01.29.18

Tax Reform: More Jobs, Bonuses, Pay Increases

‘As the president delivers his first State of the Union address tomorrow, I’m especially looking forward to his remarks on tax reform and the state of our economy. Already, hundreds of businesses have announced significant bonuses, pay increases, new jobs, and expanded benefits. Just last week, we learned that Verst Logistics, which is based in Walton, Kentucky and employs nearly 1,600, has distributed bonuses to full-time employees.’

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the president’s State of the Union address tomorrow night and the benefits Americans across the country continue to see from tax reform:  

“As the president delivers his first State of the Union address tomorrow, I’m especially looking forward to his remarks on tax reform and the state of our economy. Already, hundreds of businesses have announced significant bonuses, pay increases, new jobs, and expanded benefits.

“Just last week, we learned that Verst Logistics, which is based in Walton, Kentucky and employs nearly 1,600, has distributed bonuses to full-time employees. The company’s CEO told workers, quote, ‘I want to be sure that you and your families share in the benefits of your accomplishments and the new tax reform legislation.’ When I hear my Democratic colleagues denigrate tax reform bonuses as, quote, ‘crumbs, I think about workers like these.

“I think about the Verst worker who came to her boss with tears in her eyes when she received word of her bonus. It was Christmas. She and her husband had recently had their fifth child. Money was tight. Mom and Dad had enough saved up to buy gifts for the kids, but were planning to skip presents for each other. But tax reform changed that. Thanks to the tax reform bonus that she earned, this employee and her husband could go out for a nice dinner and buy each other Christmas gifts, after all. The CEO says he’s never been hugged so hard in his life.

“It’s a shame that none of my Democratic colleagues voted for tax reform – not a one. And it’s jarring to hear some of them now denigrating the pay increases and benefits that only wealthy people could deem insignificant. Maybe in San Francisco or New York, an extra $500 or $1,000 is no big deal. But try telling that to families in North Dakota and Missouri and Montana. Try telling that to that mother of five. I suspect you would get an earful. Tomorrow evening, when the president describes tax reform’s impact for middle-class Americans, every one of us should stand and applaud.”

Related Issues: Tax Reform, State of the Union, Taxes, Economy