[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 18 (Thursday, January 25, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S507-S508]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               TAX REFORM

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on another matter, on Tuesday, 
President Trump will deliver his first State of the Union Address. He 
will have good news to deliver on a variety of fronts. I am 
particularly looking forward to his remarks on our economy.

[[Page S508]]

  Consumer confidence is up. Unemployment is down. Markets are breaking 
records. From small businesses to our largest job creators, pay raises, 
bonuses, and plans for new investments are all in season.
  Of course, the engine of American prosperity is the American people, 
but smart policy can help by getting the government out of their way.
  Last December, Republicans in the House and the Senate joined the 
President to deliver once-in-a-generation tax reform. Every day, more 
evidence piles up that tax reform is already working for the American 
people. The headlines are full of major employers announcing pay raises 
and bonuses for workers, as well as new investments.
  For example, Brown-Forman--a global spirits company headquartered in 
my hometown of Louisville that employs more than 1,000 Kentuckians--
announced yesterday that tax reform will help the company to start a 
new charitable foundation for community investment and commit $120 
million to fund employee pensions.
  Soon, thanks to tax reform, a Main Street small business owner will 
finally be able to realize her dream to expand into the vacant shop 
next door. Of course, that will mean hiring more help.
  Soon, thanks to tax reform, a father-and-son manufacturing plant will 
be able to afford the new equipment they have been eyeing and give 
their workers new skills in the process.
  Stories like these may not make waves here in Washington, but believe 
me, they will be front-page news in communities all across our country. 
From coast to coast, Americans' lives will improve as Main Street 
businesses operate for the first time under a 21st-century tax code.
  This is not just a tax law for the big guys. Now even the smallest 
businesses will be able to take a significant deduction on their 
business income, giving them more money to buy new equipment, hire new 
employees, or provide health coverage for their team.
  So much focus has been on bonuses, pay raises, and 401(k) matches, 
and for good reason. But we should not forget all of the jobs that will 
be created when businesses decide to invest more because they can 
immediately deduct their capital expenditures. I am already hearing 
from small business owners this law was designed to help.
  Before tax reform, one franchise restaurant owner in Kentucky wrote 
me to say that ``the current high tax rate that I pay as a pass-through 
entity reduces the amount of earnings I can reinvest into my business, 
employees, and community.'' She went on to say, ``I am very encouraged 
that tax reform is under way in Congress and hope that it can be 
accomplished in a timely manner.'' Well, Republican majorities in 
Congress and the President did just that.
  In Nicholasville, KY, another constituent of mine operates a rental 
business for event equipment. He recently explained that ``the relief 
that will be provided by the new tax bill gives companies like mine the 
capital to purchase new inventory . . . as well as hire additional 
employees.''
  Summing it up, American enterprise is thriving. Tax reform helped 
make it happen.

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