[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 16147]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       THE BUDGET AND TAX REFORM

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the Senate is taking the next critical 
step in passing the comprehensive, fiscally responsible budget before 
us. It is pretty obvious that this is a good budget, and that is true 
whether you are looking at it from a fiscal perspective or an economic 
one.
  Take the fiscal side first. It reins in government spending. It 
protects Social Security. It complies fully with the previous spending 
caps, while also providing for an increase for defense resources if a 
bipartisan agreement can be reached. In short, it is a fiscally 
responsible budget that will help put the Federal Government on a path 
to balance.
  On the economic side, this budget can help our country realize better 
and more sustained economic growth, which is critical, given the last 
decade of missed opportunities for the middle class. One way this 
budget can help our economy is by providing legislative tools to 
advance tax reform.
  As I have said many times before, tax reform represents the most 
important thing we can do today to get our economy reaching for its 
true potential. Tax reform is all about getting America going again and 
growing again. It aims to take more money out of Washington's pockets 
and put more money in middle-class pockets, and it represents a once-
in-a-generation opportunity to replace a failing tax bill that holds 
Americans back with one that works for them. Passing this budget is 
critical to getting tax reform done so we can strengthen our economy, 
after years of stagnation under the previous administration.
  I know Members are eager to continue proposing amendments to this 
budget. We already adopted some good ideas yesterday. For instance, the 
Senate adopted an amendment offered by Senator Heller to provide tax 
relief to American families with children so they can have more money 
to make ends meet.
  We also adopted an amendment from Senator Collins to provide relief 
to small businesses, which have been responsible for the creation of 
about two-thirds of the net jobs in recent years. That is according to 
statistics from the Small Business Administration. Both of these 
amendments reinforce the goals of the tax reform framework developed by 
the President, his team, and the tax-writing committees in Congress.
  Today we will consider more ideas from colleagues on both sides of 
the aisle. I want to thank, particularly, Chairman Enzi and the members 
of the Senate Budget Committee for their good work in getting us to 
this point. The budget they produced is important to our fiscal and our 
economic future. I look forward to passing it soon.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Strange). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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