WASHINGTON, D.C.— House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) joined Fox News Channel’s The Daily Briefing with Dana Perino this afternoon to discuss House passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to deliver historic tax reform that allows American families, workers, and businesses to keep more of their hard-earned paychecks so we can grow our economy.
On working with President Trump to pass historic tax reform…
“We’ve been working very closely with President Trump throughout this process. He made it very clear from the beginning, he wants to make sure middle-class families see real tax relief. Under this bill, they will get it in a big way. You’re going to see the economy take off like nothing we have seen in a generation. You are already seeing the stock market respond positively, just on the assumption that the bill would have gotten passed. Now that it is passed, and the President will sign it shortly, you’re going to see companies hire. You’re going to see wages go up, economic growth which equates to more jobs and more money in the pockets of families. They know how to spend it better than a lot of these liberal, Washington elites that are so upset that we passed a bill that cuts taxes for working families.
“If you believe in economic growth, and if you believe in free markets, and you believe in the kind of economy that we are already seeing already take off—you’re going to see a lot of those companies bring those jobs back to America. You know this real well, Dana, because America has the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world, it’s literally killed jobs where we would see big company after big company move thousands of good jobs out of the country. We end that. We actually cut the rate down to where we could be the leader of the world again.
“You’ll see new manufacturing plants be built in America instead of foreign countries. That means really good jobs for people. People get that. People see these companies moving jobs overseas. They knew why, and they were calling on Congress to fix it. Democrats tried to stand in the way, but we weren’t going to be denied that opportunity for those families that want these jobs. We passed the bill. It’s going to be really good for the economy and really good for middle-class families.”
On jolting the economy with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act…
“We know it will be a tough election next year, but we’ve got a great bill that’s going to really jolt the economy. When people see their paychecks going up, when people see unemployment drop and people going back to work, that’s going to be something that the Democrats opposed every step of the way. If you just look at Obamacare, they lost their majority in part because of Obamacare, because they raised taxes on families and they had more government control, telling you what you can or can’t buy and what you have to buy. In our bill, we actually go back to free markets, we actually cut taxes. We go in the opposite direction. That’s what families have been calling for, for years. Just get the economy back on track, so we have confidence that we can maybe go and buy a new home, or maybe add on, or put more money in a college savings account for our kids. They’re going to be able to do that now, with real money in their pockets. We’re getting Washington out of their way and making our country competitive again. That’s what people want, and we’re going to benefit from that because we delivered something important for the American people.”
On keeping the government funded…
“We’re already working on that. Chairman Thornberry and the Speaker has been talking to a lot of his Members. We’ve all been talking to the Members of our conference to make sure that we get something done, to get our job done before we leave. It also includes the supplemental spending bill for all of those states affected by hurricanes and wildfires. We’re going to get all of that done.”
On opening up ANWR for energy exploration…
“It’s a lot of rich reserves that we can explore for more American energy. President Trump had it right. This will be about energy dominance, where we can stop relying on countries that don’t like us. We can export to other countries and make more money. That’s what this bill was about. It’s about great jobs and getting the economy back on track. I’m proud we were able to get it passed and President Trump is going to sign it. Look, he’s been a champion of this from the very beginning.”
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