Floor Statements

Mr. President, if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that it stand adjourned under the previous order, following the remarks of Senator Franken.

Mr. President, last week, the Senate took an important step for the fiscal and economic future of our country with passage of the budget for fiscal year 2018.

The comprehensive, responsible budget we passed marks out a clear vision for the future. It will put the Federal Government on a path to balance, and it sets out a new course after the long years of the Obama economy, when paychecks stagnated, steady work became harder to find, and retirement for many slipped further away. The budget we passed isn't just about getting our fiscal house in order--though it is certainly about that--it is also about getting our economy going again and growing again.

Perhaps the most important way it does so is by authorizing legislative tools to advance tax reform, and passing tax reform is the most important thing we can do today to get our economy reaching for its true potential.

Tax reform is all about helping the middle class succeed. It is about making it easier to create jobs in America and keep them right here. To summarize the effort in one phrase, it is this: Tax reform is about taking more money out of Washington's pocket and putting more in yours--more for workers, more for small businesses, and more for the middle class. After all, as the President wrote over the weekend, ``we are not talking about the government's money--we are talking about your money, your hard work.''

If you look back a few months, many doubted our ability to get a budget done or to advance tax reform. They didn't see the path forward. Those skeptics underestimated our resolve. The Senate has delivered on the budget, and we will soon have the tools to deliver on tax reform.

We now look forward to our House colleagues' continued consideration and passage of the budget. Once they do so, we can move forward with tax reform for American families.

For Americans who have suffered through years of uncertainty-- everything from a recession to outsourcing to unemployment--we are ready to deliver for you. For those who watched opportunity recede while the personal wealth of coastal elites grew beyond comprehension, help is on the way. We want to put more money in your pocket, we want to make retirement a reality for you, we want to get this economy moving the way it should, and tax reform is the key to helping us get there.

I would like once again to thank Chairman Enzi and the members of the Budget Committee for their important work to get this budget resolution passed.

I also would like to thank the cloakroom staff, the Parliamentarians, the clerks, the pages, and the officers of the U.S. Capitol Police who worked into the evening to make sure, as they always do, that the Senate runs smoothly.

Thanks also to Chairman Hatch and the members of the Finance Committee. We now look forward to their continued good work on development of the kind of tax relief that will get our economy truly moving again.

Mr. President, on another matter, the Senate remains committed to doing its part to support the ongoing hurricane relief efforts, and, to that end, today we will take a vote to advance the administration's most recent supplemental funding request. These resources will ensure that FEMA and the rest of the administration have the ability to continue their crucial support to help those impacted by devastating storms.

Like many colleagues, I have been engaged on this issue from the very start. Through several meetings with leaders from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, I have had the opportunity to hear firsthand how the government can support their relief efforts. I met with Puerto Rico's Governor last week to get another update on the funding request and to hear about the continuing recovery.

In addition, I have continued working with the administration as it responds to these storms. For instance, after the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, I met with the Department of Homeland Security's Acting Secretary to learn more about what would be needed. I also met with President Trump's eminently qualified nominee to lead that Department.

The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a supplemental funding request with strong bipartisan support, and now it is our turn to act. As we all know, the administration will continue to actively review hurricane relief and recovery needs. As it does, we can expect the transmittal of additional supplemental requests for our consideration in the near future.

The victims of these hurricanes continue to count on our support, and I look forward to the Senate continuing to do its part to help.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 117, Scott Palk.

Madam President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Madam President, I move to proceed to legislative session.

Madam President, I move to proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 179, Trevor McFadden.

Madam President, I send a cloture motion to the desk.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum calls for the cloture motions be waived.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate resume legislative session.

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call with respect to the cloture motion on the House message to accompany H.R. 2266 be waived.

Madam President, reserving the right to object, I would say to my good friend from Florida that I hope he knows that the Senate remains committed to doing its part to support the ongoing hurricane relief efforts. We all see this as a multistaged process in providing needed relief. There will be additional rounds, and we are all fully committed to meeting the needs that have arisen as a result of these devastating hurricanes.

For the moment, I object.

Mr. President, the Senate is taking the next critical step in passing the comprehensive, fiscally responsible budget before us. It is pretty obvious that this is a good budget, and that is true whether you are looking at it from a fiscal perspective or an economic one.

Take the fiscal side first. It reins in government spending. It protects Social Security. It complies fully with the previous spending caps, while also providing for an increase for defense resources if a bipartisan agreement can be reached. In short, it is a fiscally responsible budget that will help put the Federal Government on a path to balance.

On the economic side, this budget can help our country realize better and more sustained economic growth, which is critical, given the last decade of missed opportunities for the middle class. One way this budget can help our economy is by providing legislative tools to advance tax reform.

