Tax Reform

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, on one final matter, day after day and week after week, more evidence piles up that Republicans' overhaul of the U.S. Tax Code is igniting new growth and increasing opportunity all across our country.

Here is what tax reform means to middle-class Floridians. It means thousand-dollar bonuses for all 26 employees at Spellex Corporation, a software company in Tampa. It means an 11-percent increase in the base wage at a bank with more than 600 locations all across Florida. At a brewery, it meant the flexibility to purchase $100,000 in new capital equipment and hire two additional employees. For the customers of Florida Power & Light, it meant a lower monthly bill. The utility had planned to implement a new surcharge for rebuilding after Hurricane Irma, but tax reform let them cover the cost of the entire rebuilding themselves and kept that added burden off of the shoulders of Floridians. These are just a few of the ways tax reform is helping jump-start prosperity up and down the State of Florida.

Florida's junior Senator, Mr. Rubio, voted to pass this once-in-a- generation law. It is too bad his colleague, the senior Senator from Florida, stood with every single Democrat in the House and in the Senate and tried to block these tax cuts from reaching the American people. Apparently, he preferred that more middle-class families' money remain with the IRS. I would call that a curious decision. Perhaps our Democratic colleagues don't quite understand the importance of a thriving economy.

We recently heard some revealing comments from the House Democratic leader. Here is what she said:

Hip hip hooray, unemployment is down. What does that mean to me and my life?

Unemployment is as low as it has been since 1969. There is soaring confidence from consumers and small businesses. There are more job openings than Americans looking for work for the first time in at least 20 years. No big deal, say our Democratic colleagues. Nothing to see here. Do they really think an outstanding job market doesn't matter to American families? Well, that might help explain their voting record on tax reform and other issues, but I suspect this is just pure partnership because it is Republican policies that are helping generate this success. Our friends across the aisle want to deny reality and ignore the obvious improvements for workers, families, and job creators. Fortunately, the facts are the facts. Americans know success when they see it, and Republicans will keep fighting to unleash more prosperity for the middle class.

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