[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 11 (Thursday, January 18, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S269-S270]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE ECONOMY
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, later this week, we are going to reach 1
year since President Trump was sworn into office as President of the
United States. From what I have seen and from what I have heard,
visiting with people at home, all around the State of Wyoming, his
first year has been a huge success.
People are telling me, telling their friends, and telling their
neighbors that America is finally headed in the right direction again.
People tell me that they feel optimistic--optimistic because of the
policies that Republicans have put in place over this past year.
The polling company Gallup says it is not just happening in Wyoming;
it is happening all across the country. They had a report the other day
that said Americans' confidence in our economy was positive in 2017,
and they say that this was the first positive annual average since they
started tracking these numbers back in 2008--the first time ever.
As soon as Donald Trump was elected President, economic confidence
began to soar. It has stayed positive every single month since election
day of 2016.
Gallup has said that this is the exact opposite of what they had seen
for the previous 8 years.
In another poll last week, Gallup said that people are also more
optimistic about the job market. They found that Americans' confidence
about finding a job--a quality job--was the highest it has been in the
17 years since they have been asking that question as well.
They said that there was a ``sharp increase'' over the year before--
in 2016, when President Obama was in charge--in people's feelings about
being able to find a quality job. People are confident, and they are
much more optimistic about the future. We see the signs of it
everywhere we turn.
Stores had their biggest holiday sales since 2008. When people are
feeling confident, they feel it is OK to go shopping. They feel there
is going to be the income to cover the things they are interested in
having for Christmas and the gifts they can give. They can relax. That
is the kind of optimism we are seeing now.
It is because they see that President Trump and Republicans in
Congress are serious about improving America's economy. They see that
we are serious about giving relief to Americans who have been getting
buried under an avalanche of redtape.
The President has cut through massive amounts of regulations.
Congress has rolled back 15 different major regulations from the Obama
administration. That is going to save Americans as much as $36 billion
over time because of the regulatory burden that has been relieved.
These are regulations that harmed Americans and wiped out American
jobs. Now those regulations are gone.
When people see that Washington is finally taking the right approach
to regulation, it gives them confidence. It makes them more optimistic
about the future.
A lot of the regulations that Democrats wrote had to do with their
war on American energy. Democrats shut down a lot of energy exploration
and energy development in America. They shut down attempts to export
American energy. They even wrote rules to put the United States at a
competitive disadvantage when we tried to develop energy resources
overseas.
Republicans have stopped Washington's war on American energy. We are
opening up more areas to responsible energy production off of our
coasts and in part of Alaska. Our goal should be to make American
energy as clean as we can, as fast as we can, without raising costs on
American families.
Republicans have put policies in place to restore that balance to
America's energy policy.
Now people are talking about not just energy security, energy
independence, but American energy dominance. When people see that
Washington is finally taking the right approach to energy, it gives
them confidence.
People see that Republicans are delivering on other promises as well,
such as giving American families serious tax relief. This tax law that
passed at the end of last year is giving back more than $1 trillion to
Americans over time. It is letting people keep more of their hard-
earned money. It is spurring economic growth. It is going to make it
simpler for a lot of families to fill out their taxes.
When people see that Washington is finally taking the right approach
to taxes, it gives them more confidence, more optimism. They are
confident because they are already seeing the direct result in their
paychecks.
At least 166 companies have said that they are going to give raises,
give out bonuses, and invest more in their workers because of the tax
law. More than 2,236,000 workers across this country are getting more
money in their pockets as a result of these raises and bonuses. Some of
the folks who are getting bonuses are people who work at Walmart. That
is one of the biggest employers in my State of Wyoming. People who work
there are getting bonuses, they are getting higher wages, and they are
getting expanded maternity leave benefits--one advantage after
another--as a result of the tax law that was passed by a Republican
House, a Republican Senate, and signed by President Trump. These
workers are noticing the extra money. It is going to make a difference
to them and to their families. It is not just a one-time bump for
people; economists say that this tax relief legislation is going to
boost the economy for years to come.
There was a story on CNBC Monday that quoted an official from one
European bank. He said that President Trump has ``changed the
perception of what's possible in Washington.''
The American economy has roared back to life. We are finally--
finally--having the economic recovery that we should have had 8 years
ago. That is because we finally got the policies that allow our economy
to grow the way it should. We had a big recession in this country.
Democrats used that as an excuse to pile a bunch of regulations on the
American people. That had a lot to do with keeping the economy from
recovering at the pace it should have.
