AEI Scholar Talks Health Care, Tax Reform

Stan A. Veuger, an economic analyst from the American Enterprise Institute, spoke about congressional deadlock and the Trump administration’s legislative agenda at the CGIS Knafel building Friday.

The seminar, titled “Health Care and Tax Reform in the 115th Congress,” was part of a larger lecture series in the Program on Constitutional Government, which brings visiting professors to Harvard, hosts guest speakers, and sponsors postdoctoral fellowships. Harvey C. Mansfield ’53, one of the founders of the program and a professor in the Government department, moderated the talk.

Veuger analyzed the progress of healthcare and tax reform under President Donald Trump, reflecting on several failed attempts by GOP leadership to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. He said the effort will continue to be a priority for the party.

“They spent seven years claiming it is the worst piece of domestic legislation in history,” he said. “It would be really weird to now just walk away from it and say... ‘It was actually the best we could come up with.’”

He also discussed competing visions for tax reform in the Republican Party. After his lecture, he took questions from the audience about the future of healthcare and tax legislation.

The event was attended by faculty members and students. Malcolm J. Reid ’21 said he was drawn to the discussion because of Mansfield.

“I’m kind of a fan of Harvey Mansfield, so it’s always nice to get a chance to see him,” Reid said.

He added that he respected Veuger’s “ability to be as critical of the people in power as he was.”

The Program on Constitutional Government will host more lunchtime seminars over the course of the semester. The next seminar is titled “The Artist as Citizen: How could anyone quibble with that?”and will bring the Washington Post’s chief art and architecture critic Philip Kennicott to campus.