number of senators talking about the g.o.p. tax plan, including chuck schumer and orrin hatch. then a house panel looking at nasa's spay explore asia plans -- space exploration plans. first here the reremarks made on the senate floor about the senate g.o.p. tax plan. >> mr. president, later today the senate republicans will release their version of the tax bill. the bill will not include a single idea of democrats in the senate. not a single democrat has had any input into this bill. it was constructed entirely behind closed doors by the majority party, who have no intention of negotiating with democrats because they locked themselves into a partisan process that only requires a majority vote. they're trying to rush it through this chamber with

reckless speed. why? because my friends on the other side know the longer their bill is out there for the public to see, the less the public likes it. their only hopes of passing are to rush it through before anyone can grab with the stunning hypocrisy of the plain. the republican majority has repeatedly promises a middle class tax bill, but instead they've concocted a bill grounded in tax cuts for big corporations and the very rich. they actually hurt middle class people. because they need to give those big breaks to the wealthiest. while promising that their plan gives everyone a tax cut, that's what speaker ryan said again today -- multiple independence analyses conclude that the republican tax plan would increase taxes on millions of middle class families, career to what republicans promised. what donald trump has promised. they sunrise middle class people will get an increase, this aimed

at helping the middle class. but the vast majority of the help goes to wealthiest and biggest corporations. a "new york times" analysis found that next year, the house republican plan would cause tacks to go up on win-third of middle class family, by 20267 taxes would go up on nearly half of all middle class familiar throughs. so even if you come from a state with a lower tax rate, red state, a good bet that a quarter of the middle class families would get a tax increase, the lowest was 17% for west virginia. so, this hurts middle class people and certain middle class people much worse than others, people who have student loans-people with high medical expenses, people from states where are there large property taxes, people would have big mortgages. these are middle class people. they should not get a tax increase. as mark maicer, the director of

the independent tax policy center said, you could create a plan that just cuts tacks for middle class people. that's not what this is. that's him. not me. but it's what republicans promised people. it's what republicans promised people. now we'll see what the senate comes up with today but several republican senators already confirmed the senate bill has the same structure as the house bill, and in at least one way we'll know it's worse for middle class families than the house bill because the house bill would reduce the value of state and local deductions by 70% while the senate bill eliminates its entirely mitchell friend from ohio, senator portman, confirmed that a few days ago on fox business. so, this should be a three alarm fire for every house republican in california, new york, new jersey, virginia, washington, illinois, colorado, minnesota. senate republicans are telling

house republicans there will be in compromise on state and local deductibility. it's full repeal or bust. because senate republicans need the revenue raised by ending this popular middle class deduction. there are several deficit hawks in the senate. we have stricter budget rules for wreck reconciliation. if the senate dynamics plan can yous cud to corporate race, pass, through rates and upper class tax brackets they'll need the revenue of full repeal. state and local to make the numbers work. so i say to every one of my republican colleagues in house who come from a suburban district, this bill could be your political doom. don't let the special interests, don't let the party leadership. push you do doing something that is so bad for your constituents. you'll pay a price. house republicans should kill

the bill now if they want to have any hope of stopping the full repeal of state and local deductions. they can't hide behind the so-called compromise in the house bill. it's nothing more than a temporary fig leaf for full and permanent repeal. and as i said, if house republicans don't kill it now, it will come back to haunt them. the overwhelming democratic turnout in suburban districts in virginia, nicker, pennsylvania, should send shivers down the spine of house republicans who represent those districts. voting to repeal the state and local deductions, while the middle class and upper middle class suburbs would be political suicide, all to bow down to the special wealthy interests. special big interests of large corporations. now, even with the compromise, the house numbers are devastating.

