Sen. McConnell: Significant Benefits of Tax Reform Already Being Seen Across Country

WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 -- The office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, issued the following floor remarks regarding the benefits Americans are seeing across the U.S. through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act:

"Yesterday, I mentioned that, already, one million Americans and counting will receive raises or special bonuses thanks to the incentives created by the historic tax reform law that Congress passed and the President signed last month.

"For example, Darden Restaurants, Inc., which employs 175,000 people, announced it is preparing to invest $20 million in its most important asset - its employees. AT&T announced that 200,000 employees would receive $1,000 bonuses. In my home state of Kentucky, Turning Point Brands announced that their workers would also receive $1,000 bonuses.

"So far, more than 100 companies have announced similar plans. Across the country and a variety of different industries, workers are receiving significant one-time bonuses, permanent pay raises, more generous retirement contributions, or other benefits. And their employers confirm that it was tax reform that made this possible. But how is all this happening? After all, those who were intent on opposing tax reform painted an apocalyptic picture.

"Over in the House, the Minority Leader said that tax reform was 'Armageddon.' Here in the Senate, my friend the Democratic Leader said there was 'nothing about this bill that suits the needs of the American worker.'

"Fortunately, a majority in the House and a majority in the Senate knew better. We know that the economy is not a zero-sum game. We know it is completely backwards to think that American businesses need to lose in order for American workers to win. To the contrary - in a twenty-first-century economy, Americans are in this together.

"When our economy grows stagnant - when taxes and regulations make it harder for our companies to compete with foreign ones - that is when wages fall flat and job opportunities dry up. But when Washington gets out of the way, cuts back regulations, and modernizes the tax code - when we give businesses more flexibility to invest and expand - then, as we are already seeing, workers reap the benefits. This is not some partisan talking point. As one economist wrote just before we passed tax reform, quote, 'it's the consensus view of professional economists' that 'lowering corporate income taxes would increase the wages of workers.'

"Well, tax reform became law less than one month ago. And already, more than one million Americans could happily tell us this is precisely what is happening. And this is just the beginning.

"Raises and bonuses aren't the only way tax reform is providing a big help to middle-class families, like the Kentuckians I represent.

"The law also cut taxes substantially for individuals and families, so they can keep more of their own money and send less to Washington. We reduced marginal rates. We doubled the standard deduction, effectively creating a new 'zero percent tax bracket' for the first $24,000 a family earns. We significantly increased the Child Tax Credit. We expanded the deduction for medical expenses.

"And the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act repealed the punitive individual mandate tax penalty at the heart of Obamacare. That law penalized hardworking Americans twice - first by failing to create health insurance options that met the needs of working families, and then by imposing a heavy fine on the families who didn't want or couldn't afford the coverage. By zeroing out that unfair penalty, we have repealed a core piece of Obamacare and restored families' flexibility to choose the health insurance that works for them.

"The result of all this is significant savings for middle-class American families. A typical family of four earning the median family income will keep more than $2,000 this year that they would have otherwise sent to the government. And workers will begin to see the difference in their paychecks as soon as February. Less of their money will be deducted and sent to the IRS. More will be deposited into their bank accounts.

"The early impact of this historic tax reform legislation is clear. Job creators and entrepreneurs are more optimistic. More than one million Americans are already getting raises and bonuses. And the groundwork is being laid for a more powerful, more competitive U.S. economy that attracts more investment and creates more home-grown jobs.

"It's no surprise that, historically, tax cuts have enjoyed bipartisan support. This time, unfortunately, none of our Democratic colleagues chose to vote for this once-in-a-generation tax relief. But I am proud that majorities in Congress were able to pass the bill so the President could sign it into law. A million Americans - and soon to be many more - will be grateful."