Thune: Republicans’ Bill Puts American Strength, Safety, and Prosperity First

“[W]e want to allow you to keep more of what you earn so that you can spend it and make decisions that are in the best interests of your family, instead of sending that money to Washington, D.C.”

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WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today spoke at a press conference with Senate Republican leadership:

Thune’s remarks below (as delivered):

“We are making good headway on the reconciliation bill.

“As you all know, this is the legislation that we believe implements the president’s agenda and makes our country safer, stronger, and more prosperous.

“And if you look at how it achieves those objectives, and certainly in the tax side of it, it makes it easier for American families to make ends meet by giving them significant tax relief in several ways.

“It locks in and makes permanent the lower tax rates that were part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

“It allows for a permanent extension of the increased, the expanded child tax credit, and it also makes permanent the increased standard deduction, which 90 percent of the people in this country claim.

“And then on top of that, a number of President Trump’s initiatives deal with no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, lower taxes on seniors in this country, and … no tax on interest on new loans for cars.

“So those are all things that the president has included that’re included in our package, they were included in the House package.

“But we think they are important in terms of the message they send to the American people, and that is that we want to allow you to keep more of what you earn so that you can spend it and make decisions that are in the best interests of your family, instead of sending that money to Washington, D.C.

“Couple that with what it does on modernizing our military, making the country safer, what it does with respect to securing our border and making our country more secure that way, these are all important aspects and components of the reconciliation legislation that’s in front of us. And we feel very good about the path that we’re on and getting this across the finish line by the end of the week.”