[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 37 (Thursday, March 1, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1298-S1299]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Tax Reform

  Mr. President, on another matter, we have come a long way since the 
days of the Texas revolution, but Texas remains a place of optimism, 
fortitude, and dedication to worthy causes. It is also a bustling 
State, full of entrepreneurs, investors, and risk-takers who have 
created jobs and opportunities for the people who live there. I would 
like to mention briefly two iconic companies that are showing their 
devotion to Texas in a much different but important manner.
  In Tyler, they are spreading the good news of the Tax Cuts and Jobs 
Act, the law we passed in December, which overhauled our Tax Code. For 
those not familiar with where Tyler is, it is out in East Texas. We 
sometimes refer to that as ``behind the pine curtain.'' The Tax Cuts 
and Jobs Act effects have been far-reaching. They have positively 
affected communities all across the country for the past 2 months, and 
Tyler is no exception.
  The first company I would like to mention is Greenberg Turkeys, a 
family-owned operation that sells the famous Thanksgiving bird to 
around 200,000 customers each holiday season. Four generations of the 
Greenberg family have worked in the company since the 1940s, and its 
turkeys have been featured on Oprah Winfrey's website as one of her 
favorite things--twice, in fact. As a result of the tax reforms we have 
passed, the company plans to refurbish its plant and give hourly 
employees a raise. Sam Greenberg, the president, said:


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       This is a really good deal for businesses. It pays to treat 
     people right, and so we want to share this with our workers.

  I couldn't have said it better myself.
  The second Tyler company I want to mention briefly is Don's TV & 
Appliance. The staff there has more than 150 years of combined 
experience. It buys products direct from manufacturers at the lowest 
possible cost in order to provide customers with prices that are 
competitive with national chain stores. Recently, the owner, Don 
Thedford, and his son Donnie announced they would give their employees 
raises in 2018, which they were not able to do for the past several 
years, and they would not have been able to do it but for the Tax Cuts 
and Jobs Act. Thanks to those reforms, Don has been able to help out 
his employees to provide them more take-home pay, and I am sure they 
appreciate the extra money in their paycheck each pay period. They can 
use these savings to invest, to pay for their children's education, 
prepare for their retirement, or whatever they find best.
  So I just wanted to say to Don and other small employers who are 
making sure their employees see the benefit of the Tax Cuts and Jobs 
Act reforms: Thank you for paying the savings forward. I can't wait to 
continue to hear more stories like these two in the months ahead.