representative mcarthur said he was shown information that shows the compromise guess for his district and he went from a no to a lean yes, according to the politico. yet mccar thunder, go look at the real numbers. 43% of taxpayers in represent tick mcare their's stayed take the local deduction for an average of 11,000 hundred $87. per bee ducks. over half the value is not the property tax at all. it's state and local income, which will be taken away under the plan. and then there are good number, covering are irs with the property tacks are over 10,000, mean the compromise would not help. the if i were representative mcarthur i would not listen to the numbers republican leadership is giving. would do my own independent analysis because he would find them to be a lot worse than what the leadership is telling them,

and i said to my other republican colleagues, don't fall for the quick numbers. due your own -- do your own look. it's a lot worse than your leadership is telling you. yet, for some reason -- one final point here on taxes. for some reason, the conventional wisdom on the republican side is that because of the stunning depth of their losses in the recent elects there's a greater need pass the tax plan. we have to do this or we'll fall apart, they say. it makes no sense. they're misreading the public. ed gillespie, for all his divisive ads, ran a traditional establishment come pain. the linchpin of his campaign was a thousand dollars tax cut for everybody. got him nowhere. exit polls from the virginia election showed the number one issue on voters are minds was health care and voted overwhelmingly democratic.

and yet, amazingly, republicans may repeal the individual mandate as part of their tax bill. how do the think that is going fly? despite the spin from republican leaders, passing this plan won't help republicans climb out of the hoe hole they're until. it will bury them deeper. maybe there won't be -- if they pass the bill they won't say they're in disarray for the moment, but already this bill has had a miserable rollout. when a party rolls our their number one legislative plan the should be trumpets and bands but the public knows the bill favors the wealthy. the public node that middle class people gate tax increase. so at best the rollout of this bill has been mixed. say it's negative and the american people agree because more people, many more people are against this bill than are for it, according to all of the polls. passing a partisan tax plan that

favors the wealthy, raise is taxes on millions of middle class and upper middle class families in the suburbs is no political cure. it's political poison. the real way to win back the esteem of the american people would be to put partisanship aside, put a giant tax cut for the wealthy on she shelf and come work with democrats on real bipartisan reform. >> today as chairman of the senate finance committee i'm releasing a chairman's marks of the senate version of the tax cuts and jobs act. legislation that he combination of years of effort to reform the nation's tax code. with hey been at this a long time and today's markets -- today's marks is a significant step forward in this effort. while i refer to this document as a chairman's mark, it has been a group effort with significant input am from all

the republican members of the finance committee and great work from all of our staff. i want to thank everyone involved for their hard wore and feedback, perspective, advice anded ayes. the last time congress neighboringed a comprehensive overhaul of the tack code in 1986, president reagan noted the american people would finally have a tax code they could be proud of. and in 1986, that was likely true, but at that time updates to the tack code were nose keep pace with the technological and geopolitical changes of our nation. that sounds familiar, mr. president. it is after all what we have been saying for the last several years. the world of 1986 was vastly different from the world we live in today. advances in the past three decades have been monumental. yet our tax code has not

advanced and it is failing us. the american people have dealt with years of stagnating wages, sluggishness in labor markets and a weak growth in the economy. businesses are fleeing our country to find more favorable conditions in other countries. we have been work can for years address the issues and meet the needs of the 21st century global economy. fortunately we now find ourselves in a position to make good on all of these years of hard work. a big part of that is the fact that our current president is fully engaged on tax reform, unlike his most recent predecessor so we have been focused this year on providing middle class tax relief, reforming the business tax system and fixing our obscenely outdated international tax regime. the mark we are releasing today

will accomplish all of these goals, and more. they will reduce individual rates across the board, and direct substantial rethrive low and middle income families, and workers. it will bring down corporate tax rates, the goal long shared by republicans and democrats, and provide businesses with new opportunities for growth and expansion. it will modernize our international tax system, bringing to an end our worldwide tax regime, a relic that should have been retired many years ago. we have been laser focused, mr. president, on reducing taxes for the middle class. that is exactly what this will do. combined, these changes to our broken tax code and the chairman's mark will get ahead, working taxpayers cross the country bigger paychecks and more opportunities. they will grow our economy,