As I have said many times before, tax reform represents the most important thing we can do today to get our economy reaching for its true potential. Tax reform is all about getting America going again and growing again. It aims to take more money out of Washington's pockets and put more money in middle-class pockets, and it represents a once- in-a-generation opportunity to replace a failing tax bill that holds Americans back with one that works for them. Passing this budget is critical to getting tax reform done so we can strengthen our economy, after years of stagnation under the previous administration.

I know Members are eager to continue proposing amendments to this budget. We already adopted some good ideas yesterday. For instance, the Senate adopted an amendment offered by Senator Heller to provide tax relief to American families with children so they can have more money to make ends meet.

We also adopted an amendment from Senator Collins to provide relief to small businesses, which have been responsible for the creation of about two-thirds of the net jobs in recent years. That is according to statistics from the Small Business Administration. Both of these amendments reinforce the goals of the tax reform framework developed by the President, his team, and the tax-writing committees in Congress.

Today we will consider more ideas from colleagues on both sides of the aisle. I want to thank, particularly, Chairman Enzi and the members of the Senate Budget Committee for their good work in getting us to this point. The budget they produced is important to our fiscal and our economic future. I look forward to passing it soon.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I say to colleagues, the consent agreement that was just entered allows us to see the light at the end of the tunnel. If Senators will stay in the Chamber, we will do these 10-minute rollcall votes and wrap it up.

Mr. President, tonight we completed the first step toward replacing our broken Tax Code by passing a comprehensive, fiscally responsible budget that will help put the Federal Government on a path to balance. The budget also gives us the tools we need to strengthen our economy after years of stagnation under the previous administration.

We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to replace a failing tax code that holds Americans back with one that actually works for them. To middle-class families across America, we have a very simple message. We want

to take more money out of Washington's pockets and put more in yours.

With this budget, we are on a path to delivering much needed relief to American individuals and families who have borne the burdens of an unfair tax code for entirely too long. I want to particularly thank Chairman Mike Enzi and the members of the Budget Committee and the staff for their extraordinary work on this budget.

Mr. President, I ask that the Chair lay before the Senate the message to accompany H.R. 2266.

The Presiding Officer laid before the Senate the following message from the House of Representatives:

Resolved, That the House agree to the amendment of the

Senate to the bill (H.R. 2266) entitled ``An Act to amend

title 28 of the United States Code to authorize the

appointment of additional bankruptcy judges; and for other

purposes.'', with an amendment.

Motion to Concur

Mr. President, I move to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 2266.

Cloture Motion

I send a cloture motion to the desk on the motion to concur.

I move to concur in the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 2266, with a further amendment.

I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

I ask for the yeas and nays on the motion to concur with amendment.

I have a second-degree amendment at the desk.

I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

I move to refer the House message on H.R. 2266 to the Committee on Appropriations with instructions to report back forthwith with an amendment numbered 1570.

I ask for the yeas and nays on my motion.

I have an amendment to the instructions.

I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

I ask for the yeas and nays on my amendment.

I have a second-degree amendment at the desk.

Mr. President, it goes without saying that the Obama years were not easy for America's middle class. Many of the men and women we represent felt forgotten over the last decade. They found themselves stuck in a stumbling economy without the opportunity to get ahead, looking on as paychecks stagnated, jobs moved overseas, and government spent far beyond its means while middle-class belts tightened.

In my State and in so many more around the country, these are the problems that faced many families and communities over the last 10 years, and they are the concerns at the heart of the comprehensive budget that the Senate just voted to proceed to yesterday. This budget is a serious plan to put our country on a more responsible fiscal path and also to set us on a course for a more fulsome economy that lifts up the middle class.

On the fiscal side, it provides a path to balance with serious reductions to the growth of Federal spending, complying fully with previous spending caps while also providing a way to increase defense resources in the event that a bipartisan agreement on those caps can be reached.

On the economic side, it clears the way for committees to continue their critical work to spur steady economic growth while providing legislative tools to advance tax reform--the single most important action we can take today to help our economy reach its full potential.

As we all know, our archaic Tax Code is a significant roadblock standing in the way of America's economic future. It holds back families and small businesses. It makes it harder for those who are not well-connected elites to succeed. It even incentivizes companies to send jobs and investments overseas. That is really, clearly wrong.

In today's increasingly competitive global economy, we cannot afford a tax code that forces American workers to compete against foreign competitors with one hand tied behind their backs,

as our current code does. We need to act.

Under Chairman Hatch's leadership, the Finance Committee has made progress developing commonsense tax reform goals. With further instructions from this budget, the committee will be able to complete its work and report legislation that promotes economic growth, helps keep more money in the pockets of hard-working men and women, and closes special interest loopholes while preserving core middle-class incentives.

