[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 62 (Tuesday, April 17, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2196-S2197]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Republican Tax Plan

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, today, as millions of Americans in 
Illinois and across the Nation finish filing their taxes, I come to the 
floor to discuss the most recent tax reform bill considered by the U.S. 
Senate and House of Representatives.
  Last year, Republicans followed through with their promise and used a 
special procedural approach called reconciliation, which allowed them 
to bring a tax reform plan to the floor outside of regular order and 
without committee hearings and the ordinary amendment-invoked process. 
Democrats were not really participants in this but only observers, 
under the reconciliation process. That tax plan has now become the law 
of the land, and now we know what it is doing. It has created a massive 
tax giveaway to the largest multinational corporations, to the 
wealthiest corporate CEOs, and to well-connected campaign donors.
  In passing this plan, Republicans said that if they could just cut 
taxes enough for large corporations, these corporations would invest in 
America, give breaks to their employees, and create more employment. 
The benefits of these tax breaks to the corporations supposedly would 
trickle down to workers in the form of higher wages, and the economy 
would explode, creating new jobs.
  The tax plan was voted on favorably by every Republican in the U.S. 
Senate, and it added $1.5 trillion to the national debt, to fund these 
massive corporate tax cuts. So what did the corporations do with their 
tax cut benefits? They turned around and took their taxpayer-funded tax 
cut and gave their wealthy CEOs and shareholders a raise. So far, in 
2018, large corporations have announced over $235 billion in stock 
buybacks--far outpacing the rate of companies announcing one-time 
bonuses for their workers. Not only that, but more than 100,000 
employees in large corporations have actually been terminated. You 
couldn't get further from tax relief for working families if you tried.
  It gets worse. The Congressional Budget Office reported last week 
that the Republican tax plan will actually cost another $300 billion 
beyond the $1.5 trillion estimate. Our children and grandchildren will 
pay off the cost of this tax cut for the wealthiest people in America 
and the largest corporations. So much for the promise that these tax 
cuts would pay for themselves. It will cost us roughly $1.9 trillion 
over 10 years for these tax cuts for major corporations and wealthy 
people. This is a burden our children and grandchildren will bear.
  So what are we hearing now when it comes to the budget? Just last 
week, after seeing that the plan they voted for was expected to add 
$1.9 trillion to the deficit, Republican Tennessee Senator Corker said: 
``If it ends up costing what has been laid out here, it could well be 
one of the worst votes I've made.''
  The so-called fiscal conservatives here in the Senate didn't seem as 
concerned about the deficit when they

[[Page S2197]]

were voting for a 10-figure increase that would go to cut taxes for 
wealthy people and large corporations. But make no mistake--as 
predictably as night follows day, we now have a renewed call in the 
House of Representatives for a budget amendment--a constitutional, 
balanced budget, ``stop me before I sin again'' amendment. Now that 
Republicans have exploded the deficit, the absolutely vital public 
assistance programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are 
now at risk. If there is a balanced budget amendment, they have said 
that we have to get to the basic programs like Social Security, 
Medicare, and Medicaid to make up the difference. I think it is 
unconscionable to give tax breaks to people who are well off and 
comfortable and then to cut the basics of human existence for many 
senior citizens in Social Security and Medicare.
  The devastating first act of the Republican tax plan and fiscal 
conservatives, as they define it, has exploded our Nation's deficit and 
provided enormous benefit to those who, frankly, don't need it. We 
can't let the second act be a balanced budget constitutional amendment 
that will end up pillaging the basic programs that help low- and 
middle-income Americans the most in the name of fiscal responsibility.