The Engineer in Congress: Rep. Ron Estes on Tax Policy and QBS
In this special episode we collaborate with QBS Express, and sit down with U.S. Representative Ron Estes of Kansas for a conversation on tax policy, infrastructure, and regulatory reform.
About the Guest:
Representative Ron Estes has represented Kansas’s 4th District in the U.S. House since 2017, following service as Sedgwick County Treasurer and Kansas State Treasurer. An engineer by training with years of private-sector experience, he brings a practical, problem-solving perspective to Congress and has been a key ally to ACEC members on the tax issues that affect engineering firms.
What We Cover:
- His lead role on the American Innovation and R&D Competitiveness Act, and the years-long push to restore immediate R&D expensing instead of five-year amortization
- Why R&D cash flow matters for startups and small firms, not just big businesses
- The outlook for surface transportation reauthorization and shortfalls in the Highway Trust Fund
- Why infrastructure means more than roads and bridges: water and wastewater treatment, waterways, and the systems that move goods and services
- Regulatory simplification and permitting reform, and why lawmakers with private-sector experience understand that businesses have to live with the policies Congress passes
