[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 73 (Monday, May 7, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H3773-H3774]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2030
                   BENEFITS OF TAX CUTS AND JOBS ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2017, the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.


                             General Leave

  Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days 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 Kentucky?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, this evening, we will hear from myself and 
a colleague from Tennessee, and he is joining me today to talk about 
how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has benefited our States.
  In my congressional district, Kentucky's Second, I have heard from 
constituents who have seen more money in their paychecks and from 
businesses that have been able to grow and pass along the benefits of 
tax reform directly to their employees.
  The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act doubled the standard deduction for both 
individuals and couples. For the 75 percent of residents in Kentucky's 
Second District who take the standard deduction, this is an automatic 
tax cut. Additionally, individuals in every tax bracket are paying 
lower rates.
  When I visited Owensboro in February, I met Cheri and Ray Middletown, 
who own On Time Fab, a small business that provides fabrication 
services for agricultural, industrial, and commercial productions. 
Cheri and Ray shared with me that, during the first week of the 
implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, each of the 20 employees 
of On Time Fab took home more pay as a result of tax reform.
  One employee took home as much as $56 a week and more than $200 a 
month. A single dad working for On Time Fab is bringing home an extra 
$40 each week. Some thought there was a mistake in their paychecks 
because they are able to keep so much of their hard-earned money, and 
$40 a week is over $160 a month.
  By cutting the corporate tax rate to make the U.S. competitive 
globally, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has given businesses the 
opportunity to pass along savings to their customers. For example, 
residents of 48 States, plus the District of Columbia, are seeing their 
utility bills go down because of tax reform.
  In Kentucky, the Public Service Commission has ordered investor-owned 
utilities to track their tax savings and to reduce rates for hundreds 
of thousands of Kentucky customers. In fact, the Public Service 
Commission has already announced that Kentucky Utilities' and 
Louisville Gas & Electric's residential electric customers will see 
their average monthly bills decreased by 6 percent.
  Atmos Energy, which serves western Kentucky, announced in March that 
it will be cutting the average residential bill by just over 3 percent. 
Other savings from tax reform will fund infrastructure upgrades across 
the Commonwealth. Companies in Kentucky have been able to expand their 
operation because of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
  Owl's Head Alloys in my hometown of Bowling Green recently announced 
a $3 million expansion which would create 17 new jobs, bringing their 
total employment in the Second District to nearly 100 good-paying jobs. 
When I visited their facility in March, Owl's Head owner and president, 
David Bradford, told me that the economic outlook resulting from the 
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act helped lead to their decision to expand.
  This is exactly why we passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: to give 
American businesses the confidence to grow and expand right in our 
communities, and to help individual taxpayers keep more of their money. 
Some might say that an extra $200 a month is just crumbs. For 
hardworking Kentucky taxpayers, the extra money can go toward a car 
payment or a mortgage. It can help pay for a child's braces or even for 
regular expenses like groceries.
  The bottom line is that, with more expendable income in their 
pockets, Americans across the country have more freedom to choose how 
they spend their hard-earned money. A typical family of four earning 
$75,000 can expect to pay $2,000 less in taxes this year compared to 
last year.
  I was proud to support the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and I am proud to 
report that tax reform is making a real difference in the lives of 
Kentuckians.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have a neighbor to the south of me here 
today to talk about how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is having a big 
effect on the lives of not just Kentuckians but all Americans--
particularly Kentucky and Tennessee--so I yield to the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Kustoff), my good friend from suburban Memphis, which is 
one of the great cities in our area, to talk about the effects of the 
tax cuts in Tennessee.
  Mr. KUSTOFF of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman 
from Kentucky for organizing this evening and talking about how the Tax 
Cuts and Jobs Act is helping the hardworking people of Tennessee.
  I think we all know that, in December, with President Trump's strong 
support, this Congress passed the first major reform of our Tax Code in 
31 years. We all knew that bringing these historic changes to the Tax 
Code would improve the quality of life for Tennesseans and millions of 
Americans. Quite frankly, the Tax Code is simpler and fairer to 
everyone.
  Jobs are being created, and paychecks are bigger. We are all enjoying 
a robust economy that is the best it has been in a long time. Just last 
week, in my district in west Tennessee, in the Eighth Congressional 
District of Tennessee, two major announcements were made in my 
district. In Lake County, Excel Boat Company announced they will be 
opening a manufacturing plant that will bring 200 good-paying jobs and 
a total economic development investment of $9 million.
  Additionally, in my district, a South Korean manufacturer announced a 
$13 million investment in Martin, Tennessee, and 220 job opportunities 
at the company's first United States-based location.

