Benefits of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. KUSTOFF of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Kentucky for organizing this evening and talking about how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is helping the hardworking people of Tennessee.
I think we all know that, in December, with President Trump's strong support, this Congress passed the first major reform of our Tax Code in 31 years. We all knew that bringing these historic changes to the Tax Code would improve the quality of life for Tennesseans and millions of Americans. Quite frankly, the Tax Code is simpler and fairer to everyone.
Jobs are being created, and paychecks are bigger. We are all enjoying a robust economy that is the best it has been in a long time. Just last week, in my district in west Tennessee, in the Eighth Congressional District of Tennessee, two major announcements were made in my district. In Lake County, Excel Boat Company announced they will be opening a manufacturing plant that will bring 200 good-paying jobs and a total economic development investment of $9 million.
Additionally, in my district, a South Korean manufacturer announced a $13 million investment in Martin, Tennessee, and 220 job opportunities at the company's first United States-based location.
Prior to that, just 1 month after the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, FedEx announced an investment of more than $200 million to raise wages for their employees. Then 2 months later, FedEx continued their post-tax reform action and committed over $1 billion to expand their express hub in Memphis.
Another company in the Eighth Congressional District, Dot Foods, which has a location in Dyersburg, Tennessee, announced $500 in bonuses for each of their 4,800 full-time employees nationwide.
I am also proud of First Horizon Corporation, also known as First Tennessee Bank, which is based in Tennessee, with branches all across the Volunteer State. They invested tax reform savings in their workforce. Not only did the bank give eligible employees a bonus, they also increased their minimum wage to $15 an hour. This was because of tax reform.
Now, a way to raise the minimum wage is to increase economic opportunities, economic possibilities, just, frankly, making the economic environment better.
Then there was the announcement by Tyson Foods, who gave a bonus to their frontline workers, or, as they call them, the backbone of their business. I have got a chart here of Tennessee, and you can see that, in Tennessee, the typical family of four is going to see a tax cut of over $2,000. That is real money.
I think about an employer that I visited with in my district who said--he may have 8 or 10 employees--he said he noticed when he was doing his employees' payroll--and they get paid each and every week--he noticed they were getting an additional $15 to $20 per week. So, if somebody is getting an additional $20 per week per pay period, that is $1,000 a year.
The typical family of four in Tennessee is getting a tax cut of $2,023. Think of it this way: across the Nation, across our country, more than 4 million workers and counting have received a bonus, a pay raise, or increased retirement benefits.
Mr. Speaker, it is becoming increasingly clear that tax reform is working and the America economic engine is off and running again. The most recent Federal jobs report shows the fastest wage growth since the 2008 recession, and the unemployment rate has dropped to a 17-year low.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Speaker Ryan. I want to thank Chairman Brady and especially President Donald Trump on their leadership in passing this landmark legislation. And, again, I want to thank the gentleman from Kentucky for all of his help in organizing tonight to remind the people of this country the hard work that the President has done, the hard work that this Congress has done--the House of Representatives, and the Senate--so that we can improve our economy and we can return hard-earned money to the people, because they best know how to spend their money, not the bureaucrats in Washington.
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