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Floor Speech

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Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, every parent wants to give their kids a better life than they had. So parents spend a lot of time making sure their kids are ready when opportunity comes their way. In many cases, that involves putting money aside for their future.

Opportunity is one of the pillars of Republicans' Working Families Tax Cut. That means both creating opportunity and helping more Americans to seize those opportunities to get ahead. And one of the ways this bill does that is by helping parents to save and invest in their children's futures. That starts with lower tax bills so parents can keep more of their hard-earned money.

And on top of that, we made it easier for parents to support their kids' dreams with things like the bill's new Trump Accounts. These new tax-advantaged investment accounts can be a powerful tool for parents and other family members to give the next generation a brighter future because Trump Accounts can be used for a broad array of expenses.

Money from a Trump account can go toward education expenses, buying a first home, starting a business, or buying the family farm or ranch when the time comes. Kids can even opt to use the accounts as retirement savings when they reach adulthood, a financial priority for every American. Trump Accounts will help bring big dreams closer within reach.

Parents of children born between 2025 and 2028 can opt in to receive an initial $1,000 balance in their Trump Account from the government. On top of that, numerous companies have already made pledges to contribute to the Trump Accounts for their employees' children, and some philanthropists have made similar commitments.

Plus, as I indicated earlier, any member of the family can contribute to a Trump Account. So an aunt or an uncle, grandma or grandpa can add money to a Trump Account as a birthday gift or Christmas gift, further boosting the amount a child will have available when he or she reaches young adulthood. Even $20 per month can build to a substantial sum of money by the time a baby born this year turns 18.

And the Trump Accounts app even includes modules and other resources for parents and children to learn about investing and grow their financial literacy, which will help them throughout their lives.

Trump Accounts are a significant tool for parents and their kids. But it is far from the only thing that we did in this bill to help the next generation get a headstart on their American dream.

The Working Families Tax Cut also made some significant improvements to the traditional 529 education savings plan, allowing those savings to be used for a greater variety of education expenses: tutoring, home- school materials, and vocational and continuing education. Plus, we doubled the withdrawal limit for 529s to $20,000 per year.

Mr. President, I am also proud of how the Working Families Tax Cut strengthens pathways to meaningful career options for the next generation.

On the higher education side, we implemented accountability and reforms to put downward pressure on the cost of college degrees. We also made permanent a policy I authored that allows employers to pay off a portion of their employees' student loans without the employee having to pay taxes on the repayment amount.

For Americans who are interested in learning a skilled trade, this bill is transformative. As I mentioned, it allows 529 savings to go toward vocational education.

It also created the Workforce Pell Program, which will provide financial assistance to Americans in shorter term skills and career- training programs--whether they are just starting out or looking to switch careers or develop new skills in their current field.

States are just beginning the process of identifying programs that will qualify for Workforce Pell, and it is already generating excitement. One community college president in New York said of Workforce Pell: ``The potential is absolutely huge.''

Another community college administrator in Oregon hailed how Workforce Pell will provide assistance for the college's truckdriving certificate program, a popular program that leads to high-paying jobs but for which financial aid is hard to come by. Workforce Pell will change that.

And Workforce Pell will also be a game changer for midcareer professionals. As Colette Atkins, who works at Kirkwood Community College in Iowa, said, ``we have students that are working already, and they can't step away for 2 years, but can they step away to do that 8 to 15 weeks to get that training? They sure can. And now there's financial support to help them do that.''

Suffice it to say, Workforce Pell will open new pathways and create a lot of opportunities for a lot of Americans, and it is getting started thanks to the Working Families Tax Cut.

Putting more money in Americans' pockets, helping them seize opportunities to get ahead, and creating new pathways to success--that is the Working Families Tax Cut at work.

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