>> thanks for joining us. >> america's news hq starts now. >> sandra: mass evacuations in two east texas towns of beaumont and port arthur as tropical storm harvey makes a second landfall in louisiana. hello everyone. i'm sandra smith. texas governor greg abbott giving an update just moments ago, saying 14,000 texas national guards men are now activated for harvey response and thousands more are coming from other states. the governor also saying the defense department is supplying 200 boats for flood response efforts. the death toll is up to at least 20 people after authorities reporting that two men drown in separate incidents. and president trump just arriving moments ago in missouri. you're looking at a live picture

of the president now on the ground in missouri where he's giving a speech in spring field in 30 minutes on tax reform. a very big moment for that president as he looks to fulfill one of his major campaign promises, tax reform, by the end of the year. we have fox team coverage with adam, who is tracking harvey's path for us and griff jenkins. we begin with jeff flock live just west of houston in richmond where, jeff, you have been telling some unbelievable stories of families in that area throughout the day. >> reporter: this is what is rolling downhill now and downstream, sandra. we're on river edge drive. you don't want to be anywhere riverside, river view. if your street has that name on it, it's not a good thing. we've shown you pictures of well healed neighborhoods around houston that have been inundated with floods. well, let me tell ya, flood

doesn't know republican or democrat, doesn't know rich man, poor man. all it knows is if the water wants to come in, that's what happens. this is water from the brasos river. what is happening now, all that water in houston that was dumped there is coming downstream on the colorado, brasos to drain to the gulf. this is what's happening. it is flooding these communities, both rich, poor, small, little, along this river. mobile home communities just about washed away. mandatory evacuation here. not that you'd want to be here anyway. earlier and perhaps slightly more well healed community not far from here in richmond, national guard troops going door to door. folks not completely flooded yet, but they say another three feet of flood water will come into that community and come here as well, as the brasos continues to swell from that flood water in houston coming downstream. and so they're trying to get as many people out as they can. we met one family that just had

their sixth child two weeks ago. she just got home from the hospital, now she's having to evacuate. national guard doing a nice job with a 2 week old baby. i think it was baby michael if i don't forget his name. these scenes playing out all over still as the worst of this is not here. even though the storm is hitting off to our east, what it's done here affects still amplified here along the brasos river in texas. >> sandra: the images, and i know that family you brought to us earlier. we saw a toddler boy being lifted up into that truck, followed by an even younger child, a baby perhaps that was baby michael. >> reporter: that's baby michael. that was baby michael, yeah. incredible. they've done an incredible job, if national guard, the volunteers. >> sandra: you, too, jeff flock. thank you very much. >> reporter: happy to do it. thanks, sandra. >> sandra: all right. let's now go to griff jenkins

who is live in houston on the north side of the attic reservoir, one big area of continued concern. griff? >> reporter: hey, sandra. a sigh of relief in a devastating series of events over the last five days. officials here though saying the levees holding the attics reservoir dam just a few miles up the road from here, if it were to have breached would be a tidal wave. would wipe this place out. has not breached. it's only having a bit of seepage and spillover, but still adding another flooding that it is expected to last for weeks. this is the staging area for the harris county constable and the side fair volunteer fire department. this is where they've set up here on the north side of that attics dam. we were just here. the fire volunteer setting those swift boats out there. that's very important because

these currents are so dangerous. we've seen time and time again where two volunteers are missing because their boat wasn't able to handle the water. we went on a mission where we just rescued 12 people who had been in a motel trapped for the last five days. they had a 1-month-old baby and a guinea pig. captain david pativan told us about how long we're going to have to endure this sort of thing. take a listen. >> the floodwaters we're told, we're told could last weeks and weeks. those people hunkered down over there right now, it's probably time for them to start thinking about evacuation. if you do need evacuation, we're asking, call us during the day. as you can see there's great visibility out here. at night it becomes far more difficult with hazards that we can see. >> reporter: talking about visibility, the good news here, the blue sky. something we haven't seen since this all began. it's allowing the first responders and the volunteers to get in, move quicker, find more

