Tax Reform

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Now, Madam President, speaking of the economy, by now it is no secret that under the last administration, our Nation's economic recovery was slow, stunted, and almost exclusively focused on the largest urban centers. Between 2010 and 2016, that is where more than 90 percent of the population growth happened; it is where nearly three-quarters of new jobs went. Most everywhere else--in our smaller cities, small towns, and rural areas--families heard a lot of talk about what my Democratic colleagues called an ``economic recovery,'' but they saw few or none of the effects in these small towns and small communities. So it is no surprise that after seeing their communities suffer under 8 years of Democrats' policies, millions of Americans are ready to take a different route. That is why they elected a Republican President and Republican majorities here in Congress. And we set about implementing our agenda to take money and power out of Washington and put it back in the hands of middle-class families and small businesses all across our country.

But even as the positive effects of these policies have become more and more obvious, they continue to encounter near-complete party-line opposition at every turn. I recall that just 2 or 3 days after President Trump signed our historic tax reform into law, several of my colleagues across the aisle were offering some dramatic predictions.

On Christmas Eve last year, the senior Senator from Montana took to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle with a piece titled ``Tax bill a disastrous plan, fails Montana and our future.'' Quite a pronouncement. It reminded me of the Democratic leader of the House. She said our plan to give tax cuts to middle-class families and businesses would bring about ``Armageddon.'' Armageddon.

How are these prognostications holding up? The new Tax Code is causing Northwestern Energy to pass along millions of dollars in savings to Montana utility customers. My friend Senator Daines recently shared what tax reform already means to Montana small business owners. In Chester, at Stricks Ag, it means bonuses of nearly $1,000 for each employee. In Missoula, at Big Sky Brewing, it means worker bonuses and money to purchase new equipment. The same goes for Cabinet Mountain Brewing in Libby. Over in Thompson Falls, tax reform gave Thompson River Lumber the breathing room to buy their first new forklift in 19 years.

These are the workers and job creators whom Senator Daines bet on when he voted for tax reform and helped make all of this possible. He voted for Montanans to send less to the IRS and keep more of their own hard-earned money to save or invest as they see fit. It is too bad their senior Senator took the opposite approach and tried to block these tax cuts from happening, let alone that Democratic leaders in both Chambers now say they will repeal tax reform if they get the chance. But Republicans will keep picking up the slack and will keep standing up for the American people.

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