[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 197 (Monday, December 4, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7811-S7812]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Tax Cuts and Jobs Bill
Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, as the world knows by now, last Friday
night--I guess early in the morning on Saturday--we passed the Senate's
version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the first major overhaul of our
Nation's tax system in more than 30 years.
I want to express my gratitude to Chairman Hatch, the chairman of the
Senate Finance Committee, who shepherded that bill through the
committee. I thank him for his leadership, as well as that of Chairman
Enzi, who led the reconciliation process in the Budget Committee. I
know it is a complex, convoluted, and arcane process, but we couldn't
have done it without both of those gentlemen.
I also commend our majority leader, Senator McConnell, and all of our
colleagues who worked together for proceeding with final passage and
for negotiating in good faith. I have said before, and I will say it
again, that one of the differences between this and healthcare reform
is that everyone, I believe, on our side of the aisle wanted to get to
yes, wanted to find a way to find a solution, and that goes a long way
to getting to a solution.
Last week, the majority leader rightfully referred to the process as
a once-in-a-generation opportunity, and he is right. I am glad we got
this bill across the finish line and will soon deliver to the American
people the tax relief they deserve. Notwithstanding some of the
propaganda that has been disseminated on this, the fact is, this bill
benefits Americans of all stripes, including low-income families.
Well, let me just start there. This bill doubles the standard
deduction, which means a married couple earning up to $24,000 will pay
zero tax on that $24,000 of earnings. Above that, we have raised the
child tax credit to $2,000 per child. The first $1,000 of that $2,000
is refundable. That means that even if you don't pay income taxes, if
you don't make enough money to pay income taxes, you will still get the
benefit of at least half of that child tax credit. It also reduces the
tax bracket for low-income families as well. The bill lowers the
current 15-percent rate and increases the child tax credit, both of
which help persons of modest means.
This bill also helps the broad middle class. Some of our colleagues
ran around like ``Chicken Little'' during the debate on this bill,
saying that eliminating certain deductions will disproportionately harm
hard-working families, but that is just not true. A family of four
earning the median income of about $73,000 will see their taxes cut by
nearly $2,200. That may be chickenfeed to some of the folks inside the
beltway, but that is real tax relief for hard-working, middle-class
families. We also preserve the home mortgage and charitable deductions,
and families will enjoy an enhanced child tax credit which, as I
mentioned earlier, along with the larger standard deduction, will help
them significantly.
Finally, this bill effectively repeals ObamaCare's individual
mandate. Some have called this a tax on the poor, which it is because
80 percent of the people who pay the tax or the mandate penalty earn
$50,000 or less, and that is because they can't afford to buy the
government-approved health insurance. So their own government, rather
than help them find affordable health coverage that suits their needs
that they can afford, mandates they buy a
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policy they can't afford, and when they don't do it, then taxes them
with the individual mandate. We repealed that entirely, which will also
ensure more take-home pay for America's families.
For America's job creators, this lowers taxes from 35 percent to a
much more nationally competitive rate. What that means is, rather than
hiring people overseas and keeping that money overseas earned from
their labor, they will be now incentivized to bring it back to the
United States to build and to hire in America. Right now, we have the
highest tax rate in the industrialized world, 35 percent, when the
international average for the industrialized world is roughly about 22
percent. We are getting a little below that at 20 percent, and
together, with all the other advantages of doing business in America,
we believe there will be a flood of money that is repatriated to the
United States that is currently parked overseas, along with the jobs
and investment that will go along with that.
Now that the bill has passed the Senate, we will soon begin to
discuss the bill in a conference committee. This is how we reconcile
the differences between the House version and the Senate version. I
know there are a few items of concern and that the two versions of the
bill differ to some extent, but I feel confident that with the help of
Speaker Ryan and the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee,
Kevin Brady, we can reach an agreement quickly. It is important that we
do so, that we reconcile those differences as quickly as we can,
because we want to get this bill on the President's desk before
Christmas so the people we are targeting relief for--starting from
lower income Americans to the middle class, to America's job creators--
can begin to enjoy the benefits of the tax cuts and tax reform right
out of the gates in 2018.
It is true that our shared goals between the House and Senate are
much more important than the small differences in our approaches, and
these goals, as we have always agreed on, are increasing the paychecks
of American workers and getting the economy working again because,
unfortunately, it has become flat and stagnant.
The President has called tax reform rocket fuel, and I think that is
right. Our economy has already begun to take off. It is amazing what
the American economy will do when it is unleashed from overtaxation and
overregulation. We have already seen the consumer confidence at a 16-
year high; the stock market is hitting historic highs; people are
anticipating the results of the rollback of excessive regulation during
the Obama administration and the reduction in taxes, creating a much
more competitive environment. It is exciting to see it beginning to
happen.
As I said, the GDP grew 3 percent this last quarter, but over the
last year it has been about 1.9 percent--so low that it is really not
creating new jobs and certainly not creating new investment here in the
United States. This tax reform and tax cut bill will change that. It
will keep the American motor running fast and smoothly.
Now, it is my sincere hope that those in the driver's seat, the
families and companies great and small, will reach destinations that
before maybe they only dreamed of because this is really what this
legislation is about. It is not about dollars and cents. It is not just
about taxes. It is not just about the government's relationship with
its own people, the people who are the heart and soul of this great
country. This is about America's standing in the world. Will we
continue to be the economic leader and the envy of the rest of the
world? Will we continue to be able to have the strongest military and
the ability to lead and keep the world safe, as opposed to creating
vacuums when we retreat? Those vacuums are then filled by the bullies,
tyrants, and dictators who certainly don't share our values.
I am excited about what we were able to accomplish last week, but we
are not done yet. We need to get this bill reconciled with the House
and put it on the President's desk so all Americans can enjoy the
benefits of this tax reform, whether it is a direct tax reduction from
their tax burden or being relieved from the onerous tax on poverty in
the individual mandate or enjoying the benefit of America's increased
competitiveness in the world and incentivizing businesses to invest,
hire, and improve wages right here in America. I am excited and
optimistic about what the future will hold once we get this on the
President's desk later this month.