[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 74 (Tuesday, May 8, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2533-S2534]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Tax Reform

  Mr. President, on a final matter, it seems that every day brings 
another piece of good news for middle-class workers and families and, 
like clockwork, another desperate attempt by

[[Page S2534]]

my Democratic colleagues to convince everyone that this growing tide of 
new prosperity is somehow a bad thing.
  In the last few weeks alone, the percentage of Americans who are 
unemployed, underemployed, or who have given up finding a job has 
dropped to a 17-year low. Recently, new jobless claims reached their 
lowest level since 1969, and the total number of Americans who are 
receiving unemployment benefits is as small as it has been since--
listen to this--1973.
  Let me put that another way. Notwithstanding 45 years of population 
growth, there are fewer total Americans receiving unemployment benefits 
under President Trump and this Republican Congress than at any other 
point under Presidents Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, or 
Obama. We all know economic indicators can be volatile, and Washington 
is far from the only force behind them. In fact, getting the Federal 
Government out of the way is often the solution. The headwinds that 
blew in the face of American entrepreneurs and small business owners 
for 8 years have died down. Now the wind is at their backs.
  In December 2017, after just 1 year of Republican policies, optimism 
among American manufacturers hit the highest level ever recorded. In 
large part, that is because Washington had gotten out of their way. 
Back in 2013, more than 75 percent of manufacturers said an unfavorable 
business climate from taxes and regulations was a top concern. Now 
fewer than 19 percent have that worry. This is a real-life experiment 
in two different governing philosophies.
  For 8 years, Democrats operated from the leftwing premise that 
businesses need to lose in order for workers to win. So they raised 
taxes, passed mammoth new regulations like Dodd-Frank and ObamaCare, 
and let runaway agencies like the EPA run roughshod over American 
businesses. That is what got us such lackluster results, year after 
year.
  Fortunately, Republicans have taken a different approach--one that 
doesn't assume that Washington bureaucrats know best. We know that 
American workers can only thrive if thriving American businesses are 
creating jobs and raising wages. We have worked to enact an inclusive 
opportunity agenda to bring greater prosperity to everyone, and that is 
exactly what is beginning to happen.
  From Florida to Indiana, Fifth Third Bank is raising its minimum wage 
for employees. Kroger is planning to hire 600 new associates across my 
home State of Kentucky. Nationwide data from the Bureau of Labor 
Statistics show that the amount employers spend on salaries and 
benefits grew more in 2017 than in any calendar year under President 
Obama--two different philosophies, and just 16 months in, two very 
different outcomes for American workers and middle-class families.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The majority whip.