[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 13, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S889-S890]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               TAX REFORM

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on another matter, last week, as part 
of our bipartisan funding agreement, the Senate approved much needed 
disaster relief for communities hit by last year's devastating storms. 
This was an important accomplishment, but it isn't the only way this 
Congress has helped Americans begin to rebuild.

[[Page S890]]

  Recently, Florida Power & Light, the State's largest utility, 
announced that their savings from tax reform will completely cover the 
costs of rebuilding critical infrastructure in the wake of Hurricane 
Irma. Absent tax reform, consumers would have paid for much of the 
repairs in the form of higher rates. Now the utility can cover the cost 
itself, saving Florida families an average of $250.
  In other States, from Montana to Massachusetts to my home State of 
Kentucky, utilities are planning to directly pass along their savings 
by cutting consumers' monthly bills.
  Of course, lower utility rates aren't the only way tax reform is 
helping middle-class Americans. Week after week, the headlines are full 
of more bonuses, more pay raises, and more new benefits for hard-
working Americans as a direct result--a direct result--of tax reform. 
With all of this good news pouring in, it is easy to forget how hotly 
the debate over tax reform was contested.
  Republicans argued that letting middle-class families keep more of 
their own money and giving American job creators a 21st-century tax 
code would unleash prosperity and directly help American workers.
  Our Democratic colleagues gambled on a different prediction. Every 
single House Democrat voted in lockstep with their leader. She 
predicted tax reform would bring about Armageddon. Every single 
Democrat in the Senate rallied behind their leader, my friend from New 
York. He declared that there was ``nothing about this bill that suits 
the needs of the American worker.''
  We always knew one side would be proven wrong. Either tax reform 
would benefit middle-class families and help reignite the economy or it 
would not. The early results speak for themselves. In the great State 
of Missouri, 20 companies, and counting, have already announced tax 
reform bonuses, raises, or benefits. That includes thousand-dollar 
bonuses for 2,500 workers at Central Bank of St. Louis and at Great 
Southern Bank in Springfield and more bonuses at Mid-Am Metal Forming 
in Rogersville. One of the Senators from Missouri voted for the policy 
that made all this happen. Their other Senator tried to block it.
  In Ohio, tax reform has already led Jergens to double employees' 
annual raise. It has enabled Sheffer Corporation, a cylinder 
manufacturer, to give workers four-figure bonuses. Here is how 
Sheffer's CEO responded to Democrats who have been trying to talk down 
these bonuses: ``Some people have said that's `crumbs,' but for the 
Sheffer people, we consider that fine dining.''
  Remember, these bonuses and pay raises are just the tip of the spear. 
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act also directly helps families by cutting tax 
rates and expanding deductions. In every paycheck, American workers 
will keep more of what they earn.
  Only one Senator from Ohio voted to put all this middle-class 
progress on the menu. Every single Democrat in the Senate and the House 
voted to stop tax reform. Fortunately, for middle-class families in 
Missouri, in Ohio, in Kentucky, and across the Nation, Republicans 
overcame the obstruction and passed this historic bill.

                          ____________________