Vice President Issues Remarks at America First Policies Tax Reform Event
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Good morning,
And it's wonderful of you all to be out on a rainy Saturday morning. Thank you for making time. And I just don't express my thanks, but allow me to express the thanks and the greetings of the man the people of
But before I get started, permit me to address the events of this week. The terrible attack that took place in
As everyone knows, a troubled young man walked into his old high school and opened fire. He murdered 17 of his former classmates and wounded at least 14 others before his rampage came to an end.
In America, we mourn with those who mourn, and we grieve with those who grieve. And as the President said yesterday, "Our entire nation is praying for the victims and their families."
The heartache in
Then, as now, hearts were broken. Then, as now, heroes were forged. Once again, our nation grieves for the loss of lives of promise. And once again, our nation is inspired by stories of selfless acts of courage.
In the days ahead, we will tell their stories and remember their lives. Lives like,
And all the nation continues to marvel at the story of Coach
But we will remember, and we will mourn. And as the President Trump did last night when he visited the
As your Vice President, let me assure you: We are continuing to bring the full resources of the federal government to bear in support of
And as we speak, the
As the President said, "No child, no teacher, should ever be in danger in an American school, no parent should ever have to fear for their sons and daughters when they kiss them goodbye in the morning."
Not surprisingly, voices in
As the President said, it is not going to be enough to simply take actions that make us feel like we are making a difference. We actually must make a difference, and we will.
You know, we're passing through a trying time in the life of our nation. Mass shootings occurring across our country -- this week in
And in this challenging time, I would offer to all of you who, like my little family, take time to bow the head and bend the knee, I encourage you to do so this week for our fellow Americans. (Applause.)
The Bible says, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted." So let's pray for our neighbors in
And let's pray for wisdom for all in positions of authority, that we might find a way to come together as a nation to confront and end this evil, in our time, once and for all. (Applause.) So thank you for that.
And it is great to be back in
I want to thank Congressman
And let me take a moment to recognize another great Texan in the
I'm also grateful to be joined today by a lifelong champion of American prosperity, who, as you just heard a little bit ago, is fighting every day for American jobs and a more prosperous future. Join me in thanking Secretary of Labor,
I'd also like to thank, finally, our host today. An organization that is working tirelessly to promote the policies that are making a real difference in the lives of
I'm here today, really, on the President's behalf to give you a report on the progress we've made and just to say thanks. Thank you,
It's been just over a year since the President and I took office, and, folks, it's a -- I like to say it's been a year of promises made and promises kept. (Applause.) I mean, think about it. We've been keeping our promise to fight for, first and foremost, to strengthen this nation's national defense. Standing with the men and women of our armed forces, and their families, and our veterans, as never before.
I'm proud to say that last year, with the support of these leaders in
And last week, thanks to
And I'll make you a promise in the days ahead, we're going to continue to rebuild our military, restore our arsenal of democracy, until we once again give our soldiers, sailors, airmen,
And with renewed American strength, our administration has been achieving real results on the international stage. We've been taking the fight against radical Islamic terrorism on our terms, to their soil.
We've been leading -- we've been putting the leading state-sponsor of terrorism on notice. And under this administration,
In
And thanks to the leadership of our Commander-in-Chief, and the courage of American armed forces, I'm proud to report to you that in
And last week, at the
So it's about security abroad. And when it comes to keeping Americans safe here at home, we've been busy as well. From the outset of this administration, this administration has been taking decisive steps to enforce our laws; secure our borders; taking dangerous drug dealers off our -- violent criminals off our street. And just last night, when I was visiting the southern border, with the thanks of this administration, in the last year, illegals crossings at our southern border are down by more than 50 percent. (Applause.)
We've made progress but we still have work to do. I learned yesterday at the
So men and women, let me say, we're going to continue to work to secure our borders. We're going to reform a broken immigration system. And make no mistake about it, we're going to build that wall. (Applause.)
