[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 97 (Tuesday, June 12, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H5083-H5088]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GOOD THINGS HAPPENING IN OUR ECONOMY
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 3, 2017, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Schweikert) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
General Leave
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include
extraneous materials on the topic of this Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Arizona?
There was no objection.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Mr. Speaker, this is actually one of those sort of
joyful moments that we finally get a chance to come up here, and we
don't very often get to do that.
We are going to have a discussion of what is happening in our
economy, in our society for both our friends on the left and those of
us on the right, the love of people, and the fact that they have
opportunity.
When you look at the unemployment statistics, when you actually take
a look at how many of our brothers and sisters are moving back into the
workforce, the income, and the closing of income inequality, there are
wonderful things happening out there.
The neat thing tonight, we are going to bring a number of Members
from different parts of the country, particularly in the West, and we
are going to talk about what they are seeing happening in their region.
We are going to talk also about a little bit of the data and a handful
of fairly interesting things that I am actually excited about.
So, first, I yield to the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Gianforte) and
give him an opportunity to talk about what is happening in his State.
{time} 2030
Mr. GIANFORTE. I thank the gentleman from Arizona, Mr. Speaker, for
leading this effort. It is a pleasure for me to share with this body
the benefits Montanans are seeing from tax reform.
It has been 6 months since President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and
Jobs Act into law, and we are already seeing the results. The benefits
of the tax cuts are not a theory. I see it when I meet with Montanans
throughout the State.
Paychecks are growing. Montana businesses are making investments and
creating jobs. In fact, since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was signed into
law, 1 million new jobs have been created. The national unemployment
rate matches the 49-year low, and Montanans' unemployment rate has
dropped. America's economic growth is exceeding expectations.
Hardworking Montanans across the State, whether at the UPS facility
in Missoula, at Big Sky Wholesale Seeds in Shelby, or at the Billings
Flying
[[Page H5084]]
Service, have told me their paychecks have grown thanks to the tax
reform act.
The owner of 11 fast-food restaurants throughout Montana told me in
Great Falls that he was giving his employees a raise and increasing
starting wages for all new employees.
A teacher in Billings in a public school there told me her monthly
paycheck grew by over $130.
Mr. Speaker, certain leaders have described the benefits from tax
reform, whether bonuses or larger paychecks, as just crumbs. They call
them crumbs. Tell that to the teacher in Billings who will keep nearly
$1,600 a year more of her hard-earned money.
According to a recent survey, small business optimism has reached
another record high. That confidence is translating into investments
and more jobs.
The owner of Westland Seed in Ronan reports he is hiring more people
because of tax reform.
At a roundtable discussion about agriculture in Bozeman, a local
farmer and food processor said tax reform contributed to his decision
to double his staff from 6 to 12 employees.
Senior officials at the Boeing facility in Helena indicate they will
add over 20 new employees this year.
Montana small businesses credit tax reform for their decisions to
expand.
At a roundtable with women small-business owners in Bozeman, one
entrepreneur said the new tax policies were a big part of her decision
to launch two new businesses this year.
Other Montana businesses are making investments thanks to tax reform.
Loenbro, a Great Falls industrial construction and manufacturing firm
that employs more than 600, said the tax reform immediately added 15
percent to their bottom line. Tax reform is leading them to increase
worker benefits, enhance training programs, and invest in construction
equipment that will create more jobs.
Billings Flying Service credits the full expensing provision for its
decision to purchase new equipment. The company is also investing in
new research and development for enhanced firefighting equipment
In addition to larger paychecks, increased investment, greater small
business confidence, and more good-paying jobs, more than 87 million
utility customers are seeing lower energy prices.
Utility companies cite tax reform as the reason they are reducing
their rates. Montanans are among those benefiting. According to recent
reports, NorthWestern Energy and Montana-Dakota Utilities have proposed
cutting their rates thanks to the new tax law.
Mr. Speaker, certain leaders in this Chamber warned that the tax cuts
would be Armageddon. I don't know any hardworking Montanans who would
agree that keeping more of their hard-earned money is Armageddon or
that job creation is Armageddon or that small businesses succeeding is
Armageddon or that a lower utility bill is Armageddon.
