[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

[[Page S7812]]

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.