[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 187 (Wednesday, November 15, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S7243]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Tax Reform

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, the Senate Finance Committee is working 
this week on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It is a very important piece of 
legislation that the country is looking forward to having passed.
  This is a Republican plan to give tax relief to the American people. 
Just as the name of the legislation says, it actually addresses both 
issues: tax cuts and jobs.
  First of all, the legislation will cut the taxes for American 
workers. One of the biggest cuts in the plan is that it roughly doubles 
the standard deduction that people take. Right now, the standard 
deduction for a married couple is about $12,000. If we double it, 
people will not pay any Federal income taxes at all on the first 
$24,000 they earn. That is a big tax cut. It is aimed squarely at lower 
income and middle-income families in this country.
  A lot of people will decide to take this deduction instead of going 
through the painstaking process of itemizing deductions on their income 
tax returns. It saves people a lot of time. It also saves them the cost 
of accountants and lawyers who help them figure out the complicated 
taxes that they end up paying in this country each year.
  Republicans are also working to preserve other deductions that are 
important to American families. When we put all of these together, we 
are going to cut taxes for people and put money back in their pockets 
instead of sending it to Washington.
  The second thing to know about this tax relief legislation is that it 
is going to be a big boost for jobs in America. In fact, it will help 
America create more than 900,000 new jobs.
  It is also going to lead to higher pay. That is because the 
legislation will cut the taxes that small businesses have to pay. Small 
businesses create most of the jobs in America. If we let them keep more 
of their money, they can hire people and grow their businesses. That is 
what happens in this country. That is how our economy works; people 
hiring people matter to grow the economy. They can also give workers a 
raise and offer better benefits. When Washington takes less and 
businesses keep more, workers are better off every time.
  Republicans also want to bring down the rates that Washington charges 
other businesses. A lot of people work for small businesses, but a lot 
of people also work for large businesses as well. If we are able to cut 
taxes for those businesses, then those workers can get the same raise. 
How much more money are we talking about? Well, according to the Tax 
Foundation, it amounts to about $2,600 for a typical middle-income 
family. That is what you get when you combine the tax cut and the pay 
raise that people will see across the country. For that family, an 
extra $2,600 is going to be a very big deal. A majority of Americans 
say that they don't have enough savings today to cover a $500 emergency 
expense if one came up.
  Millions of American families will be far better off because of the 
tax relief that Republicans are working on this week. It will boost the 
economy, help individual workers, and help their families. This is 
about tax cuts, and it is about jobs. That is how you keep the economy 
growing. That is how we keep American families thriving.