[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 17, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2191-S2192]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               TAX REFORM

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, today is tax day, the deadline for 
most Americans to file their tax returns. For many middle-class 
households, that means sending too much of their hard-earned money off 
to the IRS--hardly cause for celebration. But this year, the gray 
clouds of tax day have a silver lining. Today is the very last time 
that American families will have to file under the unfair, outdated Tax 
Code that Congress and the President got rid of a few months ago. Out 
with the old and in with the new.
  Republicans' historic overhaul cut taxes for families and small 
businesses. We doubled the standard deduction, expanded the child tax 
credit, and lowered rates as well. And we accomplished all of this 
while preserving key middle-class provisions, such as the mortgage 
interest deduction. The upshot of all of this is simple: major tax 
relief for middle-class families and a big shot in the arm for the U.S. 
economy, which will lead to more--and higher-paying--homegrown American 
jobs.
  Already, tax reform has given American workers a raise, since less of 
each paycheck needs to be withheld for the IRS. When all is said and 
done, the Treasury Department estimates that our tax cuts will leave 90 
percent of wage-earners with more take-home pay--that is 90 percent of 
wage earners with more take-home pay as a result of our tax reform 
measure.
  In addition, millions of Americans are receiving special bonuses, pay 
raises, or new benefits from their employers as a direct result of tax 
reform. Thousand-dollar bonuses for workers at Kansas City Southern 
Railway in Missouri; a higher starting wage at First Farmers Bank & 
Trust in Indiana;

[[Page S2192]]

higher wages and new job opportunities at CSS Distribution Group, a 
small business packaging and distribution company in Kentucky; billion-
dollar investments in pension plans for UPS and FedEx workers--the list 
goes on and on.
  My Democratic colleagues from New York and San Francisco scoff 
publicly at the idea that a $2,000 tax cut or a $1,000 bonus would make 
a difference for American families. They have called these things 
``crumbs.'' Something tells me they haven't tried that talking point 
around many middle-class kitchen tables. I suspect they would be 
laughed out of the room.
  And these are just the first fruits. Tax reform laid the foundation 
for a more prosperous future with more good-paying American jobs. That 
is because we made sending jobs overseas less appealing. We created new 
incentives for businesses to invest, expand, build, and hire right here 
at home. We gave overseas competitors something to worry about--a 
healthy, competitive U.S. economy. Already, job creators of all shapes 
and sizes are investing more and expanding. For example, a furniture 
store in Ohio is planning a 4,500-square-foot expansion, a craft 
brewery in Iowa is planning to open a new production line, and a deck 
and patio builder in Virginia is hiring 10 new employees to meet rising 
demand, just to name a few.
  Republicans designed every piece of tax reform to benefit middle-
class families and small businesses, both right now and in the years 
and decades ahead. That used to be a bipartisan priority, but this 
time, Democrats chose to put political posturing ahead of America's 
best interests. Every single Democrat in the House and every single 
Democrat in the Senate voted to block tax reform--and by extension, 
every bit of this good news--from happening. Later today, in fact, some 
of our colleagues across the aisle will be demonstrating against the 
law right here on the grounds of the Capitol. I wonder whether they are 
protesting all the new jobs, or maybe it is the big family tax cuts, or 
maybe they are protesting the bonuses and wage hikes or all of the 
small business expansions. Their first mistake was voting to block all 
of this in the first place. Now, even as the economy is starting to 
thrive, they want to repeal these historic tax cuts and literally claw 
back the money. But make no mistake--Republicans will continue to stand 
and fight for the American people.
  Madam President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________