pro tempore. mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: during the past decade many in the middle class struggled to make ends meet. the economy was sluggish. paychecks were often stagnant. and jobs for many were too hard to find, perhaps not on the coast where the well-to-do were able to flourish under the obama economy but in middle america in states like kentucky pain was real. hardworking families across the country deserved better. they continued to deserve an economy that reaches for its true potential, one in which more americans can find a good job to support their families and achieve the american dream. so now this is our chance to set a new course. this is our opportunity to jump start the economy and to boost job growth. passing tax reform is the single most important thing we can do right now to support those left behind by the obama economy. though obvious, it's worth repeating, our nation's tax code is broken. first the...

without objection. mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the democratic leader. mr. schumer: as the senate finance committee continues to mark up the senate republican tax bill, the house will take a vote this afternoon on their version of the bill. there are plenty of reasons for house republicans to vote against this bill. for those who care about deficits, you should vote no because the bill increases deficits by over $1.5 trillion, likely more. any deficit hawk should be against this increase. any defense hawk should be wary of this bill for the same reason. high deficits make it harder to fund important priorities like the military. this morning three former defense secretaries: leon panetta, chuck hagel and ash carter penned a letter warning that the republican tax plan could result, in their words, a hallowed out military force. racked by cuts to training, maintenance, flight missions and other vital military programs. i spoke to general mattis yesterday. he is...