[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 3, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10-S11]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TAX REFORM BILL AND WORK BEFORE THE SENATE

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, many recall that Christmas came a little 
early this year--or, I should say, last month--as we delivered 
comprehensive tax reform to the American people--a historic overhaul of 
our Nation's Tax Code and the first since 1986, more than three 
decades. Since that time, the President has now signed the bill into 
law, and we have already begun to see signs of how tax reform is 
transforming the economic landscape across the country and making life 
better for American citizens.
  The New York Times reports that job creators are eager for the tax 
cuts to take effect and that a wave of optimism is surging among them. 
That is their quote, the New York Times. They report that businesses 
are ready to create jobs and raise wages. They will invest in new 
plants and equipment that will bolster economic growth, grow the 
economy, and help to create more jobs and improve take-home pay.
  It is not just the New York Times that sees optimism spreading. There 
are plenty of real-world examples that illustrate that as well. One 
healthcare and home products company announced that in response to the 
tax bill, it would award all employees a $100 bonus for each year they 
have worked for the company. So if an employee has been at the company 
for 8 years, the average tenure, that would be an extra $800 in his or 
her pocket to fix their car, repair a water heater, or replace carpets 
in their living room.
  Two telecom giants recently announced even larger bonuses for 
hundreds of thousands of their employees, raises of $1,000 each. Now, 
it may be that these companies are getting ahead of the game, because 
in a tight labor market, where unemployment rates are relatively low 
and where economic activity goes up, we know there is going to be more 
and more competition for good workers, and that means that employers 
are going to be required to pay more for those workers in that 
competition for workforce and labor. So it may be that these companies 
are a little bit ahead of the game, but I expect to see, whether it is 
done as these companies have done it or not, in a low unemployment rate 
scenario where there is more competition for workers because more 
economic activity is occurring, that more jobs are being created and 
that we are going to see all workers' take-home pay increase as a 
result.
  These companies have also said that they plan to increase capital 
spending in response to the tax reform we passed last month. Some banks 
have said they will raise their minimum wage to $15 an hour and donate 
as much as $400 million to community and nonprofit organizations.
  One major airline in my home State of Texas announced that it will 
give all full-time and part-time employees a $1,000 cash bonus and make 
$5 million in additional charitable donations. They have also said--
because they believe there is going to be an increased number of people 
flying--that they are going to buy more jets, more planes to 
accommodate that increase in air travel. This is all good stuff when we 
are looking at getting the economy growing again and creating more jobs 
and better wages.
  Finally, German economists recently released a study finding that the 
U.S. corporate tax rate will now sharply improve incentives for 
foreigners to invest in America--exactly what we wanted to happen. Of 
course, this will come at the expense of high-tax countries in Europe. 
So just think of it as their loss is our gain, but that is exactly why 
we felt it was necessary on a bipartisan basis to reduce what was 
effectively the highest business tax rate in the world, at 35 percent. 
That is why people like Barack Obama in 2011 called for us on a 
bipartisan basis to reduce that rate and to make it more competitive, 
and the Democratic leader, Senator Schumer, and others, and Republicans 
on our side of the aisle all agreed that this was the right policy. 
Well, now we are beginning to see that policy pay off as a result of 
the bill we passed in December, which was signed into law on December 
22.
  I would say that all these examples are pretty telltale signs that 
the optimism reported by the New York Times isn't fake news. It is 
real. Tax reform is changing the economic landscape, paychecks are 
growing, and job creators are responding in all sorts of positive ways. 
I think that is a terrific way for us to begin 2018.
  Now, for all of us who worry about what is going to happen to our 
individual paycheck, the good news is that the IRS is now working hard 
to update its withholding guidance documents and, once it does, Texans 
and Americans, in general, will begin seeing larger paychecks, more 
take-home pay hopefully as early as February.
  Well, that is the good news. That is what we were able to accomplish 
at the end of last year that will hopefully continue to pay dividends 
in terms of economic growth and take-home pay and more jobs, but we 
still have a lot of work to do.
  Over the next few weeks, we have a very, very full plate. First and 
foremost is funding the Federal Government and avoiding a shutdown come 
January 19, when our stopgap continuing resolution expires. It is 
crucial that both sides come together to ensure that critical 
government functions are not held hostage to other demands. High on my 
list is to make sure that we continue to fund our national security and 
the Department of Defense and continue to pay our warfighters and make 
sure that they receive the training and equipment they need in order to 
keep our Nation safe. That is just one of the items, but it is my 
highest priority.
  The second is close to it, and that is making sure we provide natural 
disaster relief. This last year, we saw what seemed to be an 
unprecedented array of natural disasters--from wildfires out West to 
historic rain events like Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Louisiana, and 
hurricanes in Florida, the Virgin Islands and, of course, Puerto Rico. 
I commend the House for passing the $81 billion disaster relief package 
last month, but with so many record-setting disasters this last year--
first and foremost in my mind is Hurricane Harvey in Texas--we, in the 
Senate, need to take a little extra time to make sure that all of the 
varied competing interests are accommodated. In the coming weeks, I am 
going to continue to work with my colleagues to ensure that Texans 
whose homes, schools, roads, and workplaces were affected by the storm 
receive the help they deserve and so desperately need. We are not 
asking to be treated any better than anybody else, but we are not going 
to accept being treated worse.