people. but, unfortunately, they're also meeting, as we've heard, some looting in various places. this mission, while the weather's nice, certainly every bit as intense. sandra? >> sandra: as we heard from governor abbott earlier, the worst is not over. thank you, griff jenkins. as we speak, the state of louisiana bracing once more as tropical storm harvey makes landfall for the second time. meteorologist adam clause is here. adam, how much rain are we talking about? of course the even bigger question, when is it going to stop? >> we're getting closer to when it's going to stop. boy, it seems like it's been going forever. look at this beaumont right in that port arthur area. this really just picking up last night in the last 24 hours. now one of the biggest rainfall totals we have. 45, nearly 46 inches of rain in that community. that's why absolutely everyone is dealing with it. this is the last 48 hours. it's rushing on shore. you're looking at nonstop heavy

downpours from that port arthur area up to beaumont. that does continue to lift north. eventually we'll be tracking this system heading farther north heading to louisiana. this is a future forecast, future radar. time stamp up in the corner. this is now 5:00 p.m. we're beginning to see lake charles get on the back side of this system lifting up toward shreveport, up toward little rock, memphis. this is going to be clearing out by friday, so folks along the entire coast are going to see more sunshine. there's still more rain on the way. you can see this path of very heavy rain. good news is once we get off of the gulf of mexico, not as much moisture there. so areas that still gonna see heavy rain, 8 to 10 inches which is better than 40 to 45 inches. it's still going to be a good rain maker, from the coast up into portions of tennessee, eventually running up into kentucky, pennsylvania. this will be a system we're tracking for a little while. then again here it is, clearing

off. still a tropical storm. it will be falling just to a low pressure system in just the next couple of days sandra. >> sandra: people of louisiana bracing for what may be next. adam, thank you for that update. meanwhile, president trump toured some of the devastation in southern texas yesterday and praised the people of that state for their resolve. the president arriving in missouri. you're looking at a live picture just a few moments ago where he will deliver a kickoff speech of sorts on tax reform. joining me for now is martha mccallum. martha, good to see you. >> good to see you, sandra. >> sandra: in addition to the president just landing there, of course he'll be talking tax reform, the images still coming out of texas and southern louisiana, just so heart breaking. >> stunning. you look at these scenes in port arthur, where people are in a shelter and they're laying on cots and the water is rising around them as they're sleeping.

so this is what the president obviously has on his mind as he heads to missouri and tries to move forward with some of the agenda. while he lets everybody on the ground do the work that they are well equipped to do. it's an obvious natural incredible disaster that texas is dealing with. so the federal government has to try to mete it as it can. they appear to be doing the pweflt that they can based on what's coming in. but all of that really remains to be seen. whether or not there's going to be a high five at the end of this, we'll see. but, yes, tax reform is so important and he knows it. he has to articulate what he wants in this speech today in a way that the american people can relate to and either get on board or not get on board with. >> sandra: the white house is giving guidance that we're not going to really hear specifics from the president on tax reform, but that there is some suspicion that maybe we will use the president to use this as an

opportunity to unite the country, considering what is going on with harvey. in fact, "the new york times" this morning writes harvey giving trump a chance to reclaim power to unify. in that piece, it says mr. trump is behaving like a man whose future depends on getting this right. how would you say the president, up until this moment, martha, has handled this? >> i think it's fascinating to watch sort of the gnashing of teeth among some in the media discussing melania's shoes and whether or not he was empathetic enough. i'm not sure where this concept came from that the president has to be sort of the perfect comforter. what's more important, whether or not he's the sort of man who's capable of giving people empathy that checks the box for certain people in the media or whether or not he's someone who's capable of getting the job done? really on the bottom line, the second is the most important factor here. and as we said, i have heard you say in the past 48 hour, sandra, we don't know yet how well this is going to go.

so far the early signs are that it's very well organized and they're doing the best that they can. so i do think you're right. i think it's going to marry these two themes when he walks out there today. that's what he needs to do if he wants to use what the country's going through and marry that to where he wants them to go from here. >> sandra: it was interesting a few moments ago when we were hearing from the governor of texas, greg abbott, there was a piece maybe didn't pick up on. he talks about accepting help from mexico for harvey. listen. >> governor, can you talk about whether help from mexico? >> yes, i have, and we are. and we have -- i don't have it with me here. we have a list of aid and assistance, that they have offered to provide that we are accepting. i don't have the list, but i can tell you loosely, it involves things like vehicles and boats and supplies and food.