raising wages and improving a standard of living for all americans. they will once again make america the best place in the world to create, grow, and keep business, where we create more jobs and sustain a vibrant, growing economy. i have more to say on the specifics of the mark in the coming days, mr. president. for now i want to give colleagues on the finance committee an opportunity to share their foughts on the steps we're talking today. before we get to that i want to acknowledge the elephants in the room. only republicans will be standing up to today speak in favor to the mark and i expect we'll hear negative comments from our friends on the other side of the aisle soon enough. an that point i'll reiterate what i said many times in the past. our desire from the outset of this endeavor has been to have democrats join us in this effort. i have personal hill invited my colleagues to come to the table

to share their views and work with news good faith. yet i expect that way'll hear a lot of supposed process fouls in the coming days, let me make it clear, to anyone listening, as chairman of the senate writing committee, have not turned anyone away from the process. i haven't refused to listen to anyone's ideas or suggestions, and i continue to say with conviction that i'm still willing to have them onboard and hope they'll be willing to get onboard and join news this effort -- join news this effort. a critical objective is to provide relief and support to the large swath of americans in the middle class who have been left behind. without economic gain or opportunities for growth. our tax reform efforts represented in the chairman's mark put forward today show

we're listen to those call ought for relief. we have an historic opportunity to help and that opportunity should not be squandered by anyone on either side of the aisle for clean political points. with that, mr. president, i am grateful to be a maybe of this body and grateful to be chairman of the senate finance committee, very powerful and hard working committee, both republicans and democrats, and i'm grateful to make these remarks today, and with that i yield the floor. >> mr. president. >> the senator from iowa. >> the last time the congress really did at the big job that's before us right now was 1986. did quite bit to modernize the tax coat. so that's 30 years ago. in the generation since, the tax code has grown out of control.

everybody knows that. it's been a dream come true for accountants and lobbyists that make their living from certain provisions of that tax code. but for the american taxpayer, the gigantic tax code is not a dream but a nightmare for most americans. this is helped the powerful and the well-connected. but has hurt the american workers. it's hurt american industry and it hurts americans' ability to compete with the rest of the world. so the bill unveiled today takes a real giant step forward to make our tax code simpler, fairer, and more competitive. it catches us up with our major trading partners who have been lowering business tax rates while we have stood still and

keeps us uncompetitive. gives us an opportunity to disport more when we are competitive in the global economy. this bill will also help bring back jobs and create new ones. it will boost american wages by promoting economic growing and incentivizing investment. the centerpiece of the legislation is where it ought to be in the center of our population, middle class america, so it has middle class tax cuts. the average middle class family of four would see a tax cut of more than $1,400. an increase in the child tax credit of $650 above the $1,000 that's already there, per child, would mean real help for

working parents. nearly doubling the standard deduction, means that many lower income americans will be remove from the tax rolls completely. and the tax filing season will be much simpler for millions more. small businesses will also see significant tax relief from the rate reduction on the individual side, but also from an innovative new small business income tax deduction, because two-thirds of the jobs in this country are created by those very same small businesses and we ought to give them some better equity with big c corporations. it will provide much-needed tax rethrive nearly all small businesses, down to the smallest family owned corner store and family farmer. our bill recognizes the

importance of small businesses in our economy, after all, as i just said, they're responsible for a majority of those new jobs. the tax savings they receive could be spent on a new hire, it could be spent on giving raises to employees in those same small businesses. it could be invested in a growing company. all this adds up to americans seeing more "now hiring" signs throughout the country, landmark tax relief during the kennedy and reagan administrations grew wages, created jobs, and made the united states more competitive, so there's enough history behind what we're trying to do to know that it will accomplish the goals that we accomplish -- that we're trying to accomplish.

today, congress has a golden opportunity to do again what was done in kennedy ask the reagan years and has not been done for 30 years, tax cuts, tax simplification and tax reform. i yield the floor. >> thank you. >> carolina. >> today is a good day. we have both the house and the senate working on tax reform that will have a positive impact for your everyday, hard-working americans. this is truly a good day. so often when you hear us talk about tax reform, it sounds like a lot of numbers. i'm not sure how excited or enamored people get with numbers but i'm the kind of guy that believes that tax reform is not about numbers. tax reform is about everyday

americans being able to keep more of their hard-earned money. tax reform is about families that, like the one i grew up in, single parent household, working paycheck to paycheck, year in and year out, praying and hoping for something good to happen. today is good news for those single moms and single dads out the. it's also good news for the working class families, dual income, making around $75,000 a year, working every day, trying to make sure they have a little left over for dinner out. we want to say to those folks who haven't really had a raise in a decade, we hear you. we feel your pain.