  We look forward to working together with our fellow Americans in 
Puerto Rico, in Florida, out West, and, of course, in Texas and 
Louisiana to make sure that we do our job and treat everybody exactly 
the same. The House bill is a useful starting point, but it is my hope 
that we can improve upon it and make sure Texas can fully recover and 
rebuild.
  Third on my list of to-dos is an important national security program 
that most people may not have heard much about, which allows the 
Federal Government to obtain communications of foreign intelligence 
targets, which is set to expire on January 19. One of the technical 
advantages that the United States has over any other country in the 
world is our ability to listen to foreign actors and gather 
intelligence that will forearm our first responders and our national 
security apparatus, as well as others, to keep our Nation safe.
  This particular law, which has been called the crown jewel of our 
national security by the Director of the FBI, is known as section 702 
of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments Act, an 
essential safeguard against terrorism and a valuable tool for gathering 
foreign intelligence, as I have said. We need to work quickly to ensure 
that it is reauthorized for a long term.
  The fourth item on our to-do list is addressing the Deferred Action 
for Childhood Arrivals Program, or DACA. You will recall that back a 
few years ago now, President Obama decided to try to unilaterally issue 
an order providing work permits and legal status to roughly 800,000 
children, now adults, who came with their parents illegally

[[Page S11]]

to the United States. While these are certainly the most sympathetic 
group of people whom we need to address--and I think we can, and we 
will in a compassionate and honest sort of way--I am grateful to 
President Trump for returning the fate of this program where it 
belongs--in the hands of Congress. That is after President Obama's DACA 
provisions failed in Federal court.
  I am confident that both sides can come to an agreement regarding the 
legal status of these roughly 800,000 individuals who were brought to 
the country illegally while they were still quite young. That includes 
124,000 DACA recipients in my State of Texas alone.
  Many of these individuals make valuable contributions and should not 
be penalized for decisions made by their parents, the legal 
ramifications of which they could not at such a young age fully 
understand or consent to. But any such agreement must include 
corresponding measures regarding an enforcement of our immigration 
laws.
  I think that one of the biggest tragedies in recent years in our 
country is that the American people have simply lost confidence in 
their government when it comes to securing the border and enforcing our 
immigration laws. I believe this provides an opportunity, not only for 
us to provide compassionate relief to the DACA recipients I mentioned a 
moment ago but to restore an enforcement of our immigration laws, 
including border security, the additional personnel, and the technology 
required in order for us to know who is coming into our country and why 
they are here and to make sure that they only do so by legal channels.
  My hope is that our Democratic colleagues will abandon their threats 
to shut down the government and will engage with us in good faith, 
because we stand ready to talk to them and negotiate in good faith as 
well.
  Finally, on my personal to-do list is my goal to pass the bill we 
call the Fix NICS Act as soon as possible. This is to fix the National 
Instant Criminal Background Check System that is checked by federally 
licensed firearms dealers when somebody goes into a store to buy a 
firearm--whether it is a shotgun to hunt, a pistol to defend 
themselves, a rifle for hunting, or for home defense. I think it is 
really important in the wake of Sutherland Springs for us to get this 
bill passed.
  This is the bill I filed after those terrible shootings in Sutherland 
Springs, which resulted in the loss of 26 innocent lives, with about 
that same number injured as well. This tragedy was entirely preventable 
because the individual who committed that heinous act on that day was 
legally disqualified from purchasing a firearm by the fact that he was 
a convicted felon, he had been convicted of domestic violence, and he 
had been committed to a mental health institution. But none of that 
information was uploaded by the Air Force into the National Instant 
Criminal Background Check System.
  What did he do when he went in to buy firearms? He simply lied, and 
he said he had no disqualifying event in his life like those I 
mentioned earlier--convicted felon, mental health institutionalization, 
and a domestic violence conviction. He simply lied about it. The 
background check system failed us and the people who were victims of 
that terrible day in Sutherland Springs. We need to get that fixed.
  This is one of those rare times when folks who are ardent believers 
in the Second Amendment, as am I, and those who are perhaps less 
inclined to be enthusiastic about the Second Amendment rights of law-
abiding citizens can come together and say: Let's at least fix the 
current law. Let's make sure that if somebody is disqualified from 
buying a firearm, this National Instant Criminal Background Check 
System actually works.
  I am delighted to say that Senator Murphy from Connecticut, Senator 
Feinstein from California, and Senator Schumer, the Democratic leader 
from New York, have joined me and Majority Leader McConnell and so many 
others on our side of the aisle to say that this is something we can 
and we should do. I simply cannot face the prospect of looking into the 
eyes of somebody who has lost a loved one as the result of a 
preventable mass shooting incident like we saw in Sutherland Springs. 
We have the ability here to pass legislation that will save lives and 
to prevent people who are legally disqualified from purchasing firearms 
from doing so.
  All of these on this list are just a few of the challenges we face as 
a new year begins. I think these are things we can address on a 
bipartisan basis. I know we had some tough fights last year on 
healthcare and tax reform, and our Democratic colleagues seemed 
disinclined to help at all to work with us to pass those pieces of 
legislation. I am hoping that with this new year and, hopefully, the 
optimism that goes along with it, our colleagues will work with us in 
goodwill for all and a renewed determination to do what is right, not 
only for the folks we have the honor of representing but for our entire 
country.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Toomey). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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