Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2019

Floor Speech

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Mr. THUNE. Madam President, when Republicans took office after the 2016 Presidential election, we had one goal in mind: make life better for American families. We knew a big part of that was getting our economy going again.

After years of sluggish economic growth, family budgets were stretched thin. Getting ahead had frequently been replaced by getting by. Wages were stagnant and jobs and opportunities were often few and far between.

So the Republicans and the President got right to work. We repealed burdensome regulations that were hamstringing economic growth, and we passed a comprehensive reform of our outdated Tax Code.

You might ask, Why the Tax Code? Well, the Tax Code has a huge effect on American families' prosperity. It helps determine how much you bring home in your paycheck and how much you have left over to spend or save. It helps determine what kind of jobs, wages, and opportunities are available to you. A small business owner struggling to afford a heavy tax bill is unlikely to have the money to hire a new worker or to expand her business. A larger business is going to find it harder to create jobs or improve benefits for employees if it is struggling to stay competitive against foreign businesses paying much less in taxes.

Prior to the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, our Tax Code was not helping American workers. It was taking too much from Americans' paychecks, and it was making it difficult for businesses to grow and to create jobs. We passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to put more money in Americans' pockets, spur economic growth, and expand opportunities for American workers.

We cut tax rates for American families, doubled the child tax credit, and nearly doubled the standard deduction.

We lowered tax rates across the board for owners of small- and medium-sized businesses, farms, and ranches. We lowered our Nation's massive corporate tax rate, which, up until January 1 of last year, was the highest corporate tax rate in the developed world. We expanded business owners' ability to recover the cost of investments they make in their businesses, which frees up cash they can reinvest in their operations and in their workers, and we brought the U.S. international tax system into the 21st century so American businesses are not operating at a competitive disadvantage next to their foreign counterparts.

Now we are seeing the results. Our economy is thriving. Economic growth in the fourth quarter of 2017 to the fourth quarter of 2018 was 3.1 percent, the strongest growth we have seen literally in 13 years. The unemployment rate dropped to 3.8 percent in February, the 12th straight month the unemployment rate has been at or below 4 percent. That is the longest streak in nearly 50 years. The number of job openings has once again exceeded the number of job seekers. In fact, the Department of Labor reports that January was the 11th straight month with more job openings than people looking for work.

The economy has added more than 5.3 million jobs since President Trump was elected. Job growth has averaged 209,000 jobs a month over the past 12 months, exceeding the 2017 average by 30,000 jobs a month. Wage growth is accelerating. Wages are growing at a rate of 3.4 percent--the seventh straight month in which wages have grown at a rate of 3 percent or greater. Median household income is at an alltime high. Business investment is up, which means more jobs and opportunities for American workers. U.S. manufacturing is booming. Small business hiring recently hit a record high, and the list goes on.

This is a big turnaround.

After years of economic stagnation during the Obama administration, some were predicting that sluggish economic growth would be the new normal. When President Trump took office, the Congressional Budget Office predicted the economy would grow at a rate of 2 percent in 2018 and 1.7 percent in 2019. After Republicans cut burdensome regulations and passed a historic tax reform bill, the Congressional Budget Office substantially revised that projection, predicting 2.9 percent growth in 2018 and 2.7 percent in 2019--and the economy has delivered on that prediction.

Importantly, the benefits of our thriving economy are being spread far and wide. The lowest wage earners saw the fastest wage growth in 2018. The Wall Street Journal recently reported:

All sorts of people who have previously had trouble landing a job are now finding work. Racial minorities, those with less education, and people working in the lowest-paying jobs are getting bigger pay raises and in many cases experiencing the lowest unemployment rate ever recorded for their groups. They are joining manufacturing workers, women in their prime working years, Americans with disabilities, and those with criminal records, among others, in finding improved job prospects after years of disappointment.

Tax cuts and other Republican economic policies are making life better for American families. So what do Democrats want to do? Continue with the policies that are bringing relief to American families? That would make sense.

Unfortunately not. Democrats want to raise taxes--by a lot--to pay for the socialist fantasies they are now embracing. Plans such as the Green New Deal and Medicare for All would result in massive tax hikes on just about everyone. Our economy would suffer and American families would see a permanent reduction in their standard of living.

It is deeply alarming that the Democratic Party is rapidly turning into the Socialist Party. It is vitally important that we ensure that hard-working Americans never have to live under Democrats' socialist fantasies.

Republicans are committed to protecting Americans from any attempt to undo the economic progress we have made, and we will continue working to strengthen our economy even further.

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