Tax reform isn't producing crumbs. Tax reform isn't leading to
Armageddon. Mr. Speaker, tax reform is working in Montana.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Mr. Speaker, as we walk through these, there are fun
little tidbits to understand.
Math is complicated and tax revenues--the fact of the matter is we
are only where we are at in the year, so we are not completely done
with the fiscal year. But we pulled up, a little while ago, the status
from the amount of revenues up until April.
So in the 2017 fiscal year, at that April time, we had taken in $456
billion in revenues. Revenues come from lots of different sources, but
substantially they are from the economic activity in our Nation, the
income tax, corporate tax, payroll taxes, and other things. So it was
456 last year. This year it is $510 billion.
So understand that. It is not a complete fiscal year, but as our
friend from Montana was just saying, there was such hyperbolic language
from some of our friends on the other side that the world was going to
come to an end, the fact of the matter is that revenues are blowing the
doors off from where we thought they would be. This is a wonderful
thing.
To tell one of the other stories, I will invite the gentleman from
Colorado (Mr. Tipton) to tell us what is happening in Colorado.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Tipton).
Mr. TIPTON. Madam Speaker, I supported the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
because, as a former small-business owner, I know the immense
challenges a complex Tax Code can present to business owners, workers,
and families alike.
When H.R. 1 was signed into law, it opened the door to a new era of
prosperity for Colorado and for our country, and the evidence is all
around us:
We have already seen over 1 million jobs created;
Hundreds of companies have contributed $4 billion in bonuses,
impacting over 4 million workers;
The unemployment rate is at the lowest level that we have seen in a
half a century; and
Small business optimism has hit an all-time high.
In Alamosa, Colorado, a small town in my district, tax reform has
helped First Southwest Bank stay in town and provide financial services
products to its community, a key driver of economic growth and success
in smaller towns around the country.
As CEO Kent Curtis said after the passage of tax reform: ``We're
excited to take advantage of the tax reform and give the positive
impact it has on First Southwest Bank right back to our team members
and the rural Colorado community. By being able to provide a higher
living wages to our starting employees and invest in our team, we can
be a catalyst for economic growth and reaffirm our commitment to a
better quality of life in all of the rural Colorado communities our
branches serve.''
First Southwest Bank has raised its starting wage to $14 an hour plus
full benefits, a major success for a small community in southwest
Colorado.
It is exactly businesses like this that are committed to their
communities and to their neighbors that this historic tax reform
package was intended to help.
Increased wages, along with changes to the tax bracket and standard
deduction, mean Coloradans across the Third District have higher
earning potential and can keep more of their hard-earned money, which
spells economic growth. These improvements can help families take a
vacation to one of our beloved national parks, put a down payment on a
new car or a home, or be able to pay medical expenses.
Madam Speaker, the effects of this monumental tax reform effort are
felt right here at home, and I am proud of the Coloradans who are
working so hard to be able to improve their lives because of the
opportunity this legislation has presented.
If I may, I would like to give you one personal story. I was in my
hometown, and I had the opportunity to be able to go to a local
restaurant. The young lady who was a server has two children. She went
out of her way to come up and tell me that the extra $50 to $60 per
week that she is getting in her paycheck is making a real difference in
her family's life.
I told her there is better news actually coming, because when she
gets ready to file those taxes this coming April 15, she is going to
find that her personal exemption has doubled and that for her children,
that child tax credit that she has counted on has doubled as well,
putting more resources back into the pockets of the people who earn
that money.
As my colleague from Arizona (Mr. Schweikert) pointed out, when we
put those resources back to work, back to work in that American
economy, we find that it yields what many of our colleagues on the left
would like to see more of: tax revenues coming into the government to
be able to provide some of the essential services that we all know that
we need.
But we need to be the country that is creating that fertile soil to
be able to grow businesses, to be able to create opportunity for the
future, and to be able to deliver on that promise for the American
Dream for all of our children. This is a program and a policy that
works on behalf of the American people.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Speaker, I have a quick thought experiment for
everyone.
