[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 6, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S617-S618]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               TAX REFORM

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, we have been talking for weeks about 
the millions of Americans who are already benefiting from tax reform. 
Already, millions of workers have received a tax reform bonus, pay 
increase, or other benefit.
  I understand that a $1,000, $2,000, or $3,000 bonus might not seem 
like much to our colleagues from New York or San Francisco. I 
understand why people who are already very wealthy might agree with my 
friends the House and Senate Democratic leaders who said these bonuses 
and benefits are merely ``crumbs.'' But, look, I can assure them that 
the working families I represent do not see a permanent raise or a 
multithousand-dollar bonus as a crumb to sweep off the table. In 
millions of households, thanks to tax reform, paying the bills has 
already gotten a little less painful and planning for the future has 
already gotten a little easier. And this is just the beginning.
  Soon, millions and millions more Americans will see the impact of tax 
reform in their paychecks. IRS withholding is going down, take-home pay 
is going up, and families everywhere will be keeping more of their 
hard-earned money. This is great news for middle-class Americans. So 
why are our Democratic friends afraid to acknowledge it? The reason is 
simple. Every single one of them voted against tax reform.
  Every Democrat in the House and in the Senate voted against these new 
benefits for American workers. Every one of them voted against a pay 
raise for the 90 percent of American workers who, according to a 
Treasury Department estimate, are about to see their take-home pay go 
up. I don't envy their position. I don't envy having to explain why 
they voted to keep more money in Washington rather than give their 
constituents a raise.

[[Page S618]]

  Tax reform bonuses and more take-home pay aren't the only ways tax 
reform will help American workers. The law also includes a creative new 
solution to directly help the communities that are struggling the most. 
We all know that too few new jobs were created during the Obama years. 
Through heavy taxing and excessive regulation, Washington had its foot 
on the brake of the U.S. economy. Job creation and wage growth were 
weaker than they should have been, but another aspect of this often 
goes overlooked.
  Of the new jobs that were created from 2010 to 2016, according to one 
estimate, three-quarters went to major metropolitan areas. Let me say 
that again. Of the new jobs that were created between 2010 and 2016, 
three-quarters went to major metropolitan areas. Only 3 percent of 
those new jobs went to rural America. Across the Nation--including my 
home State of Kentucky, particularly in Eastern Kentucky--many rural 
areas, small cities, and suburbs were left behind in the Obama economy. 
It is time to change that.
  That is why my colleague the junior Senator from South Carolina made 
sure that tax reform included a provision to create ``opportunity 
zones'' across the United States. My Republican colleagues and I were 
proud to support this policy. It allows State Governors to designate 
economically depressed areas for special tax incentives that will make 
them more attractive places to invest and create jobs. It will empower 
communities that have been passed over time and again to put up, in 
effect, big neon signs that say: ``We are open for business.'' It will 
help these struggling communities reach their full potential.
  This Congress is determined to reignite an economy that works for 
everyone. That is why tax reform lets families across the country keep 
more of what they earn. That is why tax reform makes America a more 
attractive place to create jobs, and it gives our businesses a fairer 
fight with foreign competitors. That is why tax reform includes this 
``opportunity zones'' provision, which will help deliver targeted 
relief to communities that need it the most.
  To most Americans, all this sounds like common sense. Republicans in 
Congress thought so too. We came together to deliver these historic 
achievements for the American people. It is too bad that not one single 
Democrat got on board with any of this.
  But at least the bigger paychecks, new bonuses, and new investments 
will continue to roll in, and our constituents know exactly who stood 
up for them.

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