During remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) spoke about the Republicans' proposed budget.
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00:00One of Republicans' biggest priorities this year is extending the tax relief we passed
00:04in 2017 and preventing a massive tax hike on hardworking Americans.
00:08We took a big step forward before Easter with passage of a budget resolution necessary for
00:12a final bill, and we are rapidly moving toward final bill text.
00:18And Senate Republicans held hours of great discussions today to hammer out a number of
00:24details.
00:25Ms. President, the issue before us is simple – if we don't act, Americans making less
00:29than $400,000 will face a $2.6 trillion tax hike next year.
00:37$2.6 trillion.
00:39Small businesses will face a $600 billion tax hike.
00:44Republicans do not intend to let that happen.
00:47We are going to extend the tax relief we passed during President Trump's first administration,
00:52starting with the lower individual rates that put more money in Americans' pockets and
00:57ease the burden on small businesses.
01:00I say extend, but in fact, Mr. President, we intend to make that tax relief permanent.
01:06Hardworking Americans should not have to worry about tax hikes every few years.
01:09And small businesses need tax certainty for long-term planning.
01:14And so, Mr. President, we are committed to not only extending the lower individual rates
01:18we passed in 2017, but to making them permanent.
01:21We are also committed to making other small business tax relief from the Tax Cuts and Jobs
01:25Act permanent, like bonus depreciation and the Section 199A deduction.
01:31The National Federation of Independent Business reports that making the Small Business Section
01:35199A deduction permanent would result in the creation of an additional 1.2 million jobs annually,
01:43with that number climbing as the law goes on.
01:47And the Tax Foundation reports that long-run GDP would increase by a substantial 1.1 percent.
01:55That means more jobs and more opportunities for American workers.
01:59It also means an increase in federal revenues.
02:02But an increase in federal revenues the right way.
02:06By growing and expanding the economy, not raising taxes.
02:10Mr. President, ensuring permanent tax relief for hardworking Americans and small businesses
02:15will be a substantial part of the final bill.
02:18But that's not all that will be included.
02:21We'll also be focusing on some of the other challenges our country has faced over the past
02:25four years.
02:26A dangerous border crisis.
02:28Deficiencies in our military readiness.
02:31And Biden administration policies that threaten to weaken our already shaky electric grid and
02:36jeopardize our nation's energy supply.
02:39President Trump has already made tremendous progress on securing the border and deporting
02:42criminals here illegally.
02:44But we need to dedicate additional resources to border security to secure those gains for
02:49the long term.
02:50And so the final bill that we pass will include a transformational investment in securing our
02:56borders, including things like additional detention space, more border patrol, and immigration
03:02and customs enforcement agents, and additional barriers and technology.
03:06We'll also make a transformational investment in our military readiness to address deficiencies
03:11and ensure that we are equipped to deter and defeat any threat.
03:17And we will implement policies to unleash American energy production to ensure a secure, stable, and
03:23affordable energy supply for the long term.
03:25Finally, we will take a hard look at how we spend taxpayer dollars and implement savings measures
03:33to put our country on a more fiscally sustainable path.
03:36It's going to be a great bill, Mr. President, and it's going to help produce a stronger and
03:44a more secure America.
03:54Mr. President, I yield the floor.