If I had come to you a year ago and said that the United States would
be at 3.8 percent unemployment, you would have laughed at me. If I had
come to you and said that African American unemployment would be the
lowest in
[[Page H5085]]
modern times, Hispanic unemployment would be tied with some of the
lowest numbers in modern times, that you would be seeing data of felons
being recruited out of prison for work because there is such a labor
shortage, and when one of the greatest difficulties we have in our
society right now in the labor force is not enough workers and too many
jobs, why isn't there this sound of joy from every American that this
was the dream so many of us had of where we would be?
So, as we go through our regions, I was going to invite Mr. Curtis of
Utah to come up and tell us what is happening in that beautiful State
because I have actually seen some stories of the Salt Lake area and
other parts of Utah just doing amazingly well right now.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Curtis).
Mr. CURTIS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to first of all express my
appreciation to my colleague from Arizona for his good words and his
acknowledgment of the economy in Utah.
Shortly after I had been elected, one of my very first votes cast in
this Chamber was for tax reform. Since being signed into law, the
positive impact tax reform has had on our economy has been absolutely
astonishing. Not only has tax reform proven to be a tremendous success
across America, it has proven particularly effective in my home State
of Utah.
To simply say the U.S. economy is doing well would be a gross
understatement. As a member of the Small Business Committee, I believe
that small businesses are the lifeblood of the U.S. economy, and,
certainly, they are in my district. That is why I have been pleased to
see that the small business optimism index has reached its second
highest level in the survey's 45-year history.
Consumer confidence is the highest we have seen in decades, and the
unemployment rate in the United States is currently under 4 percent,
and in my home State it is nearly 3 percent. In fact, for the first
time since the Bureau of Labor Statistics has been keeping track, the
number of available jobs now exceeds the number of unemployed U.S.
workers.
Not only is the unemployment rate historically low, but 90 percent of
American workers also have had higher take-home pay now as a direct
result of tax reform. In Utah, we are seeing companies of all sizes
investing in their employees by giving pay bonuses and raises.
A few high-profile examples include the Larry H. Miller Group of
Companies, rewarding 10,000 employees with thousands of dollars in pay
and bonuses. Zions Bank gave pay raises to 40 percent of its employees
and thousands in bonuses to nearly 80 percent of its employees, and
SkyWest Airlines increased bonuses and 401(k) contributions for their
employees. These are only a few small examples of the many companies
passing on benefits of tax reform to hardworking Utahns.
Tax reform is not only helping to put more money in hardworking
Utahns' paychecks, but also lowering utility rates as well. Dominion
Energy in Utah and the Division of Public Utilities is passing on $17
million in tax savings to its customers by lowering energy rates.
Chris Parker, the division director of Utah Division of Public
Utilities said: ``Ever since Federal tax reform legislation was passed,
our division has been working closely with the Public Service
Commission and utilities to determine the best method to pass on tax
savings to Utah customers. Consumers should begin seeing lower gas
bills soon.''
Madam Speaker, in the past few months, I have held over 50 townhall
meetings and met with thousands of Utahns. They consistently express
their appreciation for Congress' passing tax reform. They recognize
that this historic effort is producing real results for hardworking
Utah families. Simply put, Utahns are keeping more of their hard-earned
money and are making more money as a direct result of tax reform, and
the U.S. economy, for businesses, large and small, is roaring.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Speaker, there is actually some really fun and
wonderful things we are seeing out there in the data. As we were also
talking about the unemployment numbers, what has also been amazing is,
if you look at home prices, if you actually look at savings rates, and
if you actually look at a lot of the data that we care about as a
society, it is important that we actually embrace and understand we are
in what we would refer to as a Goldilocks economy.
{time} 2045
Madam Speaker, if I had come to, like our previous thought experiment
a year ago, and said we would be in this sort of world where the
inflation numbers are within the calculation of the Fed targets, where
we have more jobs than workers, when we are actually seeing incomes
really beginning to rise, when we are actually seeing some first signs
of data saying for the first time in decades that income inequality is
actually shrinking because there are so many more of our brothers and
sisters in the labor force with rising incomes, this would actually be
really exciting.
I will make the challenge to every Member in Congress: How do we not
screw it up? How do we keep that engine going forward?
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Lesko).
She has the district right alongside me and she will basically tell the
story of what she sees happening on the west side of Maricopa County.
Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has ignited a
fire that the American economy hasn't seen in decades. The tax cuts and
reforms passed by Congress have made a real impact on the lives of
Americans across the country and to the people in Arizona's Eighth
Congressional District.
The tax cuts have allowed small business owners like Mike and Colleen
Sutter to reinvest in their employees. They have owned a small business
for the last 27 years in El Mirage in my district. Due to the tax cuts
package, Mike and Colleen were able to give across-the-board pay
increases and bonuses to their employees, including a $3 an hour
increase for hourly workers.
This historic tax reform legislation has also had a huge impact on
those living on fixed incomes. Arizona Public Service Electric Company
cut its power rates by $119 million because of the tax cuts. These
lower costs help seniors all over America and in my district.
With a simpler and fairer Tax Code, businesses are finally able to
hire again, more than 1 million new jobs have been created, and there
are more jobs available than there are unemployed Americans. Our Nation
is in business again.
Americans are seeing more money in their paychecks, a reduced tax
burden, and a roaring economy. The tax cuts have meant real dollars
going back into the pockets of small businesses and families.
I thank my colleague from Arizona (Mr. Schweikert) for his commitment
to commonsense tax reform.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Lesko. I am so
used to calling her Debbie, having known each other for so long.
What is also amusing here is, the next person I'm going to introduce,
I have actually known most of my life, which is sort of terrifying. The
three of us are from Arizona. I think we actually have a wonderful
story to talk about what is happening in the Southwest, but
particularly our State.
The fact of the matter is, with the tax reform, some of the
regulatory changes, some of the wonderful things in the economy,
Arizona is blessed. Right now, our State is doing very well.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs) to
tell us a bit about what is happening in the Southeast Valley.
Mr. BIGGS. Madam Speaker, let me tell you, Maricopa County is the
fastest growing county in the country; again, by a long shot. That is
reflected because of the economy that is going on there.
In the town that I live in, the town of Gilbert, they just announced
2,500 new jobs coming in with Deloitte. That is fantastic. When I moved
to Gilbert many years ago, there were 12,000 people and cotton fields
everywhere. Today, it is 250,000 people and it is just gigantic.
The Arizona Free Enterprise Club has measured the reported job growth
in Arizona since the tax cuts and tax reform bill came forward. We have
125,000
[[Page H5086]]
workers who have seen increases in salaries or bonuses. That totals
$215 million. Remember, that is just the reported benefits and bonuses
and raises. The direct financial benefit as a result of tax reform for
Arizona is over $1 billion. We anticipate a positive impact of over $1
billion in 2018. That is fantastic. In my district, the average family
of four is going to receive tax relief in excess of $2,635. That is the
projection.
I can talk about the many events that we go to, the people we talk
to. I was at an event recently. I was getting ready to leave and a
gentleman came up to me and said: Are you Congressman Biggs?
I said: Yes, I am.
He said: Thank you.
I said: Why is that?
He said: The tax reform. I am a bartender. I will keep $5,000 more
this year. I will have a net impact of a positive $5,000.
I said: Well, do you care if I tell your story?
He said: Yes, tell my story.
We want to see this happen again and again. So I have a whole list I
brought tonight. I can list Philip from Mesa who said that his wife's
take-home pay has affected their household for the better. This is
something they wanted specifically to mention. They don't consider the
extra income to be ``crumbs.'' It is meaningful to people, whether you
are living paycheck to paycheck or whatever. This is meaningful to
them.
Matt from Gilbert said that his increased tax refund for his business
was appreciated and that he and his family will save literally
thousands of dollars this year because of the tax cut laws.
Rusty is a veteran from Mesa. He told us that the tax plan has done
wonders for him and his small business. He is passing this on to his
employees and they will be making more money per month and he has extra
revenue in the business because other people generate this economic
activity.
This ripples through--it isn't like it is a one-off--it ripples
through the entire economy. So they have hired a new employee. For a
small business, that is a monumental decision: Do we have
enough business? Do we have enough revenue to bring in a new employee?
They hired someone. The tax cuts helped.