>> sandra: so the offer came in yesterday. nobody knew where this was going to say. openly saying texas going to accept that help? >> why not? united states lends a helping hand whenever there are emergency efforts overseas, and so it should be a two-way street. i think it's great that they are offering whatever boats and vehicles. i mentioned earlier when i was talking to stuart varney, reminds me of dunkirk, which i saw over the weekend, and the assembling of vehicle, boats, whatever vessels they could get into the water to bring those soldiers back from france. that's the kind of effort we're seeing when people, ordinary folks, get their boats out and just start getting in to help and aid the federal government which there's a finite amount that the government can do. it's going to take everybody and other countries helping as well. >> sandra: all the help we can get. the speech from the president expected at 2:30 today. a big one for this president. i'm sure we will be covering it

tonight. martha, thank you. >> thanks, sandra. >> sandra: this video from the coast guard showing a dramatic rescue of a mother and baby as we con to see this scene play out over and over again 37 patrick woke up with a sore back.

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>> sandra: we're learning about more incredible stories of survival in texas. first, a mother and baby are lucky to be alive. the coast guard releasing video showing the mother and infant in college station being air lifted onto a helicopter. meanwhile, on sunday in houston, neighbors coming together helping a woman in labor by forming a human chain. originally the woman was ready to have the baby inside of her apartment, but the flooding was so bad they had to come up with another plan.

that's when her neighbors came to the rescue successfully getting her to a truck and then to a hospital. thank goodness. now let's bring in shepherd smith live from the fox newsdesk. >> this historic storm makes its way north and east into the state of louisiana, mississippi, forecasters are warning that catastrophic and life threatening flooding will continue in the state of texas. this is beaumont, where they just have had a whale of a time over the last day. tens of thousands of homes already destroyed. this video shows the rescues in beaumont one after another after another. that coastal city east of houston experiencing some of the worst of the storms today. harvey's already dumped more than 50 inches of rain in parts of houston. the most from a single storm in the history of the continental united states. up to 52 inches in one spot. officials say thousands of homes near two major reservoirs are completely flooded. more than 4,000 of them.

earlier today the sheriff's office confirmed investigators found the van that was carrying a family of six who apparently drowned during the flooding in houston. one member of the family escaped, realized they had been swept away. the van was completely under water. authorities first saw two adult members of the family in the van and now confirm four children were in there as well. all died in harvey. a second look at some drone video showing some of the damage in houston. it is pretty incredible to see the expansiveness of this all. to get the drones up and see it for an extended period is astounding. it will take days for this water to recede. authorities are telling us into the early part of next week. we've learned schools may not reopen until september 5th though they're still evaluating in the houston area. report out of beaumont, texas, today, a mom and her daughter in a parking lot trying to wait out the rising waters, instead as he

was trying to walk across that parking lot, the woman got swept away by a current that had been caused by the rising waters. half mile down the authorities saw them. as it turned out the mom had died and her baby was clinging to her body. the baby survived and is in stable condition. we're looking for good news. here it is from the weather wall. we had been talking about this earlier. there is a wind sheer that's happening this afternoon. lot of dry air coming in from the central part of texas and beyond. hoping it will make its way up here so that by the time this starts dumping on jackson mississippi up near memphis, tennessee, hopefully some of this moisture will be out of there. time will tell. sandra, back you. >> sandra: we'll hope and pray. shepherd smith, thank you. tropical storm harvey blowing into louisiana. we'll get an update on operations there. and our own peter ducey is going out with some rescue boats to

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>> sandra: hundreds of people rescued so far in louisiana as tropical storm harvey makes landfall a second time. the storm coming ashore before dawn west of cameron, louisiana. packing winds near 45 miles an hour. major aaron duplishane commander of the louisiana national guard 3rd battalion 156th infantry. what can you tell us about rescue efforts there in louisiana? >> so here in southwest louisiana, we were spared the wrath of tropical storm harvey relative to our neighbor state across the river, texas.