we want to deliver to our american family the opportunity to see more money in each paycheck. this is good. for folks who are looking to start businesses, we have a christmas surprise for you, too. we have lowered taxes on the average family, about 1500 bucks a year. $100 or so a month. here's what that means. for a family with your in a single parent household. >> bring home 450 a paycheck. that could easily become an extra 10% a paycheck. that's a lot of money to a single parent household. we have also expanded the child tax credit to make sure that those folks in the middle income

brackets are able to keep more of their hard-earned money, because if there's a focus on our tax reform package, it's to make sure that middle america, hard-working income earners, have a chance to see more money materialize in their paychecks. we have also simple my identified the tax code. people say, how did you do that? there are sevenbacks. understand. it's simple. simplification means you do not have to itemize. said differently, nine out of ten taxpayers will be able to use the expanded standard deduction to figure out their tax burden as opposed to going item by item by item and understanding whether or not you can withdraw it or substability it from your -- subtract ityour

income if was a small business owner before entering congress, and for many of those small business owners, they represent the backbone of our economy. most jobs created in the future will be created by a small business owner. we are going to lower your taxes so you can hire more people and make long-term investments into building the greatest economy this country has known in more than a generation. this is a good day. and we have good news. flu >> mr. president. >> nor from texas. >> mr. president, i agree with the senator from south carolina. this is a good day for the families who will benefit from

this additional money in their paycheck, from the increased standard of living they will enjoy and for those of white house want to see businesses come back home from abroad. they fled this country because of our -- we have the highest corporate tax rate in the world. and when we say we want to reform that broken corporate tax rate and bring those businesses and that money home, we join our colleagues ranging from the democratic leader, senator schumer, to barack obama in 2011 in a joint session of the united states congress, advocating for bringing that business rate down so that businesses will stay in america, they'll hire americans, and they'll improve wages for all working families. so i'm proud to join my fellow finance committee colleagues on the floor today to support our version over the tax cuts and

job act which was just released a few moments ago itch want to congratulate chairman hatch for his leadership but i really am extraordinarily impressed with all of the members of the finance committee that worked so hard together to try to get to us where we are today. we plan for lower rates, as you have heard we increased the standard deduction, expand the child tax credit, and we reform the tax code so we give americans access to more job and higher wages. our democratic colleagues have said they want tack reform, too. i mentioned barack obama. and chuck schumer, our colleague from new york, who repeatedly said we should lower the corporate rate so businesses will come home, hire americans, and help our economy grow here. so we're all in agreement on that, on a bipartisan basis, and there is room for further agreement. i agree with the chairman of the finance committee, senator

hatch, we invite our democratic colleagues to come together and join us, particularly starting on the finance committee, on monday. what we want -- if what we want is more, bet are paying jobs, and we do, then we have to focus on lower rates on all the job creators, including small businesses 'the framework we developed is designed to cut tacks for middle class families, not millionaires. it's to help small businesses grow and create more jobs it's to provide relief for hard working families by increasing the standard deduction, which is our colleague from south carolina pointed out, one out of ten taxpayers will now have to itemize deductions in order to take full advantage of the law to reduce their tax burden. so it will be simpler, easier to comply with, and lower their tax rate while enhancing the child tax credit. these reforms will make the thousand page tax code easier to

understand and comply with. our efforts with simplify what now pages upon pages of language, only tax lawyers lawyd lobbyists understand. look forward to continuing the important discussions when the senate finance committee marks up and amends this proposal, starting monday. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. >> mr. president. >> the senator from south dakota. >> mr. president, it is a good day here in the united states senate because today we released our tax reform legislation, and soon we happen to have -- hope to have a final bill on the president's desk. when you first think about coming to washington to serve, you dream about fixing big problems and making a real difference in people's lives. well, mr. president, today we get to make a big difference. i harken back -- i look in the chamber their 1986, the last time that tax reform was

