Thune: Republicans’ Bill Is a Big Win for Working Families
“This bill delivers big for working families in every corner of this country.”
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WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor:
Thune’s remarks below (as delivered):
“Mr. President, later today the Senate will begin consideration of the Trump administration’s rescissions package.
“Reining in waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government is a priority shared by President Trump and by Senate Republicans.
“I appreciate all the work the administration has done in identifying wasteful spending.
“And now it’s time for the Senate to do its part to cut some of that waste out of the budget.
“It’s a small but important step toward fiscal sanity that we all should be able to agree is long overdue.
“Mr. President, two weeks ago Republicans passed a historic bill.
“And the centerpiece of that bill is permanent tax relief for the American people.
“In 2017, Republicans’ Tax Cuts and Jobs Act cut taxes across the board and had our economy firing on all cylinders.
“Now, we’ve made those tax cuts permanent, and we’re setting up our country for a more prosperous future.
“And that starts with the American people being able to keep more of their hard-earned money.
“To spend, save, and invest as they see fit.
“And to pursue their American Dream.
“Mr. President, I know my Democrat colleagues are pushing their usual lines about this bill – that it’s about billionaires and big corporations, not everyday Americans.
“But nothing could be further from the truth.
“This bill delivers big for working families in every corner of this country.
“It’s middle-income Americans who get the biggest benefits from the tax cuts.
“In fact, Mr. President, people making less than $50,000 a year get the biggest – the biggest – proportional benefit from this bill.
“Not billionaires.
“Not the ‘1 percent.’
“Not Fortune 500 CEOs.
“Everyday Americans.
“People like waitresses and police officers.
“Nurses and Uber drivers.
“Farmers and ranchers.
“Senior citizens.
“Parents trying to provide for their families.
“Those, Mr. President, are the people who are going to get the biggest benefits from this bill.
“Mr. President, before this bill passed, these Americans were facing a massive tax hike next year – some $2,500 for people in my home state of South Dakota.
“Now they can be confident that their taxes won’t go up – not next year, and not in the future.
“Because Republicans have made the 2017 tax relief we passed permanent.
“That includes lower tax rates for every income level.
“A $16,000 standard deduction – something that’s used by 90 percent of taxpayers in this country.
“And 46 million families who can claim a higher child tax credit – $2,200 per child – that’s now linked to inflation so that it doesn’t lose its value.
“And we went further than just making the 2017 tax relief permanent.
“Seniors can now claim a new $6,000 bonus deduction.
“Americans can deduct the interest costs of a new car that’s Made in America.
“Parents can save for their children’s futures with new investment accounts.
“Workers who earn overtime can deduct that overtime pay.
“Mr. President, that includes police officers, firefighters, nurses, and EMTs – people who put in extra hours away from their families to keep us safe and to save lives.
“Workers who earn tips can now deduct those tips.
“And that means bigger paychecks for a lot of hardworking people.
“One analysis suggests that Uber drivers alone will see their collective income rise by $1 billion because of the no tax on tips that we included in this bill.
“And other tipped Americans are looking forward to bigger paychecks.
“A waitress in Michigan said, and I quote, ‘I have four children. So that extra money would be pretty handy … it would either go toward them or to my house, bills.’
“Mr. President, America’s farmers and ranchers are also breathing a sigh of relief with this bill.
“Amid some of the most challenging years for agriculture in recent memory, this bill bolsters the programs that farmers and ranchers depend upon.
“Things like crop insurance and commodity programs.
“Conservation programs and disaster assistance.
“Research and disease prevention.
“This bill addresses farmers and ranchers’ challenges head-on.
“Then there’s the tax component.
“Farmers and ranchers will benefit from the same lower tax rates that benefit working families and small businesses.
“They’ll be able to take advantage of permanent full expensing for new equipment.
“And that means, Mr. President, that they can deduct the full cost of a new tractor, or a combine, or anything else the year they start using it.
“And they’ll be able to take advantage of that provision whether they buy that new tractor next year, the year after that, or 10 years from now.
“Full expensing is now a permanent feature and fixture of our tax code because of this bill.
“Our legislation also protects more family farms and ranches from the death tax.
“We raised the death tax threshold to $15 million, and it’s linked to inflation.
“That means a lot more farmers and ranchers won’t have to worry about the death tax eating up what they’ve spent their lifetime building.
“It means they won’t have to worry about a flawed tax forcing their kids to sell all or part of the family farm.
“And it means farmers and ranchers won’t have to spend their time and money on complicated estate planning to keep their operation intact after they die.
“One Iowa farmer summed it up when he said it this way, and I quote, ‘One of my goals when I started farming was to be able to pass this farm on to the next generation. I’m doing that, and I feel very good about that.’
“Well, Mr. President, we can all feel good about that.
“Mr. President, I know the last few years have been years of near-constant financial stress for working families.
“For farmers and ranchers.
“For small business owners.
“So Republicans set out to deliver relief with this bill.
“And more than that, we set out to permanently transform our tax code so that it supports these hardworking Americans.
“A tax code, Mr. President, that supports bigger paychecks and lower tax bills.
“That enables the American people to save, invest, and spend more of their hard-earned money how they see fit – rather than sending it to Uncle Sam.
“Mr. President, that’s the tax code that we’re delivering.”
Related Issues: Taxes, Budget
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