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April 17, 2018

Barrasso on Tax Day

Click here  to watch Sen. Barrasso’s remarks.

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor on tax day and how the Republican tax relief law is helping families in Wyoming and across the country.

Excerpts of Senator Barrasso’s remarks:

“Today is the last Tax Day under the old, awful, broken tax system that the American people have put up with for decades.

“Under the tax relief law that Republicans passed in this body in December and signed by President Trump, and passed the House as well –we now have a simpler system, fairer system, and it’s so much less expensive for American families.

“One big thing we did in the tax law was to double the standard deduction that people can take.

“This one change alone, all by itself, means that 95 percent of taxpayers will be taking the standard deduction from now on.

“That means people won’t have to waste time a lot of time wading through paperwork, boxes of receipts.

“People won’t have to spend hours chasing after little itemized deductions like they’ve done year after year on Tax Day.

“They won’t just be crossing their fingers, hoping that they’re doing everything right – hoping that they don’t overpay, hoping they don’t run afoul of the law by not paying the amount they’re required by law.

“It’s going to be much simpler, and much fairer.

“That’s a big change that people are going to notice next April 15th when they file their taxes.

“Americans don’t have to wait until next year to see a lot of the other benefits of this tax relief law.

“They’re seeing it today – because the law wasn’t just tax reform and simplification, it was an immediate, big tax cut as well.

“Meaning hard-working Americans are seeing more money in their paychecks.

“Average wages have gone up by nearly three percent.

“That’s a big increase compared to the stagnant wage growth that we saw during the entire previous administration.

“According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, American workers brought home almost $200 billion more in February than they did in December.

“Some of it came right away in the form of bonuses that companies handed out because of the tax law.

“Some of it came when employers cut the amount of income tax that they were withholding from a worker’s paychecks.

“Some of it was because of the higher wages we’ve seen with raises announced across the country.

“It all adds up to about $200 billion more for hard-working Americans.

“That’s money people can spend on things that are important to them and their families.

“It’s money people can save for things like college for the kids, for a new car, or whatever they want to save for.

“People notice that kind of difference in their take-home pay.

“It makes a big difference in their lives.

“Another thing that happens when we cut taxes is businesses have more money to hire more workers.

“In fact, the American economy has added over 600,000 new jobs just since Republicans passed and President Trump signed the tax law in December.

“These are jobs at places like Kroger.

“That grocery store chain has a number of convenient stores. They said last week they’re going to be hiring 11,000 new workers.

“Those aren’t just people at the headquarters – these are people in stores all across the country.

“It’s cashiers, produce clerks, workers in prepared food sections of the store.

“That’s good for the American economy, and it’s good for each of these communities where these people are getting hired.

“Some of these stores are in Cheyenne, Casper, Gillette, Rock Springs.

“The stores are hiring more people, they’re increasing benefits for people who want to continue their education, get a GED.

“The company says it’s directly because they’re saving money under the tax law.

“A lot of companies are doing more of this kind of thing, paying more, because they want to hold on to the workers that they have.

“That’s one reason that the initial jobless claims number for the first week in April, it dropped. The claims of people who are out of work, who file for benefits from the government, the number of people filing has dropped by 9,000 people.

“That’s a sign that people are keeping their jobs and don’t need to apply for unemployment benefits.

“The number of jobless claims has been low for the longest stretch now ever.

“They’ve been keeping records since 1967 – and nobody’s ever seen it like this.

“One economist looked at all the good news and said, ‘The job market is rip-roaring.’

“Well, the American people don’t need an economist to tell them that. All they need to do is look around their own hometown.

“I see it at home in Wyoming. Businesses are hiring. Workers are getting bonuses, they’re getting raises. They’re seeing more money in their paychecks.

“People all across America are feeling better about their jobs – there is a confidence, an optimism that I see at home.

“People are feeling better about their own personal financial situation. Certainly the case at home in Wyoming.

“There were a couple of surveys that came out recently.

“In one of them, the Pew organization found that the number of people who say the economy is in good or excellent condition is now ‘at its highest point in nearly two decades.’

“The second survey, the polling firm Gallup found that investor optimism is at ‘the highest levels in 17 years.’

“When we talk about investors, we’re taking about families in Wyoming who are saving for their retirement.

“They’ve seen the effects of Republican policies like the tax relief law.

“They’ve seen what we’re doing to cut regulations so the economy can grow and so people can be free to live their lives and make decisions for themselves.

“They’ve seen what happens when Washington starts to put America first again.

“All of those things added together makes people confident in our economy – and it gives them optimism for the future.

“The only people who aren’t feeling optimistic right now are the Democrats in Congress who across the board voted against this tax relief law.

“Republicans voted to lower taxes. Democrats voted for higher taxes.

“Now Democrats seem to be desperately trying to spin their way out of the terrible choices that they made.

“Over the weekend, Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, said that the Republican tax cuts are ‘unfair to America’s working families.’

“Who is she kidding? The only thing unfair would be if Democrats get their wish and repeal the tax cuts that we passed and raise taxes—which is apparently what they want to do.

“I’ve spoken to a lot of working families at home in Wyoming, and they are overjoyed at the extra money that they’ve gotten in their paychecks since Republicans cut taxes.

“Americans know that the economy has created 605,000 new jobs since we passed tax relief.

“They know we’re breaking records for the low numbers of people filing for unemployment.

“People see that the average wages are up much higher than they were a year ago.

“They know that Republicans tax cuts; that we doubled the standard deduction; we got rid of the Obamacare individual mandate tax; changed the death tax which is a big issue for our farmers and ranchers in Wyoming—and for the small business owners.

“Hard-working Americans who just filled out their taxes, they know that Republicans are on their side.

“The last thing they want is to hear Democrats talking about raising taxes again.”

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