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 how Republican, pro-growth policies are helping the economy grow, creating new jobs, and letting Americans keep more of their hard-earned money.

Excerpts of Senator Barrasso’s remarks:

“Last Friday, we got new numbers from the Labor Department in terms of jobs and how American workers are doing.

“The unemployment rate is now down to 3.9 percent.

“It’s the lowest rate in more than 17 years.

“One analyst for the network CNBC said, ‘This is a wow number.’

“The American economy has created three million jobs since President Trump took office.

“That’s three million Americans who are now earning a paycheck instead of waiting for a government check.

“We’ve gotten 304,000 new manufacturing jobs since President Trump took office.

“There are 352,000 new construction jobs. 84,000 new jobs in the mining and logging industries.

“Compare this to when Democrats in Congress and in the last administration launched an all-out war on coal.

“Republicans ended the war on coal.

“We struck down a major Democrat regulation that would have crippled the mining industry.

“We showed industries like manufacturing, and construction, and logging, and mining, that we want people doing these jobs.

“Employers responded all around the country by hiring more people – and that makes the economy grow.

“So far Republicans in Congress have gotten rid of 16 major regulations since President Trump took office.

“We’ve wiped them off the books completely.

“We’ve shown that Republicans are serious about cutting red tape and loosening Washington’s stranglehold on our economy.

“Because we got rid of these rules, Americans have saved as much as $36 billion over time.

“That’s the cost for families and businesses jumping through the hoops and filling out paperwork that the government has previously demanded.

“The latest one of these regulations that we repealed was just last month.

“Republicans here in the Senate passed a resolution to help save people money when they’re shopping for a car.

“We got rid of a rule that the Obama administration had written to restrict how car dealers handle financing offers to buy a car.

“The rule was done in a way that was actually contrary to the law.

“It also had the potential to limit choices for consumers.

“So Republicans in the Senate voted to get rid of this unnecessary, burdensome regulation.

“President Trump has been very active in getting rid of excessive regulations as well.

“One of the first things he did as president was to issue an order cutting red tape.

“He said that for every significant new rule any agency wanted to write, it had to get rid of two rules.

“That’s how this administration has made a difference in Congress.

“The results so far have been even better than anyone had expected.

“The non-partisan American Action Forum has been tracking the numbers.

“They looked at all the rules that agencies have been working on for the fiscal year that we’re in now – since last October.

“Agencies have cut 35 major regulations of the kind the president was talking about.

“At the same time, they’ve only written five new major regulations.

“So President Trump said he would cut two for every one new regulation – and so far, in terms of major regulations, he’s cut seven rules for every new one.

“Of course, one of the most important things Republicans have done that’s helping the economy has been passing the tax relief law.

“This law means that we now have a simpler tax system, we now have a fairer system, and we have a system that is much less expensive for American families.

“Almost immediately, hard-working Americans started seeing more money in their paychecks.

“People got bonuses at work. People got raises. People are seeing it.

“Tax cuts have been good for American families, and they’ve been good for the American economy as well.

“The Congressional Budget Office says that the economy is going to grow by more than three percent this year.

“That’s much faster than it was growing for the previous years after the recession.

“The office actually went back and increased their estimates for economic growth because of the tax relief law, the tax cuts.

“Wages are up nearly three percent now from a year ago.

“Again, that’s much faster growth than we had under the previous administration.

“When you figure in the lower taxes, people’s real take-home pay is up even more.

“Democratic policies led to stagnant wages for Americans – Republican policies have allowed wages to grow much more quickly.

“Millions of people have gotten new jobs that didn’t exist before.

“Millions of other people have been able to switch jobs, move up in their careers, and make more money.

“Overall hiring in April went up by 20 percent compared to April of last year. That’s a huge increase.

“A lot of these jobs are being created by small businesses.

“Last week was small business week across America, and I visited a number of business owners across the state of Wyoming.

“Small business owners know that the government can either create opportunity or crush opportunity, and it’s based on regulations, mandates, and taxes.

“That’s the kind of change that’s possible under Republican, pro-growth policies.

“It’s things like a national economy that’s growing larger – and growing faster that the American people are seeing today.

“It’s things like people being able to find a new job – or a better job that pays more money.

“It’s things like a small business being free to expand – because it doesn’t have to waste so much time and money on taxes and paper work and government red tape.

“It’s things like making sure America takes less money out of people’s paychecks—let people keep more of their own hard-earned money.

“When you have policies that make life easier for families and for businesses, good things happen across America.

“People in my home state of Wyoming get it and they’re seeing it, and they’re experience it, and they’re living it every day.

“They understand that what Republicans are doing in Congress helps them at home.

“That’s why we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing and we’re going to keep going on.

“We’re going to keep cutting regulations.

“We’re going to keep building an America-first economy that is strong, that is healthy, and that is growing – so it can create more opportunities for everyone.

“That’s what Republicans have promised to do.

“It’s what we’re delivering – in Congress, and in the White House for the American people.”

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