[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 168 (Wednesday, October 23, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6052-S6053]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               TAX REFORM

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, today Senate Democrats will push 
forward their own resolution that seeks to undermine part of the 
historic tax reform we passed in 2017.
  Remember, back then, Washington Democrats were downright hysterical 
about our plan to let working Americans send less of their paycheck to 
the IRS. Speaker Pelosi called the tax cuts ``Armageddon.'' She said it 
was ``the worst bill in the history of the United States Congress.'' 
That is the Speaker on the 2017 tax reform bill. I guess that shows how 
much Democrats hate to cut taxes. But tax reform passed, and the 
results are clear. It has increased Americans' take-home pay and helped 
generate one of the best economic moments for working families in a 
generation.
  Since tax reform, 22 States, including my State of Kentucky, have set 
new record-low unemployment rates. The national unemployment rate has 
set a 50-year low. But, alas, rather than acknowledge that the sky 
hasn't fallen, our Democratic friends still want to undermine tax 
reform--and listen to where they have elected to start. Listen to this. 
Democrats' first target is changing the Tax Code so that working 
families across the country have to subsidize wealthy people in States 
like New York, New Jersey, and California.
  Here is the background. As part of tax reform, in order to maximize 
middle-class relief, the deductibility of State and local tax payments 
was capped. Most middle-class taxpayers were more than compensated for 
this through other tax cuts, but for some wealthy people who elect to 
live in high-tax States, this represented a partial increase.
  Republicans didn't think it was fair that middle-class working 
families in States the Obama economy left behind had to subsidize the 
tax bills of rich people in high-tax States without limit. We didn't 
eliminate the State and local tax deduction; we just capped it for high 
earners. That cap is what Democrats want to undermine. Their resolution 
would help high-tax States--typically governed by Democrats--create 
workarounds for their high-earners.
  Let's be clear about what would happen if Democrats got their real 
objective and repealed the SALT cap altogether. According to data from 
the Joint Committee on Taxation, 94 percent of the benefit would flow 
to taxpayers who earn more than $200,000 a year. That is what they are 
advocating. Ninety-four percent of the benefit would flow to taxpayers 
who earn more than $200,000 a year. More than half of it would actually 
go to people who make more than $1 million a year--cutting taxes for 
the rich. Repealing the SALT cap would give millionaires an average tax 
cut of $60,000. Meanwhile, the average tax cut for taxpayers earning 
between $50,000 and $100,000 would be less than $10. There would be 
$60,000 tax cuts for wealthy people and $10 tax cuts for the middle 
class. Apparently that sounds like a good trade to our Democratic 
colleagues. It doesn't sound like good trade to me.
  I am sorry to break it to my Democratic colleagues, but the middle-
class Kentuckians I represent have zero interest--zero interest--in 
cross-subsidizing the tax bills of millionaires who live in Brooklyn 
and the Bay Area.
  It is bad enough that my Democratic colleagues want to unwind tax 
reform, but it is downright comical that their top priority--a top 
priority--is helping wealthy people in blue States find loopholes to 
pay even less. They won't even

[[Page S6053]]

propose to repeal the SALT cap outright because they know it is bad 
policy and negates all of their talking points about tax fairness. They 
just want to bless a backdoor workaround.
  I urge Members on both sides to use common sense and reject 
Democrats' resolution when we vote on it later today.

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