Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, this week we are debating an important piece of legislation that is going to streamline and simplify government regulations. We are going to make it easier and cheaper for families to get access to loans from their local banks. This legislation is good for communities, and it is good for the American economy.

This is just the latest action we have taken in Congress over the past year to help give the American economy a boost. The economy is responding, and the American people are doing better because of it.

Here is a headline from the New York Times on Friday: ``The Economy is Looking Awfully Strong.'' That is the headline in the New York Times--``The Economy is Looking Awfully Strong.'' This article was about the jobs report that came out last week. It said that the report ``can be summed up in four words: The economy is humming.''

The U.S. economy has already created over 552,000 new jobs in just the first 2 months of this year--over half a million new jobs in the first 2 months of this year. There are half a million more people working today compared to when Republicans passed this tax relief law. If we want to go back a little, there are more than 3 million new jobs since President Trump was elected in November of 2016. That is a real number to look at. That is the moment when people said they had enough of slow-growth policies from the Democrats in Washington and elected Donald Trump President. That is the moment when businesses realized things were going to be different with Republicans in charge.

More people are working now. And do you know what else? They are being paid more. According to the Commerce Department, the take-home pay of working people in America increased by $40 billion in January. They say it is directly because of the tax relief law that Republicans passed last December.

More than 4 million workers are also getting a bonus or a pay increase. Four hundred companies have said that is because taxes went down. They are sharing the savings with their workers. These are people who work at Home Depot, Lowe's, Walmart, Starbucks, and other businesses that have familiar names all across America. They are also people who work in smaller businesses, like the Jonah Bank in Wyoming, at branches in Casper and in Cheyenne. It is not a nationally known bank, but it is very important in our State and in our communities. Some people who are getting bonuses work at places like Taco John's. That is another business that is important to the people of Wyoming. When I was in the State senate, Taco John's was a place I went regularly to eat lunch. It is one of many Taco John's facilities around the State of Wyoming and around the West. Republicans cut taxes, and working Americans are seeing more money in their paychecks as a result.

This is what we see in terms of confidence. This new survey came out recently where they talked with the heads of midsized companies all around America, and this is what they say: 89 percent of the business leaders are confident in the U.S. economy and the economy's prospects for the year. U.S. economic confidence soars--in 2016, 39 percent; in 2017, 80 percent; and in 2018, now 89 percent. The American people realize we have now beaten back 8 years of bad policies from Democrats in Washington. As soon as President Trump took office, we saw confidence soar, and I don't know that it has ever been higher.

Americans are feeling better about the U.S. economy. They are also feeling better about their own personal situations. That is the key-- people's own personal situations. That is certainly the case in my home State of Wyoming.

The polling company Gallup looked at overall economic confidence State by State. They found that Wyoming is the most confident State in the country when it comes to America's economy. Attitudes about the economy turned positive immediately after Donald Trump was elected President in 2016. You could feel it. You could feel the confidence. You could feel the optimism. You could feel the positiveness in the people of Wyoming. People living in 43 out of the 50 States now have a positive view of the economy, and Wyoming, of course, is No. 1.

People I talk to at home--I was in Cody, WY, this past weekend, as well as in Sheridan and Riverton and Casper and around the State talking to people in various communities. The people I talked to about the economy will tell you it is because businesses are hiring again. People are doing better. They see their take-home pay going up. They see their taxes going down. They see that Republican policies are making their lives better. They see that Republican policies are also making the economy stronger. They see that Republican policies are making it easier for people to achieve their dreams and to enjoy their lives. It comes from tax relief. It comes from cutting regulations, as we are doing this week.

What are the Democrats offering? Well, last week, the Democratic leader came to the floor and said he wants to raise taxes by $1 trillion. That is what the leader of the Democratic Party said on the floor of the Senate last week. He wants to raise taxes by $1 trillion. Is he serious? A trillion dollars? Raising taxes? Taking away from people the tax cuts they have just started to enjoy?

More people have jobs. The economy is humming. The New York Times says the economy is humming. Ninety percent of working Americans have increases in their take-home pay. That is because of the tax cuts this body passed. Democrats want to reverse it all. That is what we hear on the floor of the Senate. They want to take back the money. They want to roll back the progress we have made. That is their plan--raise taxes. That is what we hear from the Democrats.

Senator Schumer came to the floor of the Senate, and he said: ``There are much better uses for the money.'' That is what he said on the floor of the Senate. That is what the Washington Democrats always say. They have better uses for the money than the American people do. They have a better idea, they always say, about how to use somebody else's money. They want higher taxes. They want more Washington spending because they think they know best. They don't think the money should go to pay increases or bonuses for working Americans. Really? They think it should go to Washington? I think American families know how to spend their paychecks better than any Washington Democrat ever will.

Democrats say they want to use this $1 trillion in new taxes to pay for infrastructure. We all know that America's infrastructure--our roads, our bridges, our dams, our waterways--are in desperate need of attention, but as chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, I can tell you that I am committed to improving this situation by working with the President and working on both sides of the aisle. If Democrats want to talk about a robust and fiscally responsible infrastructure plan that is going to help the American economy, then I am ready to have that conversation, but if all they want to do is talk about raising taxes on American families, they are wasting their breath.

There is a very big difference between Republicans and Democrats in Congress: Republicans want the American people to keep more of their hard-earned money. Democrats want Washington to take more of people's money. Republicans want new policies that grow the economy, create jobs, and inspire confidence in a brighter future. Democrats want the same old tax-and-spend policies that have failed for years. Their policies have led to slow growth, stagnant wages, and a terrible lack of confidence in our economy.

Republicans promised that our ideas will do better, and the results from the tax cuts and the tax relief speak for themselves. The economy is strong. Confidence is off the charts.

The American people deserve this chance to have a brighter future. That is what Republicans are offering, and that is also what Republicans are delivering.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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