so we actually started moving our search and rescue operations into southeast texas. >> sandra: that's a decision that's already been made then, to have national guardsmen that were deployed to louisiana, send them back over to texas? >> that's correct. the governor and the acting general has directed some of our forces, not all of them but a large number of our forces. we're working in conjunction with the wild life and fisheries and sheriff's department. we're doing integrated search and rescue on the ground with our high water vehicles, as well as in the boats. the coast guard, with our aviation assets, are doing air operations in that area. >> sandra: major, do your guardsmen have what they need as the situation in texas continues to worsen, do they have everything that they need as far as resources to continue making

these rescues? >> absolutely. i think we have an abundance of resources. we're continuing to move resources from within the state that are no longer needed here. we're staging them and prepping for the worst. >> sandra: we've been getting weather reports, obviously that is still a huge unknown and a big uncertainty at this point for everyone involved. what are you hearing from the top as far as leadership about direction for your men and women there in the state of texas as they move that way? >> i understand that our governor has talked to their governor. so we're working in conjunction with them. in short, we have access, if we can get to some of their citizens from our side of the river, where some of the officials from texas government cannot. so we're working to help them. >> sandra: around the clock, i'm sure. major, thanks for jumping on with us. >> my pleasure.

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>> sandra: we continue to monitor the disaster response in texas and louisiana. we are also awaiting president trump, who will be speaking on tax reform in just moments from spring field, missouri. joining me now republican utah senator mike lee, who is also the author of the book "written out of history." senator, thanks for being here. >> thank you. >> sandra: first of all, i'm sure you've been watching the coverage, listening to these stories coming out of texas and louisiana. it's just an absolute horrific situation. >> heartbreaking. i have never seen someone like it. someone who spent two years in south texas as a young missionary, my heart goes out to those people. my thoughts and prayers are with them. i have never seen anything like this. >> sandra: do you expect the president, in a few moments, although this is a planned tax reform speech, to begin by addressing what's going on? >> certainly he will. there's almost no way to not do that. i'm sure he will make reference to it. i'm sure his attention will

continue to be on it. >> sandra: how do you think he's handled this so far? >> the fact that he went to texas yesterday demonstrates a degree of compassion that he's shown to the people of texas. i think he's handled it well. i also think it's remarkable that the people of texas have worked so well together and with their state and local government entities and those, in turn, have cooperated with federal officials. this has been a good response to a very dire situation. >> sandra: the coordination has to just be enormous. we have heard from both the governors of louisiana, as well as texas in just a last couple of hours. we'll obviously go right to the president when he begins speaking. do you expect specifics from the president when it comes to tax reform today? >> i don't think that we will see an entire bill outlined. i don't think he's going to outline the whole legislative proposal. i do think he'll speak in broad terms, very firmly about the need for tax reform, the need to reduce the tax burden on

american families and the need to simplify the tax code. our tax code today occupies nearly 100,000 pages of code. that is absurd. it empowers a small elite few inside washington, d.c. and a small handful of experts around the country. it's bad for everyone else. that's one of the things he's going to try to address. >> sandra: gary cohn said it will completely resolve around tax reform. so this is really the kickoff moment there. i want to go back to harvey, because we do expect that the president will address that right off the top here. the governor abbott of the state of texas said -- he was talking specifically about the money involved with harvey and the recovery efforts there. he believes it will far exceed katrina and sandy. watch this. >> the population, size, and square mile size of the area impacted, both by the hurricane

swath and the flooding is far larger than katrina. far larger than sandy. so if we go on a parallel standard, it should be far in excess of that amount. >> sandra: will congress act quickly to approve this? >> we don't know what the aid request is going to be. we do have to ask a question, what portion of this will be handled by state government, local government, what portion will be handled by insurers or private entitys? what portion will be congress responsibility? right now people are still suffering. right now the flood disaster is still unfolding so that's where our focus needs to be. we'll deal later with what congress is going to do about it. >> sandra: your book, we mentioned top of the hour, what is it? what did you write about? >> "written out of history" tells the story of a small handful of americans who were founder, but whose stories have been forgotten, written out of

history. i tell the story of an indian chief, for example, who was the father of american federalism. the idea that most of the power in government is supposed to be remain close to the people. i tell the story of mum beth an african slave in colonial massachusetts who fought for and won her freedom in court after the revolution. these and other stories inspire us and remind us of the spirit of the revolution and how it is that the constitution came into existence. >> sandra: i'm sitting here thinking you're telling me about your book and i'm thinking about how that story and the stories that you're telling there could apply to the disaster we're seeing play out in our country in the case of harvey and how you're talking about them fighting big government. but this is a situation where these people are going to be so dependent on federal aid. what would they have thought about this? >> first of all, they would be saddened, as we are, by what has happened. they would also start from the standpoint that not every

