[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.