[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 80 (Tuesday, May 14, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S2802]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Economic Growth

  Madam President, on one final matter, since the beginning of this 
Congress, the Nation has watched two fascinating trends play out.
  We have observed the job market--and the opportunities available to 
working Americans--continue to break records and open new doors across 
the country. At the very same time, we have watched a new House 
Democratic majority, along with our friends across the aisle in this 
body, put forward a laundry list of proposals that appear to be tailor-
made to shut those many doors.
  Two weeks ago, the contrast was drawn especially stark. Just a few 
days before we received a new Labor Department report that 263,000 new 
jobs were created during the month of April, House Democrats held a 
hearing on legislation to heap a massive new tax burden on American 
producers and consumers in pursuit of a one-size-fits-all, Washington-
run health insurance scheme; news of the lowest national unemployment 
rate since 1969 and a roadmap for Medicare for None; an economic moment 
that has seen more job openings than job seekers for the first time in 
recorded history alongside a proposal for a Federal social program that 
could leave taxpayers with an estimated $32 trillion bill.
  It is not the first time I have mentioned this staggering pricetag 
here on the floor, but the news of this reality is spreading. Our 
friends in the press are catching on to the fact that the plan to 
implement Medicare for None isn't as neatly wrapped as its sponsors 
would suggest. ``Tax Hikes on the Wealthy Alone Can't Pay for `Medicare 
for All.''' That was one headline from last week. The cat is out of the 
bag. According to one analyst, ``there isn't $30 trillion sitting 
around from high earners . . . it just doesn't exist.''
  Turning these socialist policies into reality would fall on the 
shoulders of all kinds of working families. Indeed, raising what the 
Senate Democrats' plan is estimated to cost over a 10-year period would 
require, according to the same analyst--listen to this--``doubling all 
personal and corporate income taxes or tripling payroll taxes.'' Let me 
say that again: doubling or tripling the taxes that all Americans pay, 
not just the wealthy. Far-left class warfare rhetoric will not pay 
those bills. That will take real money that will have to be taken from 
real middle-class families.
  As communities across the country continue to reap the benefits of 
this remarkable opportunity economy--helped by the policy 
accomplishments that the Republicans have worked hard to enact--the 
Democrats' plan to pile radical new costs on the shoulders of the 
American people is looking like an especially tough sell.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. CAPITO. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum 
call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Blackburn). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.