solution involves government. and not every government solution has to take place from our nation's capitol. many of them occur at the state and local level. by constitutional design, most of them should. >> sandra: all right. so we're going to have to keep our eye on the president in spring field, missouri, where he's expected to speak. senator lee, before i let you go, corporate tax rate. gary cohn said he'll push for lowest possible corporate tax rate. where does it end up? >> ideally it should go to 0. the corporate tax rate ends up being paid for by the poor and middle class in america. i suspect it will end up somewhere between 20%, 25%. should be lower. >> sandra: senator lee, thanks for being here. >> thank you. >> sandra: we will be following the president's every moment as he steps up on that stage, we will go to it live. we're also watching breaking developments happening in texas where mass evacuations are under way in the eastern texas cities of beaumont and port arthur. rescue operations also continue

in houston. matt flynn is live in port arthur. what are you seeing there now? >> reporter: hey, sandra, it's a very dire situation happening right behind us a fireman just went down. he had some type of health attack. you can see him being treated right now. more and more people just keep being rescued by boat in this situation for about two or three hours now the boats just keep going out into the flooded waters. they keep coming back with families, with elderly people connected to oxygen tanks. people without shoes on. children shivering. it is a devastating and heart breaking scene here. it is an on going recovery effort. we've been told there could be hundreds more people out in these waters to be rescued. there's dogs shivering, hiding under cars. there's boat loads and buses of people just being evacuated.

it is almost a worst case scenario in terms of any type of flood. it's just a heart breaking disaster here, sandra. >> sandra: matt, you've been telling these stories for us all day. port arthur, we've been showing the images coming out of beaumont. it's so difficult to think that the situation there weather wise is still so uncertain. you're not putting any of them on the microphone at this moment. i know it's so hard for people to come over to your camera. are you able to speak with these people? >> reporter: yes. we spoke to a couple. we are obviously -- here's the fireman being loaded right now. looks like he is breathing which at some point it looked like he wasn't. looks like some good news there. we have been able to speak -- forgive me, my equipment is cutting in and out. most of the evacuees say the

plan is to get taken to a shelter. some people are looking for their family. it was difficult for us to get in here. there's really only one road in, one road out. that's very flooded. so i don't know how people who are looking for their family are going to get to them. >> sandra: matt, thank you for that. we also want to get to peter ducey just north of houston taking part in a rescue mission by boat. peter? we don't have peter at this moment. we know that he is there. he's going to have quite a story to tell. we'll get back to him as soon as we possibly can. thoughts and prayers with all these people and these rescue ef forts. we are just moments away from the president taking the stage in missouri. he's set to give a big speech. it's going to be about tax reform and his plans to kick start job creation and the economy. we will take you there once he begins. meanwhile tropical storm harvey hitting land once again, dropping more rain in louisiana.

latest from that state as it braces for more threatening weather.

>> sandra: president trump taking the stage for a speech touting his plans for tax reform. let's listen in. >> thank you very much.

it's so nice, and we appreciate it and all of the people outside that were waving proudly the american flag. believe me, we appreciate it very much. i want to thank jerry cook, steve bernie and all of the tremendous employees here at the lauren cook company for hosting us today. where's jerry? where is jerry? thank you. thank you, jerry. what a job. i have heard so much about you. it's a great honor to know you, jerry. thank you. i also want to welcome the many distinguished guests who are here with us for this very important event. secretary of the treasury, steve mnuchin. thank you, steve. secretary of commerce wilbur ross. small business administrator which, by the way, is a very

large business, i will tell you that, linda mcmahon, friend of mine. and from the purely political world, a really great friend who did such an incredible job with his beautiful wife at the inauguration, senator roy blunt. thank you. thank you. thank you, roy. the governor is here, who's doing some job. thank you, governor. special. lieutenant governor parson. thank you, lieutenant governor. and our great members of commerce, i want to thank you all for coming. there's so many. i was asking the governor and roy, i said, do you think i should announce them all? i have so many. but i'm honored that they're here. representative sam graves, representative vicki hartsler

has been terrific. my friend for a long time and just somebody that, he liked me from the beginning and i liked him, billy long. where's billy? billy. right, billy? right from the beginning. blaine lootkimeyer. where's blaine? thank you, blaine. representative jason smith. jason, thank you for everything, jason. representative anne wagner. hi, anne. good job, anne. and -- i don't know, we have so many more. anybody i forgot? right? everything okay? good. i got it. you remember more than anybody. thank you all very much. i appreciate it. to the congress men, congress women, we very much appreciate you all being here. thank you all very much.