Our tax reform goals center on a few things: bringing more jobs and investments to our country and then keeping them here, making the Tax Code fairer so it doesn't benefit just wealthy elites, and lowering rates so hard-working families are able to keep more of their paychecks.

The main goal is this: We want to take more money out of Washington's pockets and put more money in the pockets of hard-working men and women throughout our country. These are goals shared by the President, by his team, and by Senate colleagues. They are certainly shared by our Republican colleagues. I would think they would be shared by all of us, on both sides of the aisle, and our Democratic friends did share them until just recently. I hope they will continue to support these commonsense goals rather than just blindly oppose this effort to fight corporate offshoring and to eliminate loopholes for the wealthy, simply because they don't like the current occupant of the White House.

There is no need for our Democratic friends to continue inventing reasons to oppose tax reform or to make more claims designed to distort reality. I hope they will decide to change course and work together in a serious way to accomplish what should be bipartisan goals--goals they once vocally supported, seemingly until President Trump came along.

Let's deliver relief to American workers and families with an economy that reaches for its true potential once more, and the next step to get there is to pass the comprehensive budget before us with its tools to move our country forward.

I wish, once again, to thank Chairman Enzi and the members of the Senate Budget Committee for their fine work on this budget.

Mr. President, the Senate, as I said yesterday, has a full schedule of work before it this fall. It is what the President, Vice President, and I discussed at our working lunch at the White House yesterday.

This week, the Senate is advancing one of the most important items on our agenda with consideration of the comprehensive budget for fiscal year 2018. It is a good budget that reflects the hard work of Chairman Enzi and the Budget Committee. It will help rein in Federal spending. It will help our country achieve balance. It will also help our economy grow.

One of the ways this budget will do so is by providing legislative tools to advance tax reform. After a lost decade of missed economic opportunities, America's middle class deserves an economy that reaches for its full potential again, and tax reform is the single most important thing we can do today to get there.

It is not hard to see why. Our current Tax Code is archaic, arduous, and often just plain bizarre. It holds our economy back. It can hold workers' wages down. It actually incentivizes companies to shift jobs and profits overseas. It makes it easier for the wealthy and well- connected to game the system. Yet it is almost impossible for anyone else to understand it.

A constituent from Harrodsburg, KY, wrote to my office exasperated about the unfair Tax Code. This is what she said: ``I am writing today to express my complete and total disgust for the complex, completely unfair, and completely messed up tax system in this country.'' This constituent, who has worked for nearly three decades as a CPA and has helped countless Kentuckians navigate the system, described some of the hardships faced by her clients and then continued by saying that ``the honest, hardworking folks can't get ahead, the cheaters don't get caught and the rich just keep getting richer.''

That was my constituent from Harrodsburg, KY, summing up today's Tax Code. Her story underlines the systemic problems of our Tax Code, and it is often our Nation's workers--including those in Kentucky--who continue to bear the burden.

Recently, the Kentucky State treasurer wrote an op-ed calling on Congress to provide much needed relief from our Tax Code. ``We need tax reform,'' she wrote, ``to increase Kentucky's economic growth and for greater middle-class prosperity throughout the Commonwealth.''

I agree. So does President Trump, his team, and our colleagues here in Congress. We are all in agreement that delivering relief to working families should be at the heart of our plan, and that is what we continue to work toward in developing tax reform.

For families and individuals in Kentucky and across the Nation, we think taxes should be lower, simpler, and fairer. Our plan calls for doubling the

standard deduction and significantly increasing the child tax credit. We will eliminate loopholes that are primarily used by the wealthy while protecting incentives that benefit the middle class.

Our plan also reforms the Tax Code to provide relief to our Nation's small businesses and to make it easier to keep jobs here in America. In an increasingly competitive global economy, we are working to put American workers on a level playing field.

Above all, our goal is this. We want to take more money out of Washington's pockets and put more money into the pockets of the middle class in Kentucky and across our country.

This sounds like a place where we should all be able to agree-- Republicans and Democrats alike. In fact, our friends on the other side of the aisle have often supported the idea of tax reform and bringing jobs back to America. I hope they will again in the course of this important effort. I hope they will not fall into blind partisanship and reject any collaboration simply because they don't like the President.

Instead, they can work with us in a serious way on an overhaul of the Tax Code that can truly help the people of Kentucky, help the people of their States, and help Americans all across the land.

I look forward to continuing to work with colleagues in Congress and the administration to pass a responsible budget and to deliver tax reform for the American workers and families, who deserve an economy that reaches its true potential once again.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate resume legislative session.