actually passed through the senate and signed into law by the president. senator hatch, the champ of our committee, was a member of the senate at that time. senator mcconnell, senator grassley, were all their vote on that. was here as a young staffer. i didn't have kid of my own that that time, and today i'm a grandfather. so, a lot of time has passed, and tax reform is long overdue but the while point of the exercise, mr. president, is to give hope to future generations of americans to give them a better opportunity, a better life to improve their standard of living and their quality of life, and in order for that to happen, we need to be taking the steps here, putting policies in place that will create the conditions favorable to economic growth to the creation of better paying jobs and higher wages. today, mr. president, we get to bring relief to the parents wondering if they can afford new car they need to fit their growing family. today we get to bring relief to the single mom who is wonder

hogue she is going to pay the rent next month as our colleague from south carolina talked about those parent's and families literally aliving paycheck to paycheck. today we get to bring relief to the milled aged couple worrying bat security retirement. the small business owner who doesn't know how he can meet his tax bill and still make his mortgage payment. to the family farmer who is worried he won't be able to pass down his farm to his daughter. mr. president, the comprehensive tax reform legislation we have introduced today will provide immediate, direct relief to hard-working americans. it will immediately increase their taxhome pay. and it will immediately simply identify the tax code so that it's easier for americans to figure out what benefits they qualify for and so they don't have to spend a lot of time and money filing their taxes. so, mr. president, that's really

just the beginning. our bill is also going reform the business side of the tuxedoed give americans access to the jobs to the wages, and to the opportunities that will set them up for secure future. we're going to make it easier for small businesses to raise wages and to hire new workers. we're going to end the outdated tax framework that is driving american companies to keep jobss and provide overseas. we'll make it easier for companies to invest in american jobs jobs jobs and american workers. ain't been a rough few years for the economy and the american people. a lot of americans have not had a pay raise, literally in almost a decade. but with this tax reform legislation, we can ensure that it doesn't stay that way. the american people deserve a tax code that works for them, and not against them. that grow their paychecks

instead of some risking them. that -- shrink them, that expands their opportunities instead of eliminate. the, and that's exactly what we're going to give them starting today. mr. president, i yield the floor. >> mr. president. >> the senator from georgia. >> mr. president, today is america's lucky day. we all know what the definition of luck is. when opportunity meets preparation. and we're very lucky as a country and very lucky as a senate that our majority liter-mitch mcconnell is where he is at the time he is. it was his vision that the tax issue was going to emerge as a central issue in the growth and development of our country, and unless we have met our challenges of our tax code, opened up opportunities for our public, expand opportunity for our businesses, that america can succumb to a high tax system. we got lucky because senator mcconnell picked a man to be

chairman of thiteee, orrin hatch. who brought years of experience in the united states senate, and the compassion that here rein hatch has as a normal and america to a tax code which is by no means compassionate, complex to make it simpler, fairer, pro family and pro jobs. a lot of disappointed people overseize right now because those have been picking our pockets, buy converting american corporations to foreign systems because their taxes were lower than ours, were out of luck. gnaw they will be coming to america. making investments in our country, expand opportunities and jobs in our country no longer will companies invert to leave america and companies will invest to be more americans. that's fantastic and that's whoa this is a pro jobs tax bill. going create a lot of opportunities. opportunities is what americans want and what americans need. the average american family -- let me talk about my family for a second. i think i'm pretty average.

my wife and i are fortunate enough to the great children. worked in a small llc, limited -- a real estate brokerage company. my wife taught in become schools. our children went to the university of georgia and the public schools of our community. we saved for their education. we did everything we could continue vest in hope for them in the future and today they are all gainfully employed, all happy, but all struggling like everybody else if with a burdensome tax system and less opportunities. by simplifying the tax system, by making it fairer, we're giving more opportunity to my grandchildren and my grandchildren and more opportunity to america. lastly i want to make this point. the are only two ways to raise taxes. or raise revenue. one is to charge more. that blind raise somebody's taxes. the other way is to create opportunities so people create companies and jobs, because the opportunity there is, and when you create opportunity, when

