Bonuses, Pay Raises, Tax-Cuts for Middle Class Families Across America
‘[O]ne provision of the tax rewrite will specifically help the most distressed communities in our nation. It will turn these areas into ‘opportunity zones’ that are especially attractive for investment… This program is just one of so many ways that Republican policies are providing a boost to the very communities that Democratic policies systematically left behind. Bonuses, pay raises, and tax cuts for middle-class families today. And the foundation for more investment and more jobs tomorrow.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the benefits Americans continue to see from the Republican pro-opportunity, pro-worker agenda:
“This week, I've been highlighting some examples of the strength of the U.S. economy. The people of West Virginia, where President Trump visited yesterday evening, are no exception to this national trend. During the Obama years, West Virginia’s economy was hit hard. Manufacturing employment shrunk by 13 percent. Coal and logging employment shrunk by 38 percent.
“But today, things are different. The state’s unemployment rate has been lower during each of the past 19 months under this united Republican government than it was during any month of the Obama administration. Coal jobs are surging back, and according to one industry estimate, in 2017, West Virginia saw faster growth in construction jobs than in any other state.
“As Senator Capito explained in a recent op-ed, figures like these are more evidence that Republican policies are helping her state and the entire country write a new chapter. Sen. Capito recently shared with me that in Wheeling, West Virginia, the owners of Warwood Tool are creating a new line of products thanks to the new flexibility brought by tax reform. In Wellsburg, Eagle Manufacturing is buying new machinery. And in Jane Lew, Doss Enterprises is planning to hire up to 30 new workers.
“It’s really amazing when you remember that only one of West Virginia’s senators voted for the tax reform policy that helped make all this good news possible. And as Senator Capito notes, recent months’ promising economic numbers -- and all the new opportunities they represent -- are only the beginning. Tax reform will also help strengthen our economic foundation for the long term.
“In particular, one provision of the tax rewrite will specifically help the most distressed communities in our nation. It will turn these areas into ‘opportunity zones’ that are especially attractive for investment. The Treasury Department has already certified zones in every state -- including 55 in West Virginia and 144 in my home state of Kentucky. Nearly 35 million Americans live in communities within the newly designated Opportunity Zones. Together, they have an average poverty rate of around 32 percent.
“This program is just one of so many ways that Republican policies are providing a boost to the very communities that Democratic policies systematically left behind. Bonuses, pay raises, and tax cuts for middle-class families today. And the foundation for more investment and more jobs tomorrow.”
Related Issues: Tax Reform, Coal, Jobs, Economy, Taxes
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