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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 115 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 163 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2017 No. 155 Senate The Senate met at 10:01 a.m. and was appoint the Honorable TOM COTTON, a Sen- A bill (H.R. 3354) making appropriations called to order by the Honorable TOM ator from the State of Arkansas, to perform for the Department of the Interior, environ- COTTON, a Senator from the State of the duties of the Chair. ment, and related agencies for the fiscal year Arkansas. ORRIN G. HATCH, ending September 30, 2018, and for other pur- President pro tempore. poses. f Mr. COTTON thereupon assumed the Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, in PRAYER Chair as Acting President pro tempore. order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule XIV, I ob- The Chaplain, Dr. Barry C. Black, of- f ject to further proceedings. fered the following prayer: RESERVATION OF LEADER TIME The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- Let us pray. pore. Objection having been heard, the Immortal and Invisible God, You con- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- bill will be placed on the calendar. tinue to be our shelter in the time of pore. Under the previous order, the storms. Thank You for being our Na- leadership time is reserved. TAX REFORM tion’s protection. f Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, Give our Senators the wisdom to later today, I look forward to joining CONCLUSION OF MORNING members of the Senate Finance Com- place their confidence in You, instead BUSINESS of in national power and prestige. Lord, mittee, the House Ways and Means inspire our lawmakers with Your pres- The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- Committee, and other congressional ence. Dispel all fear. May they remem- pore. Morning business is closed. leaders in unveiling a unified frame- ber that in the most turbulent and un- f work for fixing our Nation’s broken predictable of times, You are still in Tax Code. It is an idea that can bring charge of our Nation and world. NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZA- much needed relief to middle-class Give each of our citizens the ability TION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR families and small businesses and help to know and do Your will. Lord, be in 2018—MOTION TO PROCEED keep more jobs right here in America. our midst so that we will experience The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- It is the result of a lot of hard work peace even in the midst of a storm. pore. Under the previous order, the and input from Members, committees, We pray in Your great Name. Amen. Senate will resume consideration of staffs, and the administration, to name a few, and I want to thank them again f the motion to proceed to S. 1519, which the clerk will report. for their continued diligence on behalf PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The senior assistant legislative clerk of our country. This framework is focused on sup- The Presiding Officer led the Pledge read as follows: porting American jobs, while making of Allegiance, as follows: Motion to proceed to Calendar No. 165, S. 1519, a bill to authorize appropriations for taxes fairer, and on growing families’ I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the paychecks. It is a refreshing change United States of America, and to the Repub- fiscal year 2018 for military activities of the lic for which it stands, one nation under God, Department of Defense, for military con- from our current outdated Tax Code, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. struction, and for defense activities of the which for too long hasn’t worked for Department of Energy, to prescribe military many Americans. f personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and The current code forces individuals, for other purposes. APPOINTMENT OF ACTING families, and small businesses to navi- PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE RECOGNITION OF THE MAJORITY LEADER gate a web of schedules, deductions, The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- and penalties. Rates are too high. In- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The pore. The majority leader is recog- centives often make little to no sense. clerk will please read a communication nized. Some actually encourage companies to to the Senate from the President pro MEASURE PLACED ON THE CALENDAR—H.R. 3354 ship American jobs overseas. Moreover, tempore (Mr. HATCH). Mr. MCCONNELL. Mr. President, I for 8 years under the Obama adminis- The senior assistant legislative clerk understand there is a bill at the desk tration, our economy grew at a slug- read the following letter: that is due for a second reading. gish rate—never living up to its real U.S. SENATE, The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- potential. Too many Americans strug- PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE, Washington, DC, September 27, 2017. pore. The clerk will read the bill by gled to get ahead, many living pay- To the Senate: title for the second time. check to paycheck. It is time for a sig- Under the provisions of rule I, paragraph 3, The senior assistant legislative clerk nificant change in favor of families and of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I hereby read as follows: jobs. ∑ This ‘‘bullet’’ symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by a Member of the Senate on the floor. S6159 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:37 Sep 27, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A27SE6.000 S27SEPT1 S6160 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE September 27, 2017 This is our once-in-a-generation op- RECOGNITION OF THE MINORITY LEADER crumbs. Amazingly, the Trump tax portunity to fundamentally rethink The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tem- plan will even include a proposal to in- our Tax Code. We can unleash the econ- pore. The Democratic leader is recog- crease the bottom tax rate—a punch to omy—promoting growth, attracting nized. the gut of working Americans. jobs, and improving American competi- TAX REFORM The American people should be able tiveness in the global market. Instead Mr. SCHUMER. Good morning, Mr. to see the principle behind President of sending jobs overseas, we can mod- President. First, I would like to talk Trump’s tax plan in this one fact. He ernize our Tax Code to help bring about taxes. proposes to cut taxes on the highest in- strong investment and good-paying Today, President Trump and Repub- come brackets and raise them on the jobs home and keep them here. lican leaders will announce several pro- lowest. He raises the bottom rate and Through this framework, we can lower posals as part of their tax plan. Accord- cuts the top rate. This is taxes for individuals and families, so ing to recent reports, that plan will in- ‘‘wealthfare’’—‘‘wealthfare’’—helping hard-working Americans are able to clude proposals to repeal the estate those of great wealth with more tax keep more of their hard-earned money. tax, lower the rate on passthrough en- breaks. Later this afternoon, President tities, lower the top rate, and actually The American people should be able Trump will bring our shared vision of raise the bottom tax rate. Each of to see the principle behind President tax reform to the people of Indiana and these proposals would result in a mas- Trump’s tax plan with little more than to Americans more broadly. He will ex- sive windfall for the wealthiest Ameri- an across-the-board tax cut for Amer- plain his support for putting Ameri- cans and provide almost no relief to ica’s millionaires and billionaires. God cans across the country on a more level middle-class taxpayers who need it bless them. I am glad we have a lot of playing field, because when they are, most. rich people in America. I don’t be- they can win. It seems that President Trump and grudge them. Many of them have I thank the President and his team Republicans have designed their plan worked very hard to get their money. for their efforts to develop the frame- to be cheered in the country clubs and Some of them get it through an estate; work. Together, we can continue that the corporate boardrooms. How does so be it. But the wealthiest among us work to bring relief and growth to the repealing the estate tax help middle- don’t need a tax break. They are doing people of our States, such as the work- class people? great. ers, small businesses, and families of Only 5,200 of the wealthiest families All of the statistics show that those Kentucky, and promote economic in America, couples whose estates are at the highest end are making more growth in America. worth $11 million, pay the estate tax. money than ever before and the middle Using the framework we will release Are there any middle-class families class is flat or sinking. Who needs the today as a roadmap, the Senate Fi- worth $11 million? Is that the Presi- break? The Washington Post-ABC poll nance Committee, under Chairman dent’s definition of the middle class? showed yesterday that more than 70 HATCH’s leadership, will continue to The estate tax is skewed to the very percent of Americans say our tax sys- hold a series of hearings to discuss how wealthiest among us, and they are tem already tends to favor wealth more to make taxes lower, simpler, and fair- going to repeal it. This is not going to than the middle class. This bill makes er for middle-class families and for fly with the American people, let me it much worse.