[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 79 (Tuesday, May 15, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S2658]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Economic Growth

  Madam President, less than 16 months into the Republican government, 
our policies are helping to create a sea change in the economic climate 
in our country. The Washington Post recently reported on new data from 
the National Federation of Independent Business. Forty-three percent of 
small business owners say they are already investing in new equipment. 
More than half of manufacturing firms and construction firms expect 
demand to keep growing, and the percentage of small businesses that has 
raised worker compensation is the highest it has been since 2000.
  For years, Democratic policies, like high taxes and runaway 
regulations, have put a headwind in the faces of American job creators. 
Now, historic tax reform, regulatory relief, and the rest of our 
opportunity agenda mean the wind is once again at their backs.
  Republicans understand that American workers don't win when American 
businesses lose. Our economy is not a zero-sum game. If we want middle-
class families to thrive, we need the American businesses that compete 
to employ them and pay them to thrive as well. Sure enough, the Bureau 
of Labor Statistics reported that the amount employers spent on worker 
pay and benefits grew more in 2017 than it did in any calendar year 
under President Obama.
  More prosperity, more opportunity, and more raises and bonuses for 
working families are just the start of what the American people can 
accomplish when Republicans get Washington out of the way.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. 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for the quorum call be rescinded.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 ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.