  Prior to that, just 1 month after the passage of the Tax Cuts and 
Jobs Act, FedEx announced an investment of more than $200 million to 
raise wages for their employees. Then 2 months later, FedEx continued 
their post-tax reform action and committed over $1 billion to expand 
their express hub in Memphis.
  Another company in the Eighth Congressional District, Dot Foods, 
which has a location in Dyersburg, Tennessee, announced $500 in bonuses 
for each of their 4,800 full-time employees nationwide.
  I am also proud of First Horizon Corporation, also known as First 
Tennessee Bank, which is based in Tennessee, with branches all across 
the

[[Page H3774]]

Volunteer State. They invested tax reform savings in their workforce. 
Not only did the bank give eligible employees a bonus, they also 
increased their minimum wage to $15 an hour. This was because of tax 
reform.
  Now, a way to raise the minimum wage is to increase economic 
opportunities, economic possibilities, just, frankly, making the 
economic environment better.
  Then there was the announcement by Tyson Foods, who gave a bonus to 
their frontline workers, or, as they call them, the backbone of their 
business. I have got a chart here of Tennessee, and you can see that, 
in Tennessee, the typical family of four is going to see a tax cut of 
over $2,000. That is real money.
  I think about an employer that I visited with in my district who 
said--he may have 8 or 10 employees--he said he noticed when he was 
doing his employees' payroll--and they get paid each and every week--he 
noticed they were getting an additional $15 to $20 per week. So, if 
somebody is getting an additional $20 per week per pay period, that is 
$1,000 a year.
  The typical family of four in Tennessee is getting a tax cut of 
$2,023. Think of it this way: across the Nation, across our country, 
more than 4 million workers and counting have received a bonus, a pay 
raise, or increased retirement benefits.
  Mr. Speaker, it is becoming increasingly clear that tax reform is 
working and the America economic engine is off and running again. The 
most recent Federal jobs report shows the fastest wage growth since the 
2008 recession, and the unemployment rate has dropped to a 17-year low.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Speaker Ryan. I want to thank Chairman 
Brady and especially President Donald Trump on their leadership in 
passing this landmark legislation. And, again, I want to thank the 
gentleman from Kentucky for all of his help in organizing tonight to 
remind the people of this country the hard work that the President has 
done, the hard work that this Congress has done--the House of 
Representatives, and the Senate--so that we can improve our economy and 
we can return hard-earned money to the people, because they best know 
how to spend their money, not the bureaucrats in Washington.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Tennessee for 
yielding back. As he said, Tennessee has seen the benefits from tax 
reform. Kentucky is seeing the benefits of tax reform and the 
opportunity for people to move into prosperity as they expand 
opportunity.
  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in April, unemployment 
was at 3.9 percent across the country. The Bureau of Labor Statistics 
also reported that 164,000 jobs were added across the country in April, 
raising the total since our tax reform bill was signed into law to 
nearly 800,000 people.
  Businesses are confident in our economy because of tax reform. Most 
businesses are telling me that they are looking for workers, looking 
for people to have the opportunity to move forward. One of the great 
reasons that we are trying to do some of the policies that were talked 
about during the last hour is that we want to see people have the 
opportunity to work, to go from poverty to prosperity, from dependence 
to independence.
  We want people to have the opportunity to move forward, and a growing 
economy will allow them to do so because these people are needed in the 
workforce. They are wanted. They are needed, and I will guarantee you, 
when we have people in the workforce, they are going to be better off 
than if they are not. So we are looking forward to moving forward with 
some of the issues that were talked about earlier.
  But tonight we have heard stories about Kentuckians; we have heard 
stories about Tennesseans who have benefited from tax reform. 
Hardworking taxpayers are seeing more money in their paychecks. 
Companies are expanding and creating jobs. Businesses are passing along 
the benefits of tax cuts to their customers and to their employees, 
handing out bonuses and raises. We are seeing these stories in our own 
States and across the country.
  This is exactly what we expected when we passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs 
Act, and I am glad to see many of our communities benefiting from this 
bill. I want to thank my friend from Tennessee for sharing his stories 
from Tennessee, as I was sharing my stories from Kentucky, and I thank 
him for joining me tonight to discuss the importance of tax reform.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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