[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 66 (Tuesday, April 24, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H3499-H3501]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WELCOMING FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Francis Rooney of Florida). Under the
Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2017, the gentleman from South
Carolina (Mr. Wilson) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of
the minority leader.
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, as we begin this evening,
I want to begin in my service as co-chair of the French Caucus to
welcome Emmanuel Macron, President of France, to Washington.
South Carolina is especially appreciative of France, with our shared
heritage, particularly as we are very grateful for the Marquis de
Lafayette, who was so vital in the American Revolution and who actually
began his service landing in Georgetown, South Carolina.
It is very significant. I have colleagues from South Carolina, North
Carolina, and even Florida. We are very grateful to point out that,
here in the House Chamber, is an indication of the affection the
American people have for France.
There are only two portraits here in the House Chamber: President
George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette. So it is quite
revealing that, indeed, there is great love and affection for America's
first ally, and how exciting it is that he has arrived here in
Washington. We are looking forward to the joint session as he speaks to
Congress and the American people tomorrow morning.
Tax Reform
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Last year, House Republicans made
history by passing the first meaningful tax cuts in 32 years. The last
time our Tax Code was updated, ``Top Gun'' was the top movie, ``The
Oprah Winfrey Show'' first aired across the Nation, and the Dow Jones
Industrial Average ended the year at 1,895.
For context, today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is over 24,000
points, which is an increase of nearly 8,000 points, which is a nearly
20 percent increase since the day that President Donald Trump was
elected. From that day, the stock market has had a remarkable increase
because of faith in his business ability, his acumen, and, I believe,
the success that Republicans would have to cut taxes, cut regulations,
and create jobs.
Despite how much our economy has changed, we were still operating on
a tax structure designed in 1986. But last year, House and Senate
Republicans came together, inspired by President Donald Trump, to make
the Tax Code more fair, more simple, and less burdensome for the middle
class, which then, of course, yields to the increase in the stock
market, which benefits all Americans.
I am grateful that families all across America today are already
seeing the direct benefits of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, with the
leadership of our chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Kevin
Brady; the extraordinary service of Speaker Paul Ryan; our leader,
Kevin McCarthy; our Conference chair, Cathy McMorris Rodgers; and also
our secretary of the Conference, Virginia Foxx of North Carolina.
The jobs have been created in such a remarkable way that African-
American unemployment is at the lowest level since the Bureau of Labor
Statistics started tracking it in 1972. Hispanic unemployment is the
lowest it has ever been recorded. The level of unemployment for
American women is at the lowest rate in over 20 years. It was reported
today that 14 States also have record-low unemployment due to new jobs
by reducing regulations and taxes, a positive agenda.
We are here to highlight stories from across North Carolina and South
Carolina of everyday families and small-business owners getting to keep
more of their own hard-earned income.
I will first yield to my good friend Congressman Ralph Norman, who
represents the Fifth District of South Carolina. Congressman Norman was
just elected in a special election last year, but already he has been
here to make a difference on behalf of the people of South Carolina and
the United States. With his background as a real estate developer, he
and his wife, Elaine, have proven how to create jobs.
Congressman Ralph Norman.
Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to tell you that the Tax Cuts
and Jobs Act is working. It is working in South Carolina's Fifth
Congressional District, and it is working across the country. It is
working for individuals and families who are seeing more money in their
paychecks each month, and it is working for the companies that are
investing the savings from tax reform into their employees.
Over the past few weeks, I have spoken with and visited the
businesses of South Carolina that are putting these savings right back
into the local communities. Early this month, LPL Financial announced
that they will be investing these savings into their employees by
increasing its 401(k) match to 75 percent and reducing the time for new
hires to qualify for this match by 6 months.
As Congressman Wilson said, this personally touches 2,000
constituents in the Fifth District of South Carolina. That is 2,000
more families that now have a greater opportunity to save and see the
light of a brighter future ahead.
Mr. Speaker, just today, I visited a UPS store in Gaffney, South
Carolina. Because of tax reform, UPS has announced over $12 billion in
investments and an increase in pension funding.
During my UPS visit, I put on a uniform and assisted a delivery
driver during a ride-along. I heard directly from the hardworking
employees about how this news will impact them and all of their loved
ones.
