, brought Congressional representatives from Washington, D.C. to his home district in West Tennessee.
The U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee — the oldest committee of Congress and the chief tax-writing committee of the House — held a field hearing in Collierville Oct. 6.
Business owners testified on the effects of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law last July, at Collierville-based hardlines distributor Orgill's new Innovation Center on Bailey Station Road.
The "Big Beautiful Bill," Trump's legislative package of tax reductions and Medicaid cuts, included tax breaks for tips for restaurant workers, for example, and overtime and new benefits for businesses,
including permanent tax cuts. The Ways and Means Committee helped lay the groundwork and advanced the bill, something its members touted at the hearing.
Meeting in Collierville 'historic'
Kustoff, representing Tennessee's 8th Congressional District, said it was historic to have a hearing outside of Washington, D.C., and that it meant a lot to have the "most prominent" committee in Congress in his district. His commentary focused on the stability he believes the legislation provides to business leaders.
He is running for reelection next month against Democratic challenger and former Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk Heidi Kuhn months after the state's congressional lines were redrawn by Republican legislators.
Seven of the committee's 45 members led the hearing, including U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, R-Missouri, chairman of the committee. All of the committee members present are Republicans, which many of them pointed out throughout the event.
Smith said the tax cuts "(unleashed) growth policies for small businesses and manufacturers," while also helping workers like tipped employees and people who work overtime.
The following business leaders testified to the committee:
- Boyden Moore: President and CEO of Orgill
- Alex Grover: CEO and owner of i2M
- Wade Thomson: President of Thomson Prestress
- Mike Miller: Owner of Patrick's Neighborhood Bar and Patio
The committee selected business leaders who have benefitted from varying provisions of the legislation to testify at the event, Smith said.
'Meaningful and measurable benefits'
Mike Miller, who owns Patrick's Neighborhood Bar and Patio in Memphis, said the outcome of the provisions pertinent to service industry workers have allowed him to start a retirement plan for his employees.
Boyden Moore, Orgill's president and CEO, spoke on the benefits experienced by both his company and the smaller businesses it supplies.
"The legislative changes brought about by this act have delivered meaningful and measurable benefits to Orgill," he said. "But beyond the benefits that Orgill has experienced directly, perhaps even more important are the opportunities this legislation creates for our customers: the small, independent and often family-owned businesses."
A big focus of the hearing was the legislation's expansion of employer-provided childcare tax credits, which is a provision Kustoff championed and authored.
"During COVID, we all learned that employers had to think a different way about their relationship with their employees," he said. "If we could incentivize the small employers or medium-size employers to give that benefit to their employees and get a tax benefit and a tax credit, to me, that's a win-win-win."
Alex Grover, CEO and owner of i2M, testified about the impact of the legislation on the polymer film manufacturing company, especially focusing on its childcare provisions.
"Congress has made it more financially feasible for businesses like i2M to invest in top-notch child care benefits," Grover said. "Child care is not just a perk, it is critical infrastructure — as critical as the roads and bridges that my team take to come to work, and the electrical grid that powers our machines."
Critics of the legislation say it gives tax breaks to the wealthy, while cutting essential safety net programs. Every Democrat in both the House of Representatives and the Senate voted against the bill.
The Ways and Means Committee has held similar field hearings in states across the country, but Smith said Collierville's was one of the most attended.
Watch the full field hearing on the committee's YouTube channel.
Annie Goldman covers government for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at annie.goldman@commercialappeal.com or 901-930-7431, and followed on X @AnnieSGoldman.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: US Rep. Kustoff holds Ways and Means Committee hearing in West TN
