[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 122 (Thursday, July 19, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S5080]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            ECONOMIC GROWTH

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, on a final matter, this week I 
discussed a number of converging reports that highlight the strength of 
this economy for middle-class families and job creators.
  U.S. retail sales just increased for the fifth consecutive month. 
Earlier this year, consumer confidence hit its highest level since 
2000. More than a million new jobs have already been created in 2018. 
There are more job openings than job seekers for the first time in 15 
years. Over 95 percent of U.S. manufacturers are reporting confidence 
in their companies' outlook--an all-time high.
  Just this morning, there was this announcement from the Department of 
Labor: In the second week of July, new claims for unemployment benefits 
fell to their lowest level--listen to this--since 1969.
  All of these favorable trends are interrelated. Jay Powell, Chairman 
of the Federal Reserve, testified before our colleagues on the Banking 
Committee this week that ``robust job gains, rising after-tax incomes, 
and optimism among households have lifted consumer spending this 
month.''
  To put it even more simply, American employers are doing better. So 
American workers are doing better. So American families are doing 
better. So American businesses are doing better. This is how a vibrant, 
growing economy works. This is what happens when Washington, DC, 
swallows up less of the American people's money in taxes, when it 
imposes fewer heavy-handed regulations that make it hard to do 
business, and when it gets the bureaucracy's foot off the brake of our 
economy.
  This is among the best--quite possibly the best--of economic moments 
for jobs and opportunity that Americans have seen in recent memory.
  The policies of this united Republican government helped to bring it 
about, and they are helping to sustain it.
  Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported:

       Tax cuts appear to be propelling robust consumer demand. 
     Many households are experiencing less withholding from their 
     paychecks thanks to the tax overhaul.
  According to a recent survey, fewer than one in five American 
manufacturers now say an unfavorable climate due to things like taxes 
and regulations is a primary obstacle to their businesses. Back in 
2013, during the Obama economy, more than two-thirds of the 
manufacturers said that. Two-thirds said it was a problem in 2013, and 
only one in five considers it a problem now.
  All across the country, as job creators of all sizes have announced 
worker bonuses, pay raises, and business expansions, many say loud and 
clear that tax reform is what made it possible.
  The American people voted. Republicans kept our promises. Now middle-
class families are seeing the effects of the pro-growth policies they 
asked for in 2016, and the whole world has seen what the American 
people can accomplish when their government gets off their backs.
  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.

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