I don't think I speak just for myself when I say that we want jobs to
come and stay in America. We want businesses to expand and to hire
people in our communities. By reducing tax rates and simplifying the
Tax Code, we are allowing companies to make these investments in their
employees, in their communities, and in growing their businesses.
I look forward to continued opportunities to learn, see, and talk
about the success of this tax reform. We promised fairer taxes, higher
wages, and more jobs. As Congressman Wilson says, we have delivered.
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the
gentleman for his citation about UPS. I have had the same honor to put
on the brown uniform to deliver packages. I found out something: the
UPS employees--also FedEx, DHL, and others--are remarkable people
delivering American-made products to the American people. What
wonderful companies these are, and what wonderful employees they are.
Now I would like to go over some of the specific positive changes to
our Tax Code that occurred under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
An average middle class family in South Carolina will save $2,311
thanks to the tax cuts.
The child tax credit was doubled. I want to give a lot of credit
because the reason it was doubled was the great work of our U.S.
Senator Tim Scott, working with Ivanka Trump Kushner. This was their
effort to work to make this child friendly, family friendly, looking
out particularly for persons who are single-parent households. The
child tax credit was doubled, from $1,000 to $2,000, making it easier
for single mothers and new families to provide for their children.
The bill also removed the mandate that required you to buy healthcare
or pay a penalty. So now people aren't penalized by the government for
not being able to afford healthcare and health insurance.
The standard deduction doubled to $24,000 for married couples filing
jointly. This makes it simpler for couples to file their taxes because
they will use the standard deduction and won't have to itemize their
return.
Corporations that employ people create jobs. Their tax cuts dropped
from 35 percent to 21 percent. Time and time again, I have heard from
businessowners who plan to use their extra income to reinvest in the
company, create jobs, provide bonuses, and raise wages. When taxes are
low, businesses thrive and jobs are created in the Reagan tradition.
I am grateful for the leadership of Speaker Paul Ryan, House Ways and
Means Committee Chairman Brady, and I appreciate the opportunity of
working with them, in addition to President Donald Trump, for
delivering meaningful tax relief to the American people. They deserve
it.
[[Page H3500]]
Local success of the law was first heralded in the Second
Congressional District of South Carolina, the central part of South
Carolina, by Lou and Bill Kennedy of Nephron Pharmaceuticals in Cayce,
announcing 125 new jobs and a 5 percent pay increase. They said that
they made this decision as a direct result of the tax bill.
In fact, I am really grateful that Lou put together a barbecue where
I was present with Governor Henry McMaster and Attorney General Alan
Wilson. She made the announcement right there at the barbecue to the
extraordinary employees of Nephron Pharmaceuticals. They may have been
the first; they were certainly not the last. I was so grateful.
I was going through Walgreen's to pick up some pictures that I was
having developed and I ran into Bill Mooneyhan. Bill is the president
of the local Cayce-West Columbia Chamber of Commerce. He announced:
Hey, Joe, because of the tax savings, our business, our auto repair
shop, is going to add a new bay and create new jobs.
I said: Hey, Bill, because you announced this to me, you have just
volunteered for a press conference, which I am really grateful that we
were able to have with the National Federation of Independent Business,
NFIB, led by Ben Homeyer in South Carolina.
{time} 2015
NFIB is the largest small business organization in America, and it is
bottom's up. The leadership really follows the directions of their
local members. So all of us truly appreciate NFIB.
In February, I visited with Norman Dunagan, owner of Whiskey Alley
restaurant and Dumpster Depot, which is a recycling facility in Aiken,
South Carolina. I took this opportunity to congratulate him on his
expansion resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. He opened a third
business last year due to the confidence in President Donald Trump and
the House Republican leadership. All three of his small businesses are
thriving and providing much-needed new jobs.
That day I also met with Clancy Cipkala, president and CEO of Solara
Hospitality of West Columbia. Solara Hospitality is providing bonuses
for their hotel hourly associates due to the tax cuts passed by the
Republicans. In Orangeburg, South Carolina, South State Bank provided a
$1,000 bonus to their employees. In a rural area like Orangeburg, a
$1,000 bonus can make a huge difference for families. It can provide an
opportunity for families to buy extra school supplies, pay down debt,
make an investment in the future, start or add to an emergency fund, or
take a much-needed family vacation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the distinguished congressman from North
Carolina (Mr. Pittenger), who represents the beautiful Ninth District
of North Carolina, which includes substantially the extraordinary city
of Charlotte, which is such a center for job creation of the Carolinas.
