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Floor Speech

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Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, Republicans ran this past election year to make America safer and more prosperous. Now, we are a year into this, and people are seeing that the comprehensive economic plan that the Republicans have put into place is working for them.

This year, going forward, Americans are going to see even more money in their pockets, and that is thanks to the Working Families Tax Cut law. The average American taxpayer will see a significant cut this year in their taxes, which is a direct effect of the law. Families in every single State in the Nation are feeling relief.

Now, key parts of this tax law went into effect just on January 1, and they are going to make life much more affordable for American families. Republicans increased the child tax credit to $2,200 per child, and they made it permanent. And it is per child every year. That means for a couple in Cody, WY, with two children: $4,400 a year. That is money to help buy groceries, to help with education, and it helps with that child's activities.

Republicans also raised the limit in the dependent care flexible spending accounts. We raised it to $7,500 from $5,000. So a working mother in Casper, WY, can now set aside $7,500, pretax, for childcare. Senator Katie Britt of Alabama championed that, really pushed it through, and worked very hard.

Additionally, Republicans are doing things Congress has never done before. We have now created a guaranteed savings account for every American child. Every child born between 2025 and 2028 will receive a $1,000 investment account. So a child born in Sheridan, WY, will now start life with $1,000 already invested in their future. Senator Ted Cruz had this innovative idea.

Additionally, the Working Families Tax Cut law protects family farms, ranchers, and small business owners. This is vital to my home State of Wyoming and for other rural States. For years, farmers and ranchers told me the same thing: The death tax makes it nearly impossible to pass their family operations on to the next generation. Republicans delivered permanent death tax relief for family farmers, for ranchers, and for small business owners. Now, ranchers in Wheatland, WY, or Worland or Torrington or Gillette can now pass their land on--and their livelihood--to that next generation and avoid these crushing death taxes from Washington, DC.

Every Democrat in the Senate voted against the bill--every single one of them. They want the government to come in and confiscate small businesses and farms and ranches. That is not what Republicans stand for, and that is not what we did. If Democrats had their way, taxes would be going up this year by $4 trillion. Democrats supported and probably continue to support the largest tax increase in American history because that is the way they voted.

When Republicans proposed legislation to crack down on waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption in Medicaid and food stamps and government social programs, every Democrat in the Senate voted no. They must love the corruption--which brings us to Minnesota.

Yesterday, Congress exposed worrying new information about the vast extent of the massive fraud and corruption in the State of Minnesota. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who was the Democrat Vice Presidential nominee in 2024, and his attorney general, Keith Ellison, who was the deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee, are presiding over one of the most outrageous fraud scandals in recent memory. Manipulative criminals have stolen billions of dollars from Federal programs--billions meant to help vulnerable Americans.

Republicans voted to put more money in people's pockets. That is not what the Democrats wanted. No. They voted to raise taxes and voted to protect the kind of fraud being exposed in Minnesota today, the kind of fraud that Democrat-elected officials refuse to see and refuse to stop.

The working families tax cuts are part of the broader economic agenda that is already working, and the numbers prove it. Today, the world's most successful companies are investing in this country--$10 trillion in America. Record investment is driving private sector job growth. It is driving innovation. It is driving opportunity.

The proof is that the economy grew 4.3 percent in the third quarter. That is the strongest economic growth in 2 years. Core inflation cooled in November to 2.6 percent. Gasoline is now less than $3 per gallon in most of the country. In Casper, WY, it was $1.91. Forecasters predict prices are going to continue to fall. Real wages are on track to grow over by $1,000 this year.

All of these successes happened because Republicans are committed to American prosperity. We cut taxes. We eliminated wasteful Washington spending. We rolled back burdensome regulations. We unleashed American energy. This is a 180-degree turnaround from the past 4 years under Joe Biden and the Democrats. Under Joe Biden and the Democrats, prices rose by over 20 percent in 4 years. Democrats will now go down in history as the party of high prices, high taxes, and open borders.

As Americans celebrate the 250th anniversary of our Nation, we can be confident--confident--that our country is safer, is stronger, and more prosperous. And with the Working Families Tax Cuts, Republicans are making sure that that prosperity continues into the future.

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