[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 151 (Tuesday, September 19, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S5826]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Tax Reform

  Mr. President, this morning the Senate Finance Committee is hosting 
another of a series of hearings on comprehensive tax reform. The 
President, his team, and many of us here in Congress are in agreement 
that passing tax reform is the single most important action we can take 
today to energize the economy and help families get ahead.
  Our Tax Code is overly complex and has rates that are too high. 
Chairman Hatch and members of the committee are working to improve 
American competitiveness under a simplified Tax Code that works better 
for all of us.
  Last week, the committee's hearing examined how to make the Tax Code 
work better for American individuals and families. Today, the Finance 
Committee is discussing the consequences of our outdated Tax Code for 
American businesses and workers.
  In an increasingly competitive global economy, our Tax Code stands as 
a barrier between American enterprise and economic prosperity. It 
actually incentivizes companies to shift good American jobs overseas. 
That doesn't make any sense at all. What we should be doing is working 
to bring them home. Comprehensive tax reform offers the chance to do 
so.
  This is our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fundamentally rethink 
our Tax Code. We want to provide American businesses, small and large, 
with the conditions they need to form, invest, grow, and hire. We want 
to stop American jobs from being shipped overseas. We want to bring 
jobs and investments home so we can spur economic growth and restore 
opportunity for our families.
  After 8 years of a heavyhanded Obama economy, in which it often 
seemed that only the ultrawealthy could get ahead, it is time to help 
working class families and small businesses get ahead. It is time for 
comprehensive tax reform.
  Many of our Democratic colleagues have expressed support for an 
overhaul of the Tax Code. I hope they will choose to work with us in a 
serious way to modernize our increasingly outdated tax system.
  I want to thank Chairman Hatch for his leadership, and I look forward 
to this morning's hearing and more hearings to come, as we continue to 
discuss our tax reform goals.
  I want to thank the President and his team, as well, for their strong 
involvement.
  Comprehensive tax reform is clearly a top priority for this White 
House, just as it is for this Congress. So let's deliver more 
opportunity for the middle class. Let's continue the hard work of tax 
reform to help American families and small businesses get ahead.