Tax Reform

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Now, Madam President, on one final matter, the passage of Republicans' historic tax reform last December was just the latest illustration of the diverging paths Republicans and Democrats envision for our economy.

For the better part of the last decade, our Democratic colleagues' ideas ran their course. We were promised that they would help us recover from the financial crisis. But it wasn't a recovery for all Americans. In fact, the path put forward by our Democratic colleagues had two distinct lanes. The express lane was for major cities like New York and San Francisco. Urban areas with more than 1 million residents captured 90 percent of the Nation's population growth and nearly 75 percent of new jobs created between 2010 and 2016. Seventy-five percent of new jobs created between 2010 and 2016 went to these large urban areas.

Those select communities actually made up some ground, but working families and job creators in America's smaller cities, towns, and rural communities were stuck in the slow lane. There, job opportunities dried up as investment dollars hit the road. There, Americans learned what it feels like when Washington, DC, leaves you behind. But, fortunately, these communities are among the first to feel the benefits of the new Republican approach.

The historic tax relief we passed last year cut taxes for American families and gave employers more flexibility to expand, hire, and give their workers bonuses, raises, and new benefits.

As my colleague Senator Young reports, the results in Indiana are adding up. He heard from a Hoosier in Cedar Lake who is expanding his family milk-hauling business, and a Kokomo small business owner who is now hiring more workers. I recently read that over in Ellettsville, one family has found an additional $200 in their monthly paychecks--enough to cover a week's worth of groceries.

I don't think my colleagues across the aisle intended to make life more difficult for middle-class families across the country. It is just that these leftwing policies make it harder, not easier, for American workers and job creators to actually get ahead. But when my Democratic friends had the chance to join us and deliver historic tax relief to American families, they stood firm and tried to block tax relief on a party-line basis. One of Indiana's own Senators tried to block all that good Indiana news from happening.

I am proud that Republicans overcame that obstruction and got tax reform accomplished for all Americans.

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