TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback argues as he prepares to leave office that his experiment in aggressive tax-cutting pioneered a national debate over helping small business owners.

He said during a year-end interview with The Associated Press that what Kansas did on taxes influenced Congress and other states even if his home-state lawmakers rolled back the cuts.

The conservative Republican governor predicted that other states will look at lowering personal income taxes for small business owners. He pointed to provisions of a GOP federal tax overhaul as a sign that the idea has taken root.

Brownback is awaiting U.S. Senate confirmation as ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. Looking ahead, he said he believes religious liberty issues are more visible globally and “the time is right” to focus on them.