So I want to take just a quick second and tell you that I go out when
I am in the district to various businesses and small business owners,
anywhere from 5, 15, maybe 20, 25 people in their business. Every one
of them that I have met with in the last year, probably, is looking to
expand. They have the problem of finding qualified employees.
I have talked to the Governor in Arizona. We have literally hundreds
of thousands of jobs where people are trying to hire folks and we can't
get them in. This is a great thing to have, it is a great problem to
have. I think we should be celebrating what is happening around this
country. Particularly as a life-long Arizonan, I can tell you I am
thrilled to see this happening in Arizona. We have bounced back from
the 2008 recession.
I am so grateful for the effort that the gentleman from Arizona has
put in to get this bill through, for his leadership. I am grateful to
have him for a friend and serve with him in Congress. I thank him for
doing this Special Order tonight. This message has got to get out to
the American people.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Speaker, I will have a little bit of a colloquy
or a little bit of a conversation with the gentleman.
For those of us in Arizona, the gentleman has seen the data that came
out about 2 weeks ago that turns out that Arizona is actually having
what would be the fastest acceleration of income growth in the entire
Nation. Some of that is because we were hit pretty hard in 2008. A lot
of it is because our State legislature, our Governor, have engaged in
very pro-economic expanded qualities.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman to tell everyone what he did
before taking this job.
Mr. BIGGS. Madam Speaker, I used to be the Senate president in the
State of Arizona for 4 years and had an opportunity to work there.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Speaker, the gentleman was there during some of
the brutal years of the previous decade. The gentleman may remember the
struggles of trying to keep the wheels on of how do you cover
healthcare, education, and so many of the other needs that are in the
State.
Actually, we have a rough situation. We own so little of our land
that I have seen some data where we are the most urbanized State in the
country because we functionally live in two major metroplexes. That is
where most of our population is. And to have a State now, where we are
seeing some revenue forecasts and every month it looks like they are
having to raise that forecast because of the economic vitality in our
State and most of the States around the country.
So I think there is often this misnomer of we talk about Federal tax
reform. And I hold up a chart, it says: Last year at this time, we had
$456 billion in revenue and this year we are at this time $510 billion.
So a substantial increase.
But I think we failed to talk about what is happening in our
community, in our city, our county, and our State revenues, which are
also benefiting from this cascade of economic expansion.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arizona.
Mr. BIGGS. Madam Speaker, let's think about this for a second.
When Arizona entered the recession era of 2008, the State tax revenue
declined by about 40 percent in an 8-month period. Imagine trying to
deal with that. What is happening now is the converse. We had to change
our attitude. We had to create the type of business-friendly situation
that lured and brought business back and provide those enticements.
They are there.
So what we have now is this situation localized of a business-
friendly Tax Code, a business-friendly regulatory and then an overall
attitude of: We want you to be here. We welcome new businesses.
So, for instance, I toured Apple world data center in my district a
little over a week ago. It kind of imploded, so there was no one there.
What happened is, they now have 200 employees and they will expand.
They will have 500 employees in high-paying, good jobs. Every one of
those employees they spend money. They buy houses. They go out to eat.
They go to movies. This ripples through the economy. And that is just
one of the many businesses. Like I said, we have Deloitte coming in,
with 2,500. We have got State Farm, I think, in or near the gentleman's
district. When they are in, they are going to have 8,000 to 10,000
people. I was just at their facility.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Speaker, we just finished a visit to the
McKesson facility that is on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian
Community, and they are talking about several hundred additional
positions.
As we sort of talk about this, we actually had a really neat
experience about a month ago. The Arizona correctional system has sort
of a pilot program that has been up and running for about a year.
So picture this. We are in the Ways and Means room, we are holding a
hearing. And sitting on the table before us is the woman who is a
friend of ours who is the Central Arizona Homebuilders representative
and over here is a gentleman with a very large electrical contracting
company. The person sitting in the middle there with tattoos and those
sorts of things is, I think, a three-time convicted felon who actually
now is making $22 an hour and telling the story of how he had a
substance abuse problem and had multiple times fallen back into that
lifestyle. This time, he actually said: I am going to give this a try.
They set up job training in the prison solely funded by the
businesses, because they actually need electricians and carpenters and
other things. They did the job training in the prison with a deal that
if they finish this program, we will guarantee you a job. It doesn't
mean they guarantee they are going to keep you, because you still have
got to show up, you have to demonstrate productivity.
