American Households Seeing Lower Utility Bills Thanks To Tax Reform
‘Recently, Florida Power & Light, the state’s largest utility, announced that their savings from tax reform will completely cover the costs of rebuilding critical infrastructure in the wake of Hurricane Irma... And in other states, from Montana to Massachusetts to my home state of Kentucky, utilities are planning to directly pass along their savings by cutting consumers’ monthly bills.'
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the benefits Americans across the country continue to see from tax reform:
“Last week, as part of our bipartisan funding agreement, the Senate approved much-needed disaster relief for communities hit by last year’s devastating storms. This was an important accomplishment. But it isn’t the only way this Congress has helped Americans begin to rebuild.
“Recently, Florida Power & Light, the state’s largest utility, announced that their savings from tax reform will completely cover the costs of rebuilding critical infrastructure in the wake of Hurricane Irma. Absent tax reform, consumers would have paid for much of the repairs, in the form of higher rates. Now the utility can cover the cost itself, saving Florida families an average of $250.
“And in other states, from Montana to Massachusetts to my home state of Kentucky, utilities are planning to directly pass along their savings by cutting consumers’ monthly bills. Of course, lower utility rates aren’t the only way tax reform is helping middle-class Americans. Week after week, the headlines are full of more bonuses, more pay raises, and more new benefits for hardworking Americans as a direct result of tax reform.
“With all this good news pouring in, it’s easy to forget just how hotly the debate over tax reform was contested. Republicans argued that letting middle-class families keep more of their own money and giving American job creators a twenty-first-century tax code would unleash more prosperity and directly help American workers.
“My Democratic colleagues gambled on a different prediction. Every single House Democrat voted in lock-step with their Leader. She predicted tax reform would bring about, quote, ‘Armageddon.’ Every single Democrat here in the Senate rallied behind their Leader, my friend from New York. He declared there was, quote, ‘nothing about this bill that suits the needs of the American worker.’
“We always knew one side would be proven wrong. Either tax reform would benefit middle-class families and help reignite the economy, or it would not. Well, the early results speak for themselves.
“In the great state of Missouri, 20 companies and counting have already announced tax reform bonuses, raises, or benefits. That includes thousand-dollar bonuses for 2,500 workers at Central Bank of St. Louis. And at Great Southern Bank in Springfield. And more bonuses at Mid-Am Metal Forming in Rogersville. One of the senators from Missouri voted for the policy that made all this happen. Their other senator tried to block it.
“In Ohio, tax reform has already led Jergens to double employees’ annual raise. It’s enabled Sheffer Corporation, a cylinder manufacturer, to give workers four-figure bonuses. Here’s how Sheffer’s CEO responded to the Democrats who’ve been trying to talk down these bonuses: Quote, ‘Some people have said that’s ‘crumbs,’ but for the Sheffer people, we consider that fine dining.’
“And remember, these bonuses and pay raises are just the tip of the spear. The Tax Cuts & Jobs Act also directly helps families by cutting tax rates and expanding deductions. In every paycheck, American workers will keep more of what they earn.
“But only one senator from Ohio voted to put all this middle-class progress on the menu. Because every single Democrat in the Senate and the House voted to stop tax reform. Fortunately for middle-class families in Missouri, in Ohio, in Kentucky, and across the nation, Republicans overcame the obstruction and passed this historic bill.”
Related Issues: Economy, Taxes
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