[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 38 (Monday, March 5, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1325-S1326]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               TAX REFORM

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on one final matter, it has been 73 
days since President Trump signed historic tax reform into law.
  It feels as though it has been longer than that because, practically 
every day, another major national employer announces a new commitment 
to invest in American workers because of tax reform. Every day, we hear 
about more local businesses realizing new savings and putting it toward 
equipment, expansion, and employees. Every day, we hear about how 
bonuses, rising wages, expanded benefits, and lower taxes are giving 
middle-class families a whole lot more breathing room. Yet, every day, 
we are reminded that some of our friends across the aisle are still 
desperately trying to minimize this good news. Democratic leaders have 
tried to say that these new jobs, raises, bonuses, and business 
expansions amount to no more than ``crumbs.''
  I leave the final verdict to the hard-working families across the 
country, including the many Kentuckians from whom I hear. In the 
meantime, the economic data are painting quite an optimistic picture.
  Last week, the Labor Department announced that weekly jobless claims 
had reached a 48-year low. Let me repeat that. Fewer Americans are 
filing for unemployment today than at any time since 1969. The labor 
market is tightening; employers are competing for talent; and workers 
and their families are coming out on top.
  In January, Americans' real disposable income rose more quickly than 
it had since April of 2015. That is the biggest jump in spending money 
available to American families, accounting for tax rates and inflation, 
in nearly 3

[[Page S1326]]

years. That is more money to save for a home purchase or a college 
fund. It is more to save for retirement or to spend on a family 
vacation. U.S. consumer confidence is higher today than it has been 
since the year 2000, and, last week, news broke that U.S. manufacturing 
is expanding at its fastest pace since 2004.
  Look, it is not complicated. The bill passed by the Republicans in 
Congress last year was designed with a very simple philosophy in mind: 
that when we put more of Americans' hard-earned money back in their own 
pockets, they will know what best to do with it, that when we level the 
playing field and take weight off the shoulders of small businesses, 
they will help their communities thrive, and that when we welcome 
investment from entrepreneurs and job creators, instead of discouraging 
it, the economy will respond in kind.
  The idea was simple enough, but as we are already seeing, because the 
Republicans in Congress and the President were able to overcome 
lockstep partisan opposition on the other side and get tax reform 
across the finish line, that simple idea is having an extraordinary 
impact.

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