[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 63 (Thursday, April 11, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S2406]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Tax Reform

  Mr. President, tax day is coming up, and we have seen another 
travesty of the Republican Senate.
  When the Republicans pushed their tax scam, it was sold as a 
``middle-class miracle.'' They promised it would prioritize middle-
class families. President Trump and others promised Americans would get 
a $4,000 raise every year. That is what President Trump promised about 
his tax cuts. He said that his tax cuts for the very wealthy and the 
big corporations would benefit every American to the tune of $4,000 a 
year. Unsurprisingly, this Republican tax scam has now defaulted on its 
promise to lift up average American families.
  For too many Americans expecting a tax refund, they have gotten 
nothing or worse. After this tax season, the jig is up.
  In fairness, there is one part of America that has made a killing--
the very wealthy. Indeed, 83 percent of the benefits in the Republican 
tax bill will eventually go to the top 1 percent of earners, and the 
American people know it. A recent poll shows more than 60 percent of 
Americans believe the wealthy and corporations--big corporations--have 
been helped by the tax law. They are right.
  Unfortunately, corporations aren't using their windfalls as our 
Republican friends promised. They are not boosting worker pay, by and 
large, or increasing benefits or creating jobs. According to a recent 
survey, 84 percent of companies say they have not changed their plans 
because of the tax law.
  What are they doing with the money they got? They are spending 
billions in windfall on record corporate stock buybacks, not benefiting 
their workers, not benefiting their community but benefiting the CEOs 
of the corporations, because the shares generally go up, and benefiting 
the top 10 percent of America who own 85 percent of all the stocks.
  Unfortunately, this story doesn't end in making the rich richer. 
American workers are suffering while those same corporate executives 
and the very wealthy shareholders cash in.
  Take the case of CSX, a freight rail company spending billions of 
dollars on stock buybacks after benefiting from the tax law. Just last 
week, we heard CSX announce that they are laying off 100 workers in 
Kentucky, Leader McConnell's own backyard--not a $4,000 raise but a 
pink slip. You would think with all of these tax benefits that workers 
would benefit. It doesn't seem to be happening. That story that 
happened in Kentucky can be repeated throughout the country.
  It is hard to look at these examples with a straight face and say 
that the middle class factored at all into the Republican tax bill. It 
was a trick--no trickle down, just a trick.
  As Americans finish their filings this year, they will know exactly 
who to blame if they see their taxes go up. They will know who to blame 
if they don't get a refund or if they owe the IRS.
  The tax bill is already a stunningly unpopular piece of legislation. 
I don't recall a single Republican campaigning on it. It shows they 
weren't proud of it. After this tax season, the Republican tax bill 
will be even further crystalized in the minds of everyday Americans as 
a scam that left them out to dry while soaking the ultrawealthy with 
even more wealth.