[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 20 (Tuesday, January 30, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S566-S567]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Tax Reform

  Mr. President, another topic I wish to touch on this afternoon is a 
much happier topic; that is, the extraordinary consequences we are 
already seeing of the tax reform we passed just about a month ago.
  Yesterday, I had a chance to tour a small- to medium-sized company in 
the eastern part of Pennsylvania--Easton, PA, which is where they are 
located. Sussex Wire is the name of the company. They have a very 
sophisticated technology whereby they take wire, and without heating it 
and without grinding it, they use a process that turns it into the 
shape and form that their customers require. It is a very sophisticated 
process. They can crank out tremendous volumes.
  This relatively small business--I think they have 55 employees--is 
doing very well. It is manufacturing in Pennsylvania, in America. As a 
direct result of the tax reform we passed, their tax burden has been 
diminished, and that has, in turn, allowed them to speed up the hiring 
of five or six new workers--five or six people who don't have a job 
today, but they are going to have a job soon because Sussex Wire is 
hiring. Right now they are out looking for the folks who are going to 
expand their workforce, expand the ability of this terrific company to 
do even more.
  The tax reform is also accelerating their ability to purchase new 
equipment. The new equipment they buy allows them to do more work more 
productively. It allows their workers to produce more of the little 
tools and devices that they produce. When workers produce more, when 
they are more productive, they can earn more income, and that is 
exactly what is happening at Sussex Wire. This is before we have had 
the opportunity to have all of these investments actually take place.
  I am thrilled at how quickly we are seeing tangible benefits for the 
people I represent as a result of this tax reform.
  Of course, it is not just Sussex Wire; it is happening all across 
America. It is happening certainly all across Pennsylvania, and I hope 
we will hear about some of the examples tonight when the President 
gives his State of the Union Address.
  At latest count, there are over 3 million American workers who have 
already gotten an increase in their compensation. Their employers have 
provided them either a pay raise or a bonus or a contribution to their 
pension plan or some combination of those things precisely because 
these businesses have more free cash flow as a result of lower taxes. 
Three million workers from almost 300 businesses, and since the last 
time I came to the floor and spoke about this phenomenon, there have 
been many more Pennsylvanians benefiting from this.
  The employees of Home Depot, at 70 locations across Pennsylvania, are 
benefiting. Those employees--thousands, I suppose, altogether--are 
receiving $1,000 each.
  FedEx, which has a huge presence in Pennsylvania, has announced $200 
million in raises, $1.5 billion in new investment in distribution hubs, 
and another $1.5 billion that they are contributing to their employees' 
pensions.
  PPG in Pittsburgh, PA, is spending $50 million in new capital 
projects, in part because the Tax Code treats that investment better 
than our Tax Code used to, and it is encouraging more of this 
investment.
  H&K Equipment in Coraopolis in western Pennsylvania is increasing its 
investments by 15 percent this year, again in response to this tax 
reform.
  The Wall Street Journal reported over the weekend that manufacturing 
investment is already going up. It is already increasing. This is going 
to be very beneficial. First of all, it helps all the workers who 
produce the equipment in which companies are investing. Secondly, 
someone needs to operate this equipment, so when a company goes out and 
buys a new piece of equipment, new machinery, there is the job security 
or the new job being created for the person who operates it. Thirdly, 
there is the enhancement in productivity, which allows for higher 
compensation.
  This is all happening at a time when our unemployment rate is 
relatively low. It is at an alltime record low for African 
Americans. It is low generally by standards of recent decades. This 
means that demand for more workers is going to translate into upward 
pressure on wages. I think we are already seeing it. It is very, very 
encouraging, and it is just a tremendous success for our workers.

  I was very confident that this would be among the constructive 
consequences of our tax reform, but I will confess that I didn't 
realize it would happen so quickly. This is great news for 
Pennsylvanians, and it is great news for Americans.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.

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