Broader Options for Americans Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I wish to begin this morning by sharing the shock and sorrow that all of us in this body felt as we learned of yesterday's shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. To say that such brutal, pointless violence is unconscionable is an understatement. Schools should be places where children can learn, and faculty and staff can work without fear of violence.

My colleagues from Florida will carry home the prayers of the whole Senate for victims and their families, for the community of Parkland, and for the first responders who bravely charged into harm's way on behalf of others.

For the information of all Senators, the Senate will observe a moment of silence at 12 noon.

Now, Mr. President, on an entirely different matter, the entire week has been set aside, as I assured it would be, for votes on the DACA issue, border security, and other issues pertaining to the subject of immigration. At this point, we should be wrapping up a lively week of debate, amendments, and numerous votes, but that is not what has happened. Instead, we are here on Thursday morning and have yet to vote on a single amendment--not one amendment all week on what was offered: an open debate.

Remember, our Democratic friends wanted this debate. They actually shut down the Federal Government for 300 million Americans, unnecessarily, to guarantee that we could have this debate and at this particular time--this week.

They have spent months insisting that DACA is a top priority for them and telling their constituents they would do everything they could to resolve it. But when the rubber meets the road, they have yet to bring forward a single proposal that gives us a realistic chance to make law; that is, to pass the Senate, pass the House, and earn the President's signature. All they have done so far is to slow the process as much as possible. It turns out that they didn't want a fair, open, freewheeling amendment process after all.

Yesterday evening, I filed cloture on all four pending amendments. At a minimum, under regular order, we could make sure that at least they receive a vote by Friday morning. I hope the Democratic leader will finally consent to hold these votes on amendments today.

Our Democratic friends say they want resolution for illegal immigrants who were brought into the country as children. The President put forward a framework that would do exactly that. His reasonable proposal offers a more than generous resolution for 1.8 million individuals in that category.

But the DACA issue is just a symptom of our broken immigration system. So the President has made clear, and I strongly agree, that any legislation must also treat the root causes and reform legal immigration, and it must also include commonsense steps to ensure the safety of the American people.

Several Senators, led by Senator Grassley, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, have crafted legislation that accommodates the major interests of all sides. It fulfills the stated goals of our Democratic colleagues and--and--conforms to the President's requirements.

Their bill provides funding to secure the border. It reforms extended chain migration and the visa lottery program. It fixes the loophole that forces us to release thousands of criminal aliens who were rejected by their own home countries. It enacts Kate's Law to put criminals who illegally and repeatedly cross our borders behind bars. It gets tougher on violent and dangerous criminals such as drug smugglers, human traffickers, repeat drunk drivers, gang members, and sex offenders. And, yes, it offers a generous--extremely generous-- resolution to the DACA issue.

The President, in my view, has gone more than half way to meet the Democrats and resolve this matter. If they are actually interested in finding a solution, it is time they take yes for an answer so that 1.8 million people are eligible for citizenship.

Because my Democratic friends were stalling for time, they spent 3 full days making political points instead of making law. I hope today can be different. Tax Reform

Mr. President, on a final subject, it has only been 55 days since the President signed historic tax reform into law. Already, it has led to bonuses, raises, and new benefits for millions of American workers, and the long-term signs are just as promising. Hundreds of companies have announced significant commitments to plant deeper roots in the American economy.

We know the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is pro-worker and pro-business, but tax reform is also, at its core, pro-family. It doubles the standard deduction, meaning a young married couple effectively gets a new zero- percent tax bracket for the first $24,000 they earn. If that couple decides to purchase a home, their mortgage interest will be eligible for a deduction. Contrary to what many predicted, the historic tax cuts we delivered didn't jeopardize the middle-class deduction. We preserved it.

When that couple starts a family, they will benefit from the fact that we doubled the child tax credit, thanks to the fine work of Senator Heller and others throughout the committee process.

At its new level, that credit will save a two-child household $4,000 every year--$4,000--to help them with back-to-school costs, to kick off a college fund, or to help them afford summer camp tuition and a family vacation instead of choosing one or the other.

Thanks to the tireless work of my colleague from Nebraska, Senator Fischer, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act encourages more employers to provide paid family leave. That is good news for millions of American families who will welcome a child this year.

My Democratic colleagues like to speak about the importance of paid leave, but not a single one of them voted with us--not one. Every Democrat in the House and in the Senate voted against the bill that included Senator Fischer's paid family leave incentives. Every one of them voted against a bill that included a bigger standard deduction and the doubling of the childcare credit and lower income tax rates. Fortunately, we passed this historic achievement despite their efforts to stop it.

Thanks to every Republican who voted for tax reform, both Walmart and Lowe's have announced expansions of both maternity and paternity leave. CVS is creating an entirely new parental leave program. In Wisconsin, where only one of two Senators voted for reform, American