[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 16037]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       THE BUDGET AND TAX REFORM

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, it goes without saying that the Obama 
years were not easy for America's middle class. Many of the men and 
women we represent felt forgotten over the last decade. They found 
themselves stuck in a stumbling economy without the opportunity to get 
ahead, looking on as paychecks stagnated, jobs moved overseas, and 
government spent far beyond its means while middle-class belts 
tightened.
  In my State and in so many more around the country, these are the 
problems that faced many families and communities over the last 10 
years, and they are the concerns at the heart of the comprehensive 
budget that the Senate just voted to proceed to yesterday. This budget 
is a serious plan to put our country on a more responsible fiscal path 
and also to set us on a course for a more fulsome economy that lifts up 
the middle class.
  On the fiscal side, it provides a path to balance with serious 
reductions to the growth of Federal spending, complying fully with 
previous spending caps while also providing a way to increase defense 
resources in the event that a bipartisan agreement on those caps can be 
reached.
  On the economic side, it clears the way for committees to continue 
their critical work to spur steady economic growth while providing 
legislative tools to advance tax reform--the single most important 
action we can take today to help our economy reach its full potential.
  As we all know, our archaic Tax Code is a significant roadblock 
standing in the way of America's economic future. It holds back 
families and small businesses. It makes it harder for those who are not 
well-connected elites to succeed. It even incentivizes companies to 
send jobs and investments overseas. That is really, clearly wrong.
  In today's increasingly competitive global economy, we cannot afford 
a tax code that forces American workers to compete against foreign 
competitors with one hand tied behind their backs, as our current code 
does. We need to act.
  Under Chairman Hatch's leadership, the Finance Committee has made 
progress developing commonsense tax reform goals. With further 
instructions from this budget, the committee will be able to complete 
its work and report legislation that promotes economic growth, helps 
keep more money in the pockets of hard-working men and women, and 
closes special interest loopholes while preserving core middle-class 
incentives.
  Our tax reform goals center on a few things: bringing more jobs and 
investments to our country and then keeping them here, making the Tax 
Code fairer so it doesn't benefit just wealthy elites, and lowering 
rates so hard-working families are able to keep more of their 
paychecks.
  The main goal is this: We want to take more money out of Washington's 
pockets and put more money in the pockets of hard-working men and women 
throughout our country. These are goals shared by the President, by his 
team, and by Senate colleagues. They are certainly shared by our 
Republican colleagues. I would think they would be shared by all of us, 
on both sides of the aisle, and our Democratic friends did share them 
until just recently. I hope they will continue to support these 
commonsense goals rather than just blindly oppose this effort to fight 
corporate offshoring and to eliminate loopholes for the wealthy, simply 
because they don't like the current occupant of the White House.
  There is no need for our Democratic friends to continue inventing 
reasons to oppose tax reform or to make more claims designed to distort 
reality. I hope they will decide to change course and work together in 
a serious way to accomplish what should be bipartisan goals--goals they 
once vocally supported, seemingly until President Trump came along.
  Let's deliver relief to American workers and families with an economy 
that reaches for its true potential once more, and the next step to get 
there is to pass the comprehensive budget before us with its tools to 
move our country forward.
  I wish, once again, to thank Chairman Enzi and the members of the 
Senate Budget Committee for their fine work on this budget.

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