[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 182 (Wednesday, November 8, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7121-S7122]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               TAX REFORM

  Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, I say to the Presiding Officer, like you, 
I am a relative newcomer to this body. It is an enormous privilege and 
responsibility to be a Member. Like you, I come from the real world, 
spending a career where your word is your bond, and telling untruth is 
not rewarded. Unfortunately, in this body, sometimes that is not the 
case, and both sides are guilty. What Americans are demanding right now 
is a change in the status quo, not only in this body but in Washington 
and in its entirety.
  Tonight I want to talk about some of the things that have happened in 
this body. I know both sides are guilty, but these are a couple of 
examples that I think rise above the norm and are so egregious that I 
could not let them stand.
  Right now, Members of the minority party and their friends in the 
media are doing everything they can to stop us from changing the Tax 
Code this year. Their complaint about healthcare was that we weren't 
doing it in regular order. Now we are doing tax reform in regular 
order. The bill that we are working on in the Senate will go to 
committee as soon as next week. It will be marked up with amendments 
from both sides. At the right time, it will then go to this floor, and 
we will have amendments--again, from both sides--and we will vote that 
bill, up or down, into law or not. But Members on the other side are 
actively spreading numbers in studies that are based on false 
assumptions and have been proven to be untrue. I want to highlight a 
couple tonight, but there are many others.
  On Monday, the Tax Policy Center released a study saying that the 
House plan, which was released last week, to change the Tax Code would 
raise taxes on 25 percent of American families. The minority leader 
said this on that day:

       This analysis makes clear that over one quarter of 
     taxpayers will see a tax increase under the Republican plan, 
     all in the name of giveaways for the wealthiest Americans and 
     biggest corporations. Republicans want to take away middle 
     class deductions for people with student loan interest and 
     medical expenses so that the rich can exploit bigger 
     loopholes and corporations can pay lower taxes.

  That study by the Tax Policy Center didn't even survive a full day. 
It was retracted later that afternoon. It is not even publicly 
available online today to review any longer. Do you know what is, 
though? The statements that came out of that report that day--false 
statements, just like the one I just gave, and many others highlighting 
that this study was reality. Maybe even worse is that these are false 
stories that are still running through the

[[Page S7122]]

media, as if they were true, as if they were facts.
  The website Vox posted a story about this study titled, ``The numbers 
are in, and House Republican tax bill raises taxes on nearly a third of 
Americans.'' Surely, they posted an update saying that the study has 
been retracted. They say that they will update the story once new 
numbers are released. In the meantime, this headline and this story are 
still in existence as if they were still true. Why wouldn't they take 
down the story? Why wouldn't they change the headline until new numbers 
are available?
  I wish this were a single, discredited study we are talking about and 
that this were the only time something like this has happened since we 
started to have this debate about changing the Tax Code and making 
America competitive again. Unfortunately, it is not.
  Multiple Members of the minority party said that the tax framework 
supported by President Trump would raise taxes on families earning less 
than $86,000 per year. One of my colleagues said: ``On average, middle 
class families earning less than $86,000 will see a tax increase under 
the Republican `tax reform' plan.''
  Another colleague said: ``The average tax increase on families 
nationwide earning up to $86,100 would be $794.00 per year.''
  Here is another one: ``The average tax increase on families 
nationwide earning up to $86,100 would be $794.''
  You begin to think that there is a common thread among many Members 
in this body about this same story. This talking point is so wrong that 
even the Washington Post later that day came out and said so. It gave 
this claim four Pinocchios, which we all know is their highest number 
against a falsity. That is the worst rating you can get on their fact 
checking.
  The Washington Post's full ruling said:

       Democrats have spread far and wide the false claim that 
     families making less than $86,100 on average will face a 
     hefty tax hike. Actually, it's the opposite. Most families in 
     that income range would get a tax cut. Any Democrat who 
     spread this claim should delete their tweets and make clear 
     they were in error.

  That is from the Washington Post. At least one statement making this 
claim is still up, and I haven't seen a single statement admitting 
error. These are but a couple of examples. There are many more.
  As one last example, House Minority Leader Pelosi has called changing 
the Tax Code ``a Ponzi scheme.'' Virtually every Democrat has called it 
a ``betrayal of the middle class.'' Clearly, the facts do not back up 
these claims.
  The minority party is doing all it can to stop us from getting this 
done this year because it makes good politics somehow. That is the only 
explanation I can think of.
  Answer this for me; it doesn't make any sense: Why would someone 
oppose giving the middle class a tax break? Why would someone oppose 
making America competitive again? Why would someone oppose bringing 
billions of dollars of U.S. profits back to the United States so that 
they can be reinvested in the economy and create jobs? I don't 
understand it.
  It is time for people in Washington, and even in this body, to stop 
doing what is best for their own political self-interest on both sides, 
frankly, and start doing what is right for the national interest. That 
right now--in the next few days--is clearly one thing, and that is 
fixing this archaic Tax Code.
  Every person in this body is responsible to some degree for the 
archaic nature of this Tax Code. Both parties are responsible. If they 
were acting in our national interest, we would be hearing about the 
study showing that, on average, Americans are projected to get a pay 
increase of somewhere between $4,000 and $9,000 under this plan. We 
would be hearing about how families making less than $86,000 a year are 
actually getting a tax cut. Again, that is a point even the Washington 
Post has acknowledged.
  We would be hearing about how lowering the corporate tax rate, ending 
the tax on repatriated earnings will make us more competitive with the 
rest of the world. We would be hearing about the economic growth that 
could result from these potential changes.
  We have a historic opportunity before us to deliver results and make 
a difference in the lives of all Americans. There are Members of the 
minority party, however, who have supported these changes in the Tax 
Code right up until the point when President Trump took office. But 
that is no excuse for this nonsense that is going on right now.
  I think it is our role, on both sides, to call out these untruths. It 
is also our responsibility to stop this nonsense. What the American 
people want are facts. They don't want fake news. They want to know 
that we are here doing their work for them, to make sure that we make 
America competitive again.
  I say to the Presiding Officer, like you, I live in the real world. I 
have dealt with the nonsense that came out of these bodies that 
affected our Tax Code in a way that kept us from being competitive. It 
is time we change that. We have to get it done this year so that we can 
ignite economic growth next year and give relief to the middle class, 
who have suffered so much over the last 8 years.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.

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