before we begin, i'd like to take a few moments to discuss the deeply tragic situation in texas and louisiana. as we all know, our gulf coast was hit over the weekend with a devastating hurricane of historic proportion. torrential rains and terrible flooding continue to pose a grave danger to life and to property. our first responders have been doing absolutely heroic work to shepherd people out of harm's way and their courage and devotion has saved countless lives. they represent truly the very best of america. [ applause ] we must be vigilant. we must protect the lives of our people. i was on the ground in texas

yesterday to meet with governor abbott, who is doing, by the way, an incredible job. local officials so that we could coordinate the very big and unprecedented federal response. in difficult times such as these, we see the true character of the american people, their strength, their love and their resolve. we see friend helping friend, neighbor helping neighbor, and stranger helping stranger. and together, we will endure and we will overcome. [ applause ] to those affected by this storm, we are praying for you and we are here with you every single step of the way. and i can speak i know, for the people in this room, every step of the way.

to those americans who have lost loved ones, all of america is grieving with you and our hearts are joined with yours forever. the citizens of texas and the gulf coast need all the prayers, support and resources our communities have to offer. recovery will be tough, but i have seen the resilience of the american spirit first-hand all over this country. to the people of houston and across texas and louisiana, we are here with you today. we are with you tomorrow. and we will be with you every single day after to restore, recover and rebuild. our thoughts and prayers remain firmly with the citizens and our fellow people, people. great, great people all affected by this tragedy.

we're also glad to be back in the heartland with the very, very fine folks of missouri. [ applause ] and i said to senator blount and billy long on the plane coming in, can i say missouri or should i say missouri? they said whatever you want is okay. so i said, good. but i'm especially to be pleased here in springfield, the birth place of a great american icon, the legendary route 66. who would have known that? this is the place where the main street of america got its start and this is where america's main street will begin its big

beautiful come back that you are seeing it right now. this is a comeback of historic proportions. you're seeing it happen right now. right? you're seeing it. we're here today to launch our plans to bring back main street by reducing the crushing tax burden on our companies and on our workers. our self destructive tax code costs americans millions and millions of jobs, trillions of dollars and billions of hours spent on compliance and paperwork. you have seen what's happening with regulations. they're going fast. we need regulations, but many of them are unnecessary. and they are going fast. [ applause ]

that is why the foundation of our job creation agenda is to fundamentally reform our tax code for the first time in more than 30 years. i want to work with congress, republicans and democrats alike on a plan that is pro growth, pro jobs, pro worker and pro american. [ applause ] there is no more fitting place to launch this effort than right here in the american heartland surrounded by hardworking men and women whose skill, determination and drive are truly second to none. [ applause ] and by the way, before i start, ivanka trump, i see my beautiful daughter's in the audience. stand up, honey. [ applause ]

she's working very hard. i'm very proud of you, honey. for many decades, route 66 captured the american spirit. the communities along this historic route were a vivid symbol of america's booming industry. truck drivers hauled made in america goods along this vital artery of commerce. families passed through bustling towns on their way to explore the great american west. and high quality manufacturing jobs lifted up communities, gave americans a paycheck that could support a family. mr. cook is a great example of the people that do it. [ applause ] stand up. stand up. stand up. [ applause ]

i think they like you. and provided millions of our fellow citizens with the pride and dignity that comes with work. but in recent years, millions of americans have watched that prosperity slip away in the rear view mirror. it wasn't pleasant to watch. especially for me. i would sit back. i was in business. i could see what was happening. it wasn't good. we want to renew our prosperity and to restore opportunity, then we must reduce the tack burden on our companies and on our workers. [ applause ]

in the last ten years, our economy has grown at only around 2% a year. you look at other countries and you look at what their gdp is. they're unhappy when it's 7%, 8%, 9%. i speak to them, leaders of the countries. how are you doing? not welsh not well. why? gdp is down to 7%. i'm saying, we were hitting 1% just a number of months ago. so we're gonna change that around, folks. that i can tell you. we're gonna change it around. [ applause ] and today, a very appropriate day that this should happen, we just announced that we hit 3% in gdp. just came out.