But think about a world where the economy is so vibrant that
businesses are actually going and reaching into our prison communities
and doing job training and actually offering employment.
I guess my heartbreak is I thought there would be this sense of joy
around
[[Page H5087]]
here in Washington that we have actually passed a level that so many
economists just a couple of years ago said we could never reach, this
level of economic vitality, where we are actually seeing felons being
able to be pulled into society's workforce.
{time} 2100
We see programs like that in our State that are being creative,
because we need those carpenters; we need those plumbers; we need those
electricians. He started, I guess, at like $13 an hour. Within a year,
he was up to $22, because he was productive, and he showed up to work
on time.
He had one of the greatest quotes of all time. He says: I am working
so many hours, I haven't had a chance to relapse.
It turns out maybe there is something to that saying about idle
hands.
Mr. BIGGS. If you analyze it, that is a twofer, right? We are all
concerned about the rehabilitation and reentry of people who have been
in prison back into society. This is one way to do it. Give them an
opportunity to get that skill and get job-placed.
The second thing is--and it speaks specifically to what we are
talking about here today--we should be overjoyed in this country to see
the economic vibrancy that is going on, the reshaping, and, if I can
say it, the renewal, the economic renewal, that we have needed.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. I am one of the people who have to actually admit to
this, that, often, as Republicans, we sound like accountants on
steroids. We are looking at the numbers. We want to do policy by facts
and not feelings, because when you do things by feelings, you end up,
ultimately, hurting people. When you do it by facts, you actually build
something that is sustainable.
This is one of the moments where a lot of the economic theories we
have talked about, if you would lighten and go to a more rational
regulatory model, if you would design a Tax Code that got rid of these
incentives to move your profits overseas and pull your expenses into
the United States and go to a territorial system where you had the
vitality, where capital would flow in, where you actually gave
businesses the incentive to actually buy much more efficient capital
equipment--because the way you pay people more is we have to get more
productive as a society.
Yes, some of the barriers we were worried about were: Will folks get
this tax benefit and spend it all? Now we have seen some data, which is
different than how CBO modeled it. People are paying off debt and other
things, so the capital stock in our country is going up.
There are just really good things. Right now, we have a labor
shortage, and you can see something amazing.
Take a look at things like Social Security Disability. A year ago, it
had only like a year before the trust fund was empty. Now we are seeing
some things that it may be 5, 7, 8 years now, just substantially
because we did change some rules, and we tightened up.
We also have so many more people paying in and working, and many of
our brothers and sisters in the country making a decision saying: ``I
could pursue a disability claim, or I could go into the workforce.''
They are going into the workforce.
So there are all these tells out there right now. The gentleman sees
it in his community. I am blessed to see it in my community.
How do we keep it going? Because, it turns out, the economic vitality
is a powerful thing for families, their ability to save for their
retirement, for their kids' education, for being able to pay off, let's
face it, a certain amount of debt that built up over a pretty rough
decade, particularly being a State like ours with so many people who
are coming to it for opportunity.
As the gentleman talks to small businesses, and I talk to small
businesses and even big businesses, we have this conversation: How do
we keep it going, and how do we keep it going for as long as possible?
Those are the policies we are chasing.
Mr. BIGGS. Madam Speaker, I agree with the gentleman. We want to keep
it going. We follow this idea of a business cycle, but there are ways
to smooth out and flatten out that business cycle.
I also agree with what the gentleman said where we start talking
about individuals, because too often our narrative is just: How do we
flatten out the business cycle? That type of thing.
I have Allan in Mesa who said: My standard of living has gone up.
I have Dottie in Mesa who said that the tax cuts are a good thing,
that they see more money in their pockets because of these tax cuts.
These are the people and the individuals that I see on a regular
basis. I know the gentleman sees them.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. This is one of my favorite stories. About 6 weeks
ago, maybe 2 months ago, I believe it was Starbucks that gave the
bonus, and I am in my favorite Starbucks. As the gentleman knows, I
have a coffee problem and openly admit it. If anyone wants to start a
12-step program, we are holding the meetings at a coffee shop.