Mr. PITTENGER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his leadership
and for providing this opportunity tonight for us to highlight the
significance and the importance of this tax bill for the American
people.
Mr. Speaker, when I lived in Washington, D.C., in 1980, it came out
of the malaise of an economy that wasn't growing. No jobs, no
opportunity. And Ronald Reagan had a vision for a different America,
and I worked hard on his campaign. He changed the whole structure of
our Tax Code and reduced the regulations that moved this economy
forward. Unprecedented growth in jobs. Eighteen million jobs came out
of that economy.
And that is what this vision of President Trump and this Congress is
about today. Who would have thought a year ago--just a year ago--that
America would be experiencing what it is today: companies like Apple
reinvesting $350 billion; ExxonMobil, $50 billion. You have
unemployment that has plummeted to a 49-year low. U.S. manufacturing is
expanding at the fastest rate in 14 years. Consumer confidence is at a
17-year high. Wages are up. Opportunities are up.
I had a gentleman come to me just this last week who owns two
restaurants in Charlotte. He said: Thank you for your tax cut. I am now
going to expand and build another restaurant out at the lake, and I can
do that because I have got the capital to go reinvest.
You know, we have constrained this economy and the American people by
these burdensome tax rates that are not competitive. Companies have
been going to the rest of the world--Ireland, U.K., Germany--and
leaving America because we weren't competitive with our Tax Code. Now
they are coming back. Now companies in America are expanding.
You take just an individual. I had a lady at a gas station the other
day. I was getting my gas, and she was pumping her gas. She looked at
me, and she said: Are you Congressman Pittenger? I said: Yes, ma'am.
She said: Thank you. I am a single mom. I have got that little baby in
the back seat, and what you have done for me is give me another $150 a
month, and I really can't tell you how much I appreciate what you are
doing.
Eighty-two percent of American people are going to get a pay raise.
They are getting it right now. And that is the difference. The proof is
in the paycheck. Americans know that. Regardless of what the left says,
the media says, or anyone else, the reality is jobs are expanding,
paychecks are going up, people are getting bonuses.
In Charlotte alone, we have Bank of America giving out bonuses; we
have Charlotte Pipe and Foundry, SteelFab, American Airlines, so many.
Five hundred companies in this country have given out bonuses to their
folks, and probably so many more we don't know about.
So I want to commend Chairman Wilson for his leadership. I thank him
for making sure that the American people know what is yet to come. We
have just scratched the surface on the opportunity and the growth and
the jobs that will be there for the American people.
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for
the points he makes of where people can look at their paycheck and see
they are keeping more of their own money. This is not from the
government. This is their own money. How important this is, and how it
enables families to have a better life. And for the young people of our
country, how positive this is. I thank the gentleman for reiterating
that point.
The Business Roundtable, an association of America's largest
employers, is reporting that tax reform has already produced wage
increases, bonuses, increased matches for retirement savings, lower
prices for consumers, investment in facilities, and tens of thousands
of new American jobs as a direct result of tax reform.
As I indicated, we have the lowest unemployment among African
Americans ever. We have the lowest unemployment among Hispanics since
it has ever been determined. It is so exciting. Fourteen States have
the lowest level of unemployment in recorded history. Among women, we
have the lowest level of unemployment in 20 years. Everybody benefits
from the tax cuts. This is so positive.
The Business Roundtable members alone have provided over $545 million
in bonuses to their employees, with bonuses, wage increases, and a
range of other employee benefits to 1.6 million workers, along with
$1.2 billion in charitable contributions. According to the Tax
Foundation, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will significantly lower marginal
tax rates and the cost of capital, which would lead to a 1.7 percent
increase in the gross domestic product over the long term, 1.5 percent
higher wages, and an additional 339,000 full-time equivalent jobs.