and on a yearly basis, as you know, the last administration during an eight year period never hit 3%. so we're really on our way. if we achieve sustained 3% growth, that means 12 million new jobs and $10 trillion of new economic activity over the next decade. that's some numbers. and i happen to be one that thinks we can go much higher than 3%. there's no reason why we shouldn't. [ applause ] so this is our once in a generation opportunity to deliver real tax reform for every day hardworking americans. and i am fully committed to working with congress to get this job done. and i don't want to be disappointed by congress! do you understand me?

[ applause ] do you understand? understand. congress. i think congress is going to make a comeback. i hope so. tell you what, the united states is counting on it. [ applause ] here are my four principles for tax reform. first, we need a tax code that is simple, fair and easy to understand. [ applause ] that means getting rid of the loopholes and complexities that primarily benefit the wealthiest americans and special interests. our last major tax rewrite was 31 years ago. it eliminated dozens of

loopholes and special interest tax breaks, reduced the number of tax brackets from 15 to 2 and lowered tax rates for both individuals and businesses. at the time it was really something special. since then our tax laws have tripled in size and the tax code itself now spans more than 2,600 pages and most of it is not understandable. tax rates have increased and special interest loopholes have current back into the system. the tax code is now a massive source of complexity and frustration for tens of millions of americans. in 1935, the basic 1040 form that most people file had two simple pages of instruction. today that basic form has 100 pages of instructions and it's

pretty complex stuff. the tax code is so complicated that more than 90% of americans need professional help to do their own taxes. this enormous complexity is very unfair. it disadvantages ordinary americans who don't have an army of accountants while benefitting deep pocketed special interests. and most importantly, this is wrong. first and foremost -- [ applause ] thank you. first and foremost, our tax system should benefit loyal, hardworking americans and their families. [ applause ] that is why tax reform must dramatically simplify the tax code, eliminate special interest loopholes. i'm speaking against myself when i do this.

i have to tell you. i might be speaking against mr. cook. we're both okay with it. is that right? it's crazy. we're speaking -- maybe we shouldn't be doing this, you know? [ laughter ] but we're doing the right thing. [ applause ] true. and allow the vast majority of our citizens to file their taxes on a single simple page, without having to hire an accountant. second, we need a competitive tax code that creates more jobs and higher wages for americans. it's time to give american workers the pay raise that they've been looking for for many, many years. [ applause ] in 1986, ronald reagan led the

world by cutting our corporate tax rate to 34%. that was below the average rate for developed countries at the time. everybody thought that was a monumental thing that happened. but then, under this pro-america system, our economy booned. it just went -- it just went beautifully, right through the roof. the middle class thrived. and median family income increased. other countries saw the success. they looked at us, they saw, what is america doing? what's happening with the united states? and they acted very swiftly by cutting their taxes lower and lower and lower and reforming their tax systems to be far more competitive than ours. over the past 30 years, the average business tax rate among developed nations fell from 45%

to less than 24%, and some countries have an unbelievably low tax, including, by the way, china and some others that are highly competitive and really doing very well against us. they are taking us, frankly, to the cleaners. so we must, we have no choice, we must lower our taxes. and your senator, claire mchaskell, she must do this for you. and if she doesn't do it for you, you have to vote her out of office. [ applause ]

she's going to make that commitment. if she doesn't do it -- can't do this anymore with the obstruction and the obstructionists. if we don't get a tax code approved, the biggest ever -- looking for the biggest ever jobs in our country cannot take off the way they should. and it could be much worse than that. but at a minimum, they won't take off the way they should. the dems are looking to obstruct tax cuts and tax reform just like they obstructed so many other things including administration appointments and healthcare. not one vote. we got not one vote to try to fix healthcare. get rid of obamacare. the strategy of our economic rivals has worked. they made their taxes lower and far lower in many