I walk in. I am not someone you typically would be jumping up and
down to see, you know, a fairly conservative Republican Congressman.
She looks at me and goes: ``Dude, thank you.''
She had just gotten, I guess, a bonus check from her employer, and
she actually understood what it meant monetarily to her. It was one of
the neatest conversations I had with this young woman as I am ordering
my coffee about how excited she was to have the money and what it meant
to her to pay off some bills and just how things were going.
That is when it starts to click. That is when it is more than just
sitting behind tables with stacks of binders and spreadsheets and
analytical reports and feedback loops of what the tax reform is going
to do and growing the size of the economy, when it gets down to those
individual lives.
Look, I often walk around with this app. It is from the Atlanta
Federal Reserve. Madam Speaker, if I had come to you even months ago
and said: ``The Atlanta Federal Reserve has the calculation for this
quarter, at this moment, at a 4.6 percent GDP growth,'' you would have
worried about my mental health. It turns out, that is actually what the
number is.
The odds are that it doesn't stay there, and it is going to go
through cycles, but that number is stunning. The bias has been,
actually, over 4 in the last handful of data points. I know I am back
to speaking like an accountant on steroids, but the fact of the matter
is that we have some pretty rough things coming toward us as a society.
We are getting older very fast. We have tremendous unfunded liabilities
in Medicare. We have issues on Social Security.
We will find a way to keep our promises to those folks who have paid
into those programs. Turns out, making the math work is a lot easier if
you have a society, an economy, that has actually been able to hold
economic growth rather than one that has been in the troughs as we were
for the previous decade.
How do we sort of tell that story to folks who may be on the left or
those who are just trying to raise their families or those of us who
our constituents are paying attention? This really is that moment where
the rising tide raises boats and opportunity for everyone.
Mr. BIGGS. Madam Speaker, the gentleman is right. That is how you
communicate the story, because the story, Madam Speaker and
Representative Schweikert, is that we can have a vital economy.
It wasn't too many years ago when we were told 1.8 percent GDP growth
would be it.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Speaker, I remember when the gentleman first
got here, and we were going over those models. They were like 1.8, 1.9,
and that was our future. Let's face it, we have blown that off the
rails.
Mr. BIGGS. We have blown it off the rails. When people are
economically free and they have growth. They feel freer. They feel
happier. Why is that? Because the wolf is not always at the door. They
have moved beyond kind of that bare subsistence.
That is really what I am finding as I go meet with my constituents. I
talk to them. I am in a machine shop: What is going on here?
Well, we have 18 workers. We think we could bring three more on.
I said: Well, what is your problem?
We have to find the workers, and we have to train them. We are going
to invest in them and train them.
[[Page H5088]]
That is what people are doing. That is what businesses, small and
large, are doing. They are investing in people now. That is what you
see when you have a good economy, because they want to bring people in.
They need to bring people in.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. In that same vein, it was only a couple of years ago,
actually behind these same mikes, that a discussion was had of the sort
of concept of people being trapped, trapped in their house because they
were underwater, trapped in their job because they didn't have mobility
and options.
For a State like Arizona, the fact of the matter is that your ability
to sell your home and get a job in another State because you are
choosing to move to the Southwest is important to our growth. You could
actually see that in the migration statistics around the country of how
many people, because of the thin employment market, job opportunities,
were underwater in their homes.
As the job opportunities and our real estate values and the stability
of the economy have come back, all of a sudden, you are seeing people
have this thing called choice, options, the ability to move around the
country, pursue their dreams, pursue those careers, change jobs.
I think, actually, that is what the American Dream is supposed to
look like. If you have a dream of living in a certain part of the
country or pursuing a certain career, you get to do it. You get to do
it because the economy is working.
Madam Speaker, as we started to talk early on, if you really do love
and care for people, take a look at what is happening to the income and
employment statistics of so many groups that have been disaffected in
our population for the last decade. They had a really rough decade, and
they are coming back, their opportunity, their ability to save for
their retirement, their future, and their kids.
