10.24.17

McConnell on Tax Reform: The American People Are Counting on Us

‘Last week, the Senate passed a comprehensive, responsible budget that will help put the government on a path to balance and help put our economy on a road to robust growth. This week, the House plans to bring the budget to the floor for passage by Thursday. Once they pass it, we will have important legislative tools to help our economy grow through tax reform.’

WASHINGTON, D.C. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding the Trump Administration’s supplemental funding request and the need for tax reform:

“Today, the Senate will pass an important measure to provide relief for communities struggling to rebuild after the natural disasters that have affected many different parts of our country. Soon, this emergency funding legislation will be on its way to the president for his signature.

“With these new resources, federal aid workers from FEMA and the rest of the administration can continue their critical recovery operations, including search-and-rescue missions, debris removal, and infrastructure repair, as well as providing much-needed assistance to individuals and families. I will continue to monitor these disaster response efforts and I will continue to engage with leaders both in Washington and on the ground. The Senate will also continue doing its part to help victims recover.

“Now, on another matter, as we continue our work in the Senate, we look forward to hearing the president’s perspectives on how to advance our shared agenda — particularly the upcoming debate on bringing tax relief, economic growth, and jobs to Americans through tax reform.

“Last week, the Senate passed a comprehensive, responsible budget that will help put the government on a path to balance and help put our economy on a road to robust growth. This week, the House plans to bring the budget to the floor for passage by Thursday. Once they pass it, we will have important legislative tools to help our economy grow through tax reform.

“As we all know, after years of an economy that failed to live up to its full potential, the time is now to pass tax reform so we can get America going again and growing again. We want to make taxes lower, simpler, and fairer. We want to close loopholes exploited by the wealthy. We want to make it easier to create new jobs in America and keep them here. In short, we want to take more money out of Washington’s pockets and put more in yours.

“These are the ideas that drive tax reform. They’re shared by the president. They’re shared by Americans in both political parties. They should be shared by Senators of both political parties too. And for many years they were. The former Chairman of the Finance Committee, Senator Wyden, called our current tax code ‘an anti-competitive mess.’ The senior Senator from Michigan, Senator Stabenow, expressed her concern for a tax code that incentivizes jobs to be shipped overseas. And our friend, the Democratic Leader, wrote about our tax code’s failure to help American workers compete.

“Many Democrats called for action to get tax reform done. I hope our Democratic friends will work with us now in a serious way to actually do so. After all, it’s not as if the need for tax reform has changed since our friends made statements like these. The only thing that’s changed is the occupant of the White House. So let’s get this done. The American people are counting on us.” 

Related Issues: Taxes, Tax Reform, Economy, Budget