jobs are created, revenues increase, and when people do better in jobs, their incomes go up, and companies expand, and when they expand they produce more revenue that becomes taxable so re raise our revenue but not by lowering expectations. but by raising opportunity. for our people, and for our children. so we're very lucky as americans today. i'm very lucky to be in this united states senate today. we're lucky to have had leaders in place at a time that is was right to address the country's biggest challenge do it the right way. when i was in the georgia legislature i sat next to an old time politician. i one day we were sitting side-by-side, listening to a speech and the gentleman in the well paused to make point me and says, ladies and gentlemen, let me tax your memory and the politician said, damn, i wish i thought of that. that's the way we have done

taxes, tax people's memory or tax something for us. we're creating opportunities, raising revenue through prosperity. the americans raise their revenue before the country gets the revenue second so it's lucky today, outcome to have great leader and live he greatest country on the earths and if we pass this bill before i end of the year which change the tax code of the united states of america to a fairer pro jobs, pro family tax code, will have made our contribution to history as a time it was our opportunity. i hope we never will be said we let our country down when the opportunity was available to us. i yield the floor. >> mr. president. >> nor from pennsylvania. >> mr. president, i want to echo the messages of the senator from georgia. this is a terrific opportunity. a big day, beg step forward on our path to restoring the

economic growing that we have been waiting for all this time. i am really excited about this step forward and the remainder of the process to get this done, to get this bill signed into law. why do we need this? mr. president, we just lived through the weakest recovery in american history. teenle growth, stagnant wages and a widening gap between the wealth request and the poor. been happening for years. some people say that's just the way iting up. the new normal. that is what america is about now. mr. president, that is complete nonsense. there's nothing inevitable about the american economy being weak and denying opportunity for the people that we represent. it's a direct result of bad policy. failed policy that prevented us from having having the recoverye would normally have, after a recession. what what's policy? we thought, it's very clear, not a matter of opinion, it's matter of fact, that productivity

growth in american e america collapsed. it's matter of fact that investment in the kind of new plans and equipment that allow for productivity to grow collapsed. it's a fact that new business startups, just dried up. people weren't able and willing to do it. it's no mystery about why our economy was so weak for so many years. we had imposed conditions that made it impossible to have the kind of growth that is normal, and meanwhile, what was happening in the rest of the world? the rest of the world was systematically making their tax codes more competitive. the countries we compete with around the world in europe and asia, they were lowering the rates they applied to business income, they were simplifying their codes and moving to national systems that it -- international systems to generate investment into their countries while we did nothing except let our tax code just ossify. that's what has been happening these last many years,

mr. president and what i'm excited about is this bill fixes exactly what is broken. this bill guess to exactly where the problem is, and begins to turn this around. so, how do we do that? one thing we do, a hallmark of the bill, is we're going to lower the cost of investing in the new plants and equipment that will allow american workers to become more productive. more productive workerred get paid more in wage. that's just fact. that is what is going to happen as a result of this bill. another thing we do in the bill is we get away from this terrible policy we have that is resulting in foreign companies buying up american companies. the way we treat income earned overseas is a disaster and it -- we're the only country the n the world that does this, you could make a case that today the united states has what might well be the least attract take tax regime in the industrialized

world. what is exciting we've mom from this system to what just might be the best tax system in at the industrialized world. think about the result that's going to have. the result is going to be, think, breathtaking. new investment, new businesses being launched. existing business growing. take foreign direct investment alone. you know, you think about it, we have a global economy. capital can move around the world with literally the click of a mouse, and people make investment decisions based on the climate of the place they're thinking about investing in. when you have the worst tax regime in the world, who really wants to invest here? when we have the best, how are we not going attract investment from all around the world, including very much in the united states? so, the changes we're making are exactly the right changes for this moment, but that is flew another respect, mr. president,