They also say it will spur an additional $1 trillion in Federal
revenue from economic growth, with approximately $600 billion coming
from the bill's permanent provisions and approximately $400 billion
from the bill's temporary provisions over the budget window.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the congresswoman from the Fifth District of
North Carolina (Ms. Foxx). Congresswoman Foxx is secretary of the
Republican Conference, she is a remarkably determined former community
college president, and she also is very much appreciated as the
chairman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce. Then she is
particularly fortunate; she lives and has a beautiful home in
Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina, some of the most beautiful
mountains in the world of western North Carolina.
[[Page H3501]]
Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Wilson for leading the
Special Order on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. I will agree with him; the
Lord has blessed me with living in one of the most beautiful places in
the world, the Fifth District of North Carolina. I am very, very
grateful for it.
Last week, tax day was, for once, an occasion to celebrate because
this was the last time Americans filed under the broken 32-year-old Tax
Code. Next tax season, they will file under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
passed by this Congress last December.
Across the Fifth District of North Carolina, the Tax Cuts and Jobs
Act has already relieved North Carolinians who are cashing bigger
paychecks and benefiting from the country's lowest unemployment rate
since 2000. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, North Carolina
added 9,000 jobs this February alone. And thanks to lower rates for
individuals and small businesses under the new code, North Carolinians
are keeping more of their hard-earned money. And as Congressman Wilson
points out, it is their money, not the government's money.
This year, married couples in the Fifth District who take the new
standard deduction could receive a tax cut to the tune of $1,834. For
the over 52,000 taxpayers of the Fifth District who have small business
income, these tax savings are not crumbs, as my colleagues on the other
side of the aisle falsely assert. A restaurant owner in Mount Airy
recently told me that allowing immediate capital expensing under the
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act empowered her to purchase a new $20,000 piece of
equipment for her business.
You spoke of the Business Roundtable. The Business Roundtable reports
that 68 percent of business leaders similarly expect their capital
spending in the next 6 months to be at its highest in 15 years. This
increased purchasing power for the backbone of our economy is evidence
that progrowth tax cuts work.
Continued growth is also expected by the Congressional Budget Office.
The CBO estimates, for every one-tenth percent increase in GDP, nearly
$270 billion is added to revenue over 10 years. After years of malaise
under the Obama administration, even modest increases in GDP growth
caused by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will substantially contribute to a
leveling off of the deficit. And for the first time since 2008, the
CBO's budget and economic outlook revised its upward economic potential
for 2018. Under current conditions, it notes that 3.5 percent growth is
possible.
In further good news, Fifth District businesses share this optimism
and are investing more in their employees and communities. Just last
week, as part of its initiative to invest in community health with its
tax savings, BlueCross and BlueShield of North Carolina gave $1 million
to Winston-Salem State University's nursing school. North Carolina is
projected to have the second largest nurse shortage in the Nation. This
investment will develop the Fifth District's medical workforce and
increase access to high-quality healthcare, especially in rural areas.
This is just one of the many examples that illustrates how
philanthropy has fostered and communities are developed when the
government scales back.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that House Republicans kept our promise to
bring about more jobs, fairer taxes, and bigger paychecks for
hardworking Americans; but I am more proud of the hardworking men and
women in the Fifth District who are seizing the opportunities unleashed
by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to create wealth and serve their
communities.
Again, I thank Congressman Wilson for his leadership on this Special
Order and for allowing us to correct the record that has been distorted
about this bill and bring to the American people the facts about this
wonderful Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairwoman
Virginia Foxx for her comments. And I thank her, as an educator, for
educating the American people and bringing to the attention of the
American people the real facts of the benefits of the tax cuts.
Congress today appreciates that Americans should keep their hard-
earned tax dollars, and it is shocking to hear the other side of the
aisle say that they would repeal the tax cuts if they get a majority in
the House come November, resulting in tax increases on American
families, destroying jobs. Sadly, I suspect a lot of families and
businesses being highlighted today will be shocked--but maybe not so
shocked--to hear that Democrats are campaigning on raising taxes,
destroying jobs.
I sincerely hope that Americans across the country know that
Republicans will continue to do all that we can to our ability to
increase take-home pay to families, reduce the tax burdens on seniors,
and create more efficient and effective government that works for you
and provides opportunities for the young people of America.
General Leave
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent
that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and
extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the topic of
this Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from South Carolina?
There was no objection.
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance
of my time.
____________________