We've also been taking a strong stand here at home, to strengthen the foundation of the Rule of Law in this country -- keeping our promise to uphold the Rule of Law, by appointing strong conservatives to our federal courts at every level. (Applause.)
Last year, the President of
And we'll continue to nominate men and women to our courts at every level who will uphold the God-given liberties enshrined in our
So we've accomplished much for American security at home and abroad. But today, I came to talk about American prosperity. Since day one of this administration, we've been working to get this economy moving again. We've been rolling back the heavy hand of government. And thanks to your support and thanks to the leadership of these members of
And it's no accident. You know, in the last year, this President has signed more laws cutting through federal red tape than any President in American history. To fuel the revival of American industry, we've been unleashing American energy -- the lifeblood of the Lone Star State. We approved the Keystone and Dakota pipelines, and we repealed the so-called Clean Power Plan. And our administration put America first when
We're only one year into our administration, and already the results in this economy have been nothing short of remarkable. Optimism is soaring from the shop floor to the shale field. Businesses large and small have created more than 2.5 million new jobs since our election, including over 125,000 new jobs in the
In fact, among the 12 largest metro areas in America, there have been more new jobs created in
And across the nation, unemployment hasn't been this low in 17 years. And while thousands of manufacturing jobs had disappeared in the last year of the last administration, under this President, American manufacturing companies created 200,000 new jobs, including 9,000 good-paying manufacturing jobs right here in
And when it comes to energy, drilling permits for oil and natural gas are up by 30 percent over the past year in the Lone Star State.
And after eight years of a stagnant economy and stagnant wages that just wouldn't budge for working American families, American workers are seeing their paychecks rise faster, today, than at any point in over 10 years. (Applause.)
Now, but as
We cut taxes for working families, and now the typical family of four in the
We not only cut taxes on individuals and businesses, but we gave the American people relief from the disaster of Obamacare, when we repealed the individual mandate tax. It's gone. (Applause.)
And since our tax cuts -- it's really been remarkable to watch -- hundreds of companies nationwide have already committed to invest an additional
These companies are using this money to expand, to innovate, to create new jobs, and to raise wages for their workers. In fact, more than 4.3 million American workers have gotten a raise or a bonus since the tax cuts were passed. Nearly 88,000 Texans already have gotten a "Trump bonus" over the past two months. (Applause.) Isn't that something?
In the
And all across
And there's more to come. All told, we expect that
Earlier this week,
It's remarkable to think how far we've come, in just one year, thanks to the unwavering support of people like all of you. But the truth is we still have more to do. So as I close, let me just say, I truly believe and
The American people are the beating heart of this nation every day. You're the ones that are making the difference. You make it around your kitchen tables, like when a dad sits to help his daughter with her homework at night. You see it when America's truckers and oil workers pull a double shift, just to make sure their family has all their needs met. Their faces are long but they show the pride of someone who works every day to power our great nation.
And you see it in neighbors helping neighbor, especially when tragedy strikes. I can't help but come to
[Song: "Only in America" by Brooks & Dunn plays]
Thank you for that. They deserve it every day.
It was an amazing moment, wasn't it, as the country looked on at the character of this community in July of 2016. In the wake of this attack, we saw this community and this country come together. And the men and women of
Like all of you, I'll never forget watching Police Chief
In the 12 days that followed that act of evil, the character of this community shown forth.
That's the
And we're seeing it again this week. The character and strength and compassion of a nation in the wake of the latest senseless attack in
And so today, I close with faith. I have faith in the good people of
I have faith in those you've elected to represent you at the local, state, and federal level -- who represent some of the strongest, most principled, public servants in the land. (Applause.) I have faith in that President that
And I also have that other kind of faith. I have faith in Him who has ever guided and directed this one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. (Applause.) That He will yet guide and prosper America.
And so, I believe with all my heart, that, with President
Thank you very much. God bless you. God bless
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