and that is if you think about we are, in this cycle. it's taken way, way too long to get here, but the unemployment rate is quite low now. we're getting close to full employment. so what happens when we create the incentives for business to grow to invest, new businesses to launch, people to invest in america, what happens when that occurs in an environment where the unemployment rate is very snow it sets up a bidding war for workers. there's no other choice. these businesses as they grow, they need knew employees. they have to pay ever more because they're competing with another business down the road that also wants to grow, wants to invest in new plants and equipment. what we're going to do is create a bidding war for workeres. that means wages are going up. and when wages go up, families have more takehome pay. when they have more takehome patience they have a higher standard of living. this is exactly how people have a chance to live the american

dream. when the economy is thriving and growing at the rate that america used to take for granted. well, mr. president, i'm their say, those days are coming back. we have some work to do. we're not done yet by any means but i'm confident we'll get this done and when we do, our constituents are going live a better life as a result. i yield the floor. >> the senator from ohio. >> mr. president, i really enjoyed listening to my colleague from pennsylvania talk about this new tax reform plan that has just been unveiled by the finance committee here. he's right, this is really exciting. it's an opportunity, after lot of talk over a lot of years to finally fix our tax code. and it is broken. and it's broken in a lot of different respects but one that he pointed out so well is the fact that we actually have jobs in investment going overseas because of our tax code. it's a responsibility of the people who are in this body and

in the house and the presidency to actually fix that. no one else can do it. we're workers in america are competing with hi hand tied behind their back because we have tax code at that time encourages other companies to buy our companies to take our business to take our market share to make it harder for u.s. workers to compete and win. so, i think it's way past time, frankly to fix that. people say, well, we haven't reformed the tax code in 31 years and it's about time. i agree. if you go back to the international part of the tax code you ha to go back to john f. kennedy. that means that part of the tax code should qualify for aarp benefits. it's time for us to fix this and it is really exciting to finally have that opportunity. so there are three parts of the tax reform proposal, all three of which are really important. the first is a tack cut for the middle-class. why is that torrent? because right now even with the economy thatter is start

together grow a little bit, what is happening in wages are flat. so expenses are up across the board. the biggest expense, by the way, when you have been involved with is health care. people are saying healthcare cost goes up, premiums, deductibles and copays and wages are not going up. it's more than health care. it is food. it is every day purchases, it is tuition. if you're trying to send your kid to school. let's do something to actually give the family budget a little help. that's the middle class tax cuts. you saw today that the middle class tax cut alone provides on average $1,458 for every family. that's a median family income family. well, someone in the hall asked me, gosh, one of the reporters hey 15, hundred bucks a family. why does that isn't that right it meants a love if you live paycheck to paycheck. maybe you're not but a lot of people are who i represent and

that 1500 bucks will help tome to make ends meet and maybe save a little bit for a vacation or retirement or the able to make the car payment. think this is really important. i would say, though, beyond just that important middle class tax cut, there's something else that ought to be considered. which is if we do this right, the way this has been laid out by the finance committee, what is going to happen is we'll help to create you're jobs and higher wages mitchell colleague of pennsylvania talked about this. with a relatively tight labor market, as you have more investment into these businesses, what's going to happen? everyone says you'll see wage goes up. so, the congressional budget office, which is a nonpartisan group here, and the joint committee on taxation, nonpartisan group here looked at this and said there's going to be a benefit to worker evidences we do these business tax cuts to be able to get the business rate down below the average of the other industrialize country, rather than being the highest

business rate in the entire industrialiled word chit is now, because that will attract more jobs and investment and we'll stop losing jobs and investment. in the economists agree, this will benefit worker and there's a couple of of economic studies that show that families will get an additional $4,000 on average per family. again, middle class families heave. from the benefits from more investment and more jobs and higher earnings in the been world wednesday. that is tax relief to bottom line. go online, use the tax calculator, figure out what it means for you, and also remember these other reforms in an outdated tax code that is just crying out for improvement and reform, is going result in additional benefits flowing to you and your family as well if we do this right and we have to do it right. there's study that couple out recently, from a firm called ernst and young and look what

hat happened in america in the past decade. they say in the last 13 years there are 4700 american companies that have become foreign companies because of our tax code that would still be american companies today if we put in place the kind of tax reform we're talking about. 20% rate. below the average of the other industrialized country and the system that allows you to be more competitive. 4700 companies oomph data that says twice as many foreigners are buying u.s. companies as u.s. companies can buy foreign companies because of our tax code and it's true. this is something that has been happening not just in the last couple of years but the last couple of decaded. time to catch up. america needs to get back in a leadership position, and if we do that we'll see more jobs and more investment coming their this country, rather than going overseas. finally, the third thing this does that is so important is levels the playing field internationally.

