“There was another new survey that came out last week… The survey found that 89 percent of these business leaders are confident in the U.S. economy’s prospects this year. That’s an enormous jump from the 39 percent that business leaders were feeling in terms of confidence back in 2016.”

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor on how confidence in the economy is soaring because of the tax relief law.

Barrasso also reacts to Cheyenne-based restaurant chain Taco John’s recent announcement that they gave their employees a bonus thanks to tax reform.

Excerpts of Senator Barrasso’s remarks:

“I’ve been coming to the floor to talk about the many ways the tax relief law has helped people all across America.

“Last week there were even more examples.

“One thing we saw was the Economic Report of the President that came out last Wednesday.

“This is a report from the top economists at the White House.

“According to the report, the tax relief law –that we have passed, signed into law –is going to raise the average wages for working families across this country by over $4,000 over the long run.

“That’s a huge raise.

“This report said that more than 4 million workers are also getting one-time cash bonuses and other benefits.

“It says that so far over $2 billion in cash bonuses have been given.

“Today in Wyoming, we hear another great report.

“That Taco John’s, an establishment that when I was in the Wyoming legislature –I frequently went to eat lunch–they are providing bonuses for employees.

“The reason they say they’re doing it is the tax relief, tax cut benefits that people all across the country are receiving.

“If you remember, a lot of Democrats predicted gloom and doom if we were to pass this piece of legislation.

“Nancy Pelosi actually said it was Armageddon.

“She said it was the end of the world.

“With all of these workers getting bigger paychecks, and more take-home pay, Democrats have now started to panic.

“Nancy Pelosi went out and said that all the benefits people are getting under the tax law are ‘crumbs.’

“That’s what she called it.

“That’s not what people across the state of Wyoming are calling it.

“I got a note the other day from a man who said he heard all the rhetoric from Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats.

“He said: ‘Here is what the crumbs mean to a fellow working man in Casper, Wyoming.’

“The first thing he noticed was that his take-home pay was higher in his latest paycheck.

“He figures the tax cut works out to about a two percent raise for him.

“He and his wife decided to put that money straight into his retirement savings plan – and invest it.

“He figures that over time, as those investments grow, it could add up to an extra $97,000 by the time he’s ready to retire.

“He says, ‘a few crumbs over time really make a difference.’

“There was a second part of this story about what the Republican tax relief means for him and his family and that’s because of the bonus.

“Because of the tax cuts, his employer gave him a bonus of $1,500.

“He said, ‘I plan to enjoy the summer just a little bit more with this surprise income.’

“The tax cut he’s investing in his retirement – and the bonus he’s investing in creating additional memories with his family today.

“That means they’ll take an extra camping trip to Yellowstone this summer.

“They’ll enjoy ‘a few more cookouts with family and friends, to savor the memories that this tax reform is providing.’

“Tax reform has been very good for people in Casper, Wyoming.

“It’s good for his family.

“It’s good for the local businesses that he’ll be supporting, where he’ll be spending his money.

“Camping trips, cookouts, memories – they are not crumbs.

“I don’t know why Democrats who voted against the tax cuts even came to Washington in the first place.

“I do know that Republicans came here with a purpose to give families more opportunities to invest in their futures, like this man is doing.

“There was another new survey that came out last week.

“They talked with the heads of companies all across America.

“They talked about the confidence index.

“The survey found that 89 percent of these business leaders are confident in the U.S. economy’s prospects this year.

“That’s an enormous jump from the 39 percent that business leaders were feeling in terms of confidence back in 2016.

“It’s even bigger than last year, when 80 percent said they were confident.

“The reason for the jump is simple.

“When you look at what’s changed since 2016 there are a couple of very big things.

“First is the way that Republicans have been cutting back on Washington’s burdensome, punishing, destructive regulations.

“It’s going to save Americans a lot of money and a lot of time.

“The second thing that’s happened is that Congress and Republicans in Congress, specifically, passed the tax relief law.

“That’s why millions of Americans are getting a pay raise.

“It’s why Americans are more confident about our economy. The business leaders are right.

“They should be confident about the state of America’s economy – because Republicans are just getting started.

“Our economy should have been growing much more quickly ever since the recession ended almost nine years ago.

“The policies of Democrats in Washington held our economy back.

“Now we’ve got Republican policies – and the economy is much stronger.

“America’s economy grew by just 1.8 percent in 2016.

“Last year, it grew by 2.5 percent. We added 2.2 million new jobs in 2017.

“Confidence is soaring. Democrats don’t want to hear about it.

“They don’t want to hear from their constituents who are getting a raise, and getting more money in their paycheck.

“They almost appear to be rooting some for the economy to stall.

“Some may want the economy to look more like it did when they were in charge.

“Well, the American people are going to look at what the Democrats did and realize what the Republicans did made a huge difference in their lives.

“People are going to look at the fact that every Democrat in the Senate voted against the tax cuts.

“Then people are going to look at what Republicans have done, and what it means for people’s take-home pay.

“That’s why Republicans are here – it’s what we promised to do, and it’s what we are going to continue to do.”

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