There should be a sense of joy. There should be, actually, sort of a
uniform discussion between the right and the left of how we keep it
going, because it is not only things I fixate on, of being able to have
revenues or being able to cover our unfunded liabilities and our
entitlements, but also that ability to have a society that is
healthier, that actually the income gaps shrink because there is
mobility and growth.
Populations that so many of the so-called smart people, the
economists, had almost written off as the marginally employable--which
is, if you take a step sideways, it is just really cruel. Those people
are finding a way to come back into the economic part of our society.
I know when the gentleman was in the State legislature, he had worked
on a job training program, and now we are actually seeing some really
interesting data in Arizona where the employers themselves are saying:
We are so desperate for employees, we will do the job training. We will
take someone who is not even from our field, and we will train them.
It turns out that has been incredibly successful, because you are
actually trained not in a job training program over here and then you
get trained again for the actual job you have taken, but now you are
being trained for that rhythm.
I know there has been just tremendous employment growth in the
southeast valley. I think it is a type of high-tech CNC machine shop
that some friends own in the gentleman's district, and they are talking
about even taking in very young people and training them right there on
site.
Mr. BIGGS. Yes. Madam Speaker and Congressman Schweikert, that is
what I am talking about. When I go into the machine shops, they are
doing very technical, very high-quality machining. They are bringing
kids out of high school, and they are training them. They are saying:
This is the job you are going to get.
These kids are walking out without any university debt. They are also
walking into a job that is going to pay them a lot of money and can be
a great career, where they can make money and have an adequate career
to sustain and support themselves, their family, for a life.
This is really one of the beautiful things that happens when you have
this choice that the gentleman talked about, this mobility. That
happens when you have a strong and solid economy.
Madam Speaker, I think the gentleman and I would agree: The economic
foundation that allows these types of individuals and families and
small businesses and big businesses to grow and provide interesting and
creative developments in our society, it starts with us not having a
confiscatory tax policy. It also continues by having a regulatory
environment that, instead of disincentivizing or having perverse
incentives, provides incentives for people to expand and be creative in
the economy.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Speaker, I ask Congressman Biggs: Those of us
who see these numbers, how do we find a way to humanize that
discussion? We want to talk about economic vitality and these things,
but there is almost this cruelty of you are going to remain unemployed,
you are going to remain underemployed, you are going to remain
undercompensated, you are not educated well enough to come into the
mainstream.
We have demonstrated in the last several months that that doesn't
have to be the America we live in, that we are seeing individuals who
were substantially marginalized in our society finding employment and
finding opportunity and finding that economic vitality and growth.
{time} 2115
We are looking for a way to humanize the story that, it turns out, a
robust economy actually is really good for families, for individuals,
for your future, for just the individual psyche. And maybe there is an
artist out there of language who can help us find an elegant way to say
this story.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arizona.
Mr. BIGGS. Madam Speaker, he did a good job tonight. He talked about
his Starbucks experience. He talked about the young man, and I have met
him, who is reentering from the prison.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Speaker, it is a powerful story.
Mr. BIGGS. Madam Speaker, these are powerful stories.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Speaker, I think he is his constituent.
Mr. BIGGS. Madam Speaker, I think he is. He may be, yes.
We have talked about 8 to 10 stories, brief stories, that I brought
up tonight of individuals, and, if I can humbly suggest, those are the
things that, Madam Speaker, Congressman Schweikert, myself, and every
one of our colleagues need to be continually reiterating, because these
stories, these aren't one-off stories. These are going to be a lifetime
of stories for these individuals, and we will find many, many more, as
I do every time I go out.
Mr. SCHWEIKERT. Madam Speaker, I know I kept him longer than I
promised to, but I never get the chance to talk.
Madam Speaker, I have appreciated this block of time. I appreciate
your patience with us, particularly talking about Arizona, but it is--
you know, we love our State, and we are very, very proud of how far it
has come. We are proud of the fact that we are leading much of the
Nation in growth--in population growth, economic growth, income
growth--and it is, in many ways, our moral goal around here to keep
this vitality up for every American.
Whether you live in a red State, blue State, whatever you pursue, you
should have the ability and the opportunity to pursue that. We want to
make the powerful argument that where we have gotten this country to
economically right now is pretty darn amazing.
Now, can we do even more? Our goal is we are going to even make it
better.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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