During the Obama administration, there was talk about the ``new
normal.'' People said that maybe it was just the way things were going
to be in America from now on--slow, tepid economic growth, weak
recovery, wages that didn't grow, people out of work for years at a
time. That is what we saw in that administration. Now we know that it
was never normal, it was never acceptable, and it was never the way
things had to be. Things could be different, and the American people
voted to make things different. In 2016, they said it was time for a
change. Republicans are showing that the economy can grow faster once
we get the right policies in place. America can be a greater place for
all of us.
We head into President Trump's second year with an economy much
stronger than it was the day he took office. We have more Americans at
work. We have businesses and families confident that the economy will
be even better this year. I think that is the kind of thing that people
mean when they tell me they feel confident and optimistic in the
direction of our country again. I see that confidence in Wyoming. We
see it on Wall Street, and we see it all across the United States.
Democrats might miss the Obama economy of higher taxes and more
regulation. Republicans are fighting to continue the policies that are
giving Americans confidence, optimism, and hope. Republicans know this
is just the beginning.
(The remarks of Mr. Barrasso pertaining to the introduction of S.
2319 are printed in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced
Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')
[[Page S270]]
Mr. BARRASSO. I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Fischer). The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. WARNER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. WARNER. Madam President, I rise very briefly to thank my friend,
the chairman of the Intelligence Committee.
One more time, I urge all of our colleagues to vote for S. 139, which
will be coming up for a vote in a few moments.
This is a critical tool that our intelligence community uses on a
regular basis to keep America safe. It is a tool that--as someone who
has more, perhaps, observance of this program than most--I do not
believe has been abused or will be abused. This legislation includes
meaningful reforms on furthering civil liberties protections and making
sure that a year from now, the questions that many Members have asked
over the years, particularly of the Bureau, will be answered.
I think this foreminded legislation needs to pass and needs to pass
with an overwhelming majority.
Again, I thank the chairman for his good work. We had a 12-to-3 vote
out of our committee on this legislation. We had a 60-to-38 vote that
moved us forward on the cloture motion. My hope is that many other
colleagues who care deeply about national security will join us in the
final passage of this legislation.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina.
Mr. BURR. Madam President, I thank the vice chairman of the
committee, Senator Warner.
I think what we have seen is a process that has tried to take into
account concerns that not just Members but the American people have had
with programs that operate in a degree of secrecy, and I think most
Americans understand why.
The assurance I have tried to make and the vice chairman has tried to
make to our colleagues and to the American people is that we are
vigilant in the rigorous oversight of not just this program but of the
entire complex of intelligence in the United States. It is our job as
committee members, and we do it without the clarity that most members
would like to have on issues. I respect the fact that some still
disagree with us, though the number is small. I also feel extremely
proud today that we are getting ready to, in the next few minutes,
reauthorize the single most important intelligence tool that exists for
us to keep the American people safe.
I think we will look back on this as a needed tool. Today, the threat
landscape looks worse than it probably ever has. The reason Americans
can safely go to bed at night is that there are a lot of dedicated
folks to whom we provide tools in order to keep them safe. It starts
with a vote in this body, and I encourage all of my colleagues to vote,
when given the opportunity shortly, to reauthorize the 702 program.
Vote on Motion to Concur with Amendment No. 1870
Madam President, I move to table the motion to concur with amendment.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion.
The motion was agreed to.
Vote on Motion to Concur
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question now occurs on agreeing to the
motion to concur in the House amendment to accompany S. 139.
Mr. BURR. Madam President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There is a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The bill clerk called the roll.
Mr. CORNYN. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator
from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 65, nays 34, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 12 Leg.]
YEAS--65
Alexander
Barrasso
Blunt
Boozman
Burr
Capito
Carper
Casey
Cassidy
Cochran
Collins
Corker
Cornyn
Cortez Masto
Cotton
Crapo
Cruz
Donnelly
Duckworth
Enzi
Ernst
Feinstein
Fischer
Flake
Graham
Grassley
Hassan
Hatch
Heitkamp
Hoeven
Inhofe
Isakson
Johnson
Jones
Kaine
Kennedy
King
Klobuchar
Lankford
Manchin
McCaskill
McConnell
Moran
Nelson
Perdue
Peters
Portman
Reed
Risch
Roberts
Rounds
Rubio
Sasse
Schumer
Scott
Shaheen
Shelby
Stabenow
Thune
Tillis
Toomey
Warner
Whitehouse
Wicker
Young
NAYS--34
Baldwin
Bennet
Blumenthal
Booker
Brown
Cantwell
Cardin
Coons
Daines
Durbin
Gardner
Gillibrand
Harris
Heinrich
Heller
Hirono
Leahy
Lee
Markey
Menendez
Merkley
Murkowski
Murphy
Murray
Paul
Sanders
Schatz
Smith
Sullivan
Tester
Udall
Van Hollen
Warren
Wyden
NOT VOTING--1
McCain
The motion was agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
____________________