[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 10, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4746-S4747]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
The Economy
Mr. President, last Friday we learned that there were 224,000 jobs
that were
[[Page S4747]]
created in June, the latest piece of good news about our strong
economy. Thanks to the historic tax reform we passed in 2017 and our
efforts to lift burdensome regulations, our economy has been thriving.
Economic growth is up, and wages are growing at the strongest rate in a
decade. Personal income is up, and unemployment is near its lowest
level in half a century.
The benefits of this progress are being spread far and wide. Wages
for the lowest earning workers are rising faster than for the highest
earning workers. Hundreds of thousands of new blue-collar jobs have
been created. Unemployment rates for minorities have fallen. The
unemployment rates for Asian Americans, African Americans, and Hispanic
Americans are all at or near record lows.
The Wall Street Journal notes, ``Nearly one million more blacks and 2
million more Hispanics are employed than when Barack Obama left office,
and minorities account for more than half of all new jobs created
during the Trump Presidency.''
When Republicans took control of the Congress and the White House
2\1/2\ years ago, we had one goal: Make life better for hard-working
Americans. We knew that Americans had a tough time during President
Obama's administration, and we were determined to put more money in
Americans' pockets and to expand opportunities for working families.
That is exactly what we did. Our tax reform legislation, combined with
other Republican economic policies, has created an economy that has
lifted up Americans from across the economic spectrum.
There is still more work, of course, that needs to be done. Farmers
and ranchers, for example, in places like my home State of South
Dakota, are still struggling thanks to years of commodity and livestock
prices below production costs, protracted trade disputes, and natural
disasters. But overall, American workers are doing better than they
have in a long time.
Now we need to focus on preserving and building on the policies that
have made life better for American workers over the past 2 years, but
that is not what will happen if Democrats have their way. Democrats are
not only interested in eliminating a large portion, if not all, of the
tax relief that Republicans passed; they are pushing proposals that
would result in massive tax hikes on ordinary Americans.
Take Medicare for All, as I mentioned earlier, which is a Democratic
proposal for government-run healthcare. A conservative estimate sets
the pricetag for this proposal at $32 trillion over 10 years--more
money than the U.S. Government has spent in the past 8 years combined
on everything. A more realistic estimate is likely substantially
higher, given that the Senator from Vermont's current Medicare for All
plan includes coverage for long-term care, which is an enormously
expensive benefit.
On top of that, most of the Democratic Presidential candidates have
endorsed providing government-funded healthcare to illegal immigrants
as well. It is not just a matter of providing healthcare to the
millions of undocumented immigrants already here in the United States.
More and more Democrats are embracing what is effectively an open-
border policy, which means the number of individuals here legally can
skyrocket, further driving up the massive costs of the one-size-fits-
all, government-run healthcare proposal the Democrats are putting
forward. The final pricetag, I am suggesting, could be far more than
$32 trillion.
Of course, Democrats' proposals are not limited to putting the
government in charge of healthcare. They have lots of other ideas for
more government spending, such as having the government pay for
millions of students' college education or eliminating student loan
debt--although they don't mention any benefits for Americans who have
already done a lot of work to help pay off their student loans.
As expensive as paying for these proposals would be, they pale in
comparison to the Democrats' most expansive socialist fantasy, the
Green New Deal, which has been estimated to cost somewhere between $51
and $93 trillion over 10 years--$93 trillion. That is more money than
the economic output of every country in the entire world in 2017
combined.
How are Democrats going to pay for these policies? Well, when they
have an answer, it usually involves taxing the rich. That is all very
well, until one realizes there is no way to pay for these policies just
by taxing the rich. Medicare for All alone would ultimately require
massive tax hikes on ordinary Americans and on American businesses.
What will be the consequences of that? Well, a substantially lower
standard of living for American families who would see their tax bill
soar and their take-home pay shrink, plus massive tax hikes would wreak
devastation on the economy. Load a small or larger business with new
taxes, and its ability to grow, invest, expand, and hire new workers
shrinks dramatically. That would mean lower wages, fewer jobs, and
reduced opportunities for American families already burdened with new
tax hikes.
Lowering taxes for American families and American businesses has
grown Americans' paychecks and provided them with access to new and
better jobs and opportunities. Raising their taxes would have the
opposite effect. Yet raising Americans' taxes is exactly what would
happen under the Democrats' plans.
Let's hope that Democrats think better of their proposals before the
American people are forced to foot the bill.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that
notwithstanding the previously scheduled vote at 11 o'clock, I be
allowed to complete my remarks before that vote occurs.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.