Tax Reform

Floor Speech

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Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Mitchell for yielding. I thank him and Congresswoman Mimi Walters for putting together and organizing this Special Order in order to highlight the effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on families in Illinois and across the country.

Thirty-one years is way too long. That is what it took before we passed comprehensive tax reform at the end of last year. And in my 2\1/ 2\ years here, I couldn't be more proud to support the bill. And when I went in to looking at the legislation in the bill, I really looked at two things as we looked at comprehensive tax reform. One is, how do we help middle class and lower middle class people across this country and in my district? And secondly, how do we get the economy roaring again?

We, for almost 9 years, had a very sluggish economy and stagnant wages. How do we get the economy healthy, robust, vibrant again? We succeeded on both those counts with this bill, and I am very proud to support it.

This historic tax reform law is making a real difference for our families and our workers. But you don't have to take my word for it. Take it from the hardworking people I have spoken with across Illinois' 18th District. The workers I have spoken with are already seeing the results of the new withholding tables, which is no surprise.

In fact, the median family of four in my district will save $2,593-- again, let me repeat that, $2,593 every year from this new law. This figure is certainly not crumbs, as some people would describe it.

When half of Americans say they are living paycheck to paycheck, this is real money for them. The benefits have already gone beyond lowering the rates, with more bonuses and pay raises being announced every single day.

One example from my district is the Five Senses Spa in Peoria, Illinois. This is a small business. And for over a decade, the owner, Paola Hinton, has provided clients with relief from the stresses of their life at her spa. With the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Five Senses Spa is now providing tax relief to their employees. After calculating the savings from her business that she saw through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Paola handed out $500 bonuses to all of her employees as a ``thank you'' for their hard work. This is real money that the employees can put towards expenses, new purchases, or even saving up for things like education or a home or a new car.

But tax reform also has positive effects beyond larger paychecks. Last month, I spoke with a constituent named Chris, who is a small- business owner, and also the fire marshal for Springfield and Sangamon Counties. Chris attended a roundtable discussion I hosted in Springfield and talked about how the new depreciation rules, as a part of the tax reform law, have already incentivized building owners to upgrade their sprinkler and safety equipment, which has benefitted his small business. Safer buildings and up-to-date fire prevention are a win-win for everyone.

I was glad to hear that even our local fire marshal was seeing the real effects of commonsense tax reform and reforming our Tax Code. Stories like these are coming from every district across this great country, and the benefits of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act show no sign of slowing down, and that is good news for all Americans.

It should be clear by now that letting workers keep more of their hard-earned paychecks is a recipe for a healthy economy, and I am excited to see how this bill continues to improve the lives and security of all American families.

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Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, sure.

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Mr. LaHOOD. Mr. Speaker, I think we acknowledge that small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. They create the most jobs in our economy. So when we looked at comprehensive tax reform, we obviously talked to those small businesses, those independent folks, and said: What can we do to help you in terms of lowering the rates, depreciation, expensing?

We took that into account, and now you are seeing the results of that. So when you talk to small businesses on the real effect, what does that mean? What do they do with those savings?

Well, they are hiring more people, they are investing in higher wages, they are investing back into their companies, which has a downstream effect throughout this country, and those are real results; and, again, that is a positive nature, which will continue into the future, and we are awful proud of those provisions.

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