right now we have between 2-1/2 and 3 trillion dollars of missouri trapped oversees. they're not bring is it back why? because of our tacoma code. this tax reform proposal says to the companies we want that money back here. we want you to invest in america. we want you to create jobs here, expand plants and equipment. bring your intellectual property, patents back here. and then sent that export out from america. that will create jobs here, including good jobs in research and development. that what's this proposal does as well. levels the playing field internationally to the the foreign country and foreign nation that are taking advantage to the current toes coax, that's done. we now are going to have a competitive tax code and we're enurging money to come here, and that money coming back here will also raise the economic condition for the entire country, economic growth will go up. that filters down to all of us,

including every family that it represent. so, that is why i'm excited got this. it's overdue. wish we could have doning this earlier, ten year or 20 years ago, orrin hamp has been talking -- here rein hatch has been talk about this for a few decades and is now chairman of the finance committee and can do it. senator mcconnell has been talking about this, commissions and working groups on it, bipartisan working groups, five only them. a year and a half ago, that we are formed and those five working groups look at this issue. i've co-chaired a working group, on the interna national side and on a bipartisan basis we said we have to have the lower tax rate, have to go to this more competitive international estimate the co-chair, one republican and one dem that? senator chuck schumer. so this is not a partisan issue net past. on the international side at

least heat come together and get republican and democratic support to tell the workers of america you don't have to compete with one hand tied behind you back, we'll give you the tools to achieve your american dream. mr. president, i'm excited about this. let's move forward. look forward to the finance committee next week and bring it to the floor and i hope we can have support on both sides of the tile get this done itch yield back my time. >> mr. president, the majority liter. >> mr. president, the distinguished chairman of our finance committee is on the cusp of the accomplishment of his career. this comprehensive tax reform will make a huge difference for america and i just want to commend him nor efforted that have gotten us this far, you have heard members of the finance committee speaking to the bill that's been presented to our conference. this is going to be an extraordinary accomplishment. not only for the american people

but for the distinguished chairman of the finance committee. >> one of the headlines about alabama's senate candidate from the hill, roy moor accused of sexual encounter with 14-year-old girl when he was 32. and from "usa today," senate republicans say roy moore so drop out of the alabama special election if the allegations are true. the election is december 12th. >> 50 years ago, the united states was at war in vietnam, and this veteran residents day weekend american history tv on c-span2 3 looks back with 48 hours of coverage. starting saturday at 8:00 a.m. eastern. we're live from the national archives, among the backdrop of three vietnam era helicopters to talk with veterans who flew them. then from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., we're taking you

phone calls and tweets live with historians mark attwood and leann nguyen about the war in 1967. 1:00 p.m. from the vietnam veterans memorial remark bid chuck hagel and memorial designer. on sunday at 4:00 p.m. eastern on real america, a 1967 cbs news vietnam war special report. >> whether it's due to the enemy's clever tactics or the bad fighting conditions, the weather or the terrain, it seems clear that the american military offensive along the dmz hays bogged down, like the marines in the mud. >> then at 6:00 on american artifacts, we'll tour the national archives exist, remembering vietnam, and at 8:00. othe presidency, the 1967 president lyndon johnson vietnam war press conference. >> made or statement to the world what we would do if we had

communist address in 1954. we stayed we would stand with those people in the face of common danger. and the time came when we hadn't toe it up or shut up and we put up and we're there. >> watch the vietnam war, '50 years later, this weekend on american history tv on c-span3. >> next a house science panel looking at the future of u.s. space exploration. we'll hear from a member of mass' human exploration and operation teams who talked about the development of the space launch system rocket and the orion spacecraft designed for deep spacex more racing. exploration.