[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 5 (Thursday, January 8, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S102-S103]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Senate Accomplishments

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, Republicans ran this past election year 
to make America safer and more prosperous. Now, we are a year into 
this, and people are seeing that the comprehensive economic plan that 
the Republicans have put into place is working for them.
  This year, going forward, Americans are going to see even more money 
in their pockets, and that is thanks to the Working Families Tax Cut 
law. The average American taxpayer will see a significant cut this year 
in their taxes, which is a direct effect of the law. Families in every 
single State in the Nation are feeling relief.
  Now, key parts of this tax law went into effect just on January 1, 
and they are going to make life much more affordable for American 
families. Republicans increased the child tax credit to $2,200 per 
child, and they made it permanent. And it is per child every year. That 
means for a couple in Cody, WY, with two children: $4,400 a year. That 
is money to help buy groceries, to help with education, and it helps 
with that child's activities.
  Republicans also raised the limit in the dependent care flexible 
spending accounts. We raised it to $7,500 from $5,000. So a working 
mother in Casper, WY, can now set aside $7,500, pretax, for childcare. 
Senator Katie Britt of Alabama championed that, really pushed it 
through, and worked very hard.
  Additionally, Republicans are doing things Congress has never done 
before. We have now created a guaranteed savings account for every 
American child. Every child born between 2025 and 2028 will receive a 
$1,000 investment account. So a child born in Sheridan, WY, will now 
start life with $1,000 already invested in their future. Senator Ted 
Cruz had this innovative idea.
  Additionally, the Working Families Tax Cut law protects family farms, 
ranchers, and small business owners. This is vital to my home State of 
Wyoming and for other rural States. For years, farmers and ranchers 
told me the same thing: The death tax makes it nearly impossible to 
pass their family operations on to the next generation. Republicans 
delivered permanent death tax relief for family farmers, for ranchers, 
and for small business owners. Now, ranchers in Wheatland, WY, or 
Worland or Torrington or Gillette can now pass their land on--and their 
livelihood--to that next generation and avoid these crushing death 
taxes from Washington, DC.
  Every Democrat in the Senate voted against the bill--every single one 
of them. They want the government to come in and confiscate small 
businesses and farms and ranches. That is not what Republicans stand 
for, and that is not what we did. If Democrats had their way, taxes 
would be going up this year by $4 trillion. Democrats supported and 
probably continue to support the largest tax increase in American 
history because that is the way they voted.
  When Republicans proposed legislation to crack down on waste, fraud,

[[Page S103]]

abuse, and corruption in Medicaid and food stamps and government social 
programs, every Democrat in the Senate voted no. They must love the 
corruption--which brings us to Minnesota.
  Yesterday, Congress exposed worrying new information about the vast 
extent of the massive fraud and corruption in the State of Minnesota. 
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who was the Democrat Vice Presidential 
nominee in 2024, and his attorney general, Keith Ellison, who was the 
deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee, are presiding over 
one of the most outrageous fraud scandals in recent memory. 
Manipulative criminals have stolen billions of dollars from Federal 
programs--billions meant to help vulnerable Americans.
  Republicans voted to put more money in people's pockets. That is not 
what the Democrats wanted. No. They voted to raise taxes and voted to 
protect the kind of fraud being exposed in Minnesota today, the kind of 
fraud that Democrat-elected officials refuse to see and refuse to stop.
  The working families tax cuts are part of the broader economic agenda 
that is already working, and the numbers prove it. Today, the world's 
most successful companies are investing in this country--$10 trillion 
in America. Record investment is driving private sector job growth. It 
is driving innovation. It is driving opportunity.
  The proof is that the economy grew 4.3 percent in the third quarter. 
That is the strongest economic growth in 2 years. Core inflation cooled 
in November to 2.6 percent. Gasoline is now less than $3 per gallon in 
most of the country. In Casper, WY, it was $1.91. Forecasters predict 
prices are going to continue to fall. Real wages are on track to grow 
over by $1,000 this year.
  All of these successes happened because Republicans are committed to 
American prosperity. We cut taxes. We eliminated wasteful Washington 
spending. We rolled back burdensome regulations. We unleashed American 
energy. This is a 180-degree turnaround from the past 4 years under Joe 
Biden and the Democrats. Under Joe Biden and the Democrats, prices rose 
by over 20 percent in 4 years. Democrats will now go down in history as 
the party of high prices, high taxes, and open borders.
  As Americans celebrate the 250th anniversary of our Nation, we can be 
confident--confident--that our country is safer, is stronger, and more 
prosperous. And with the Working Families Tax Cuts, Republicans are 
making sure that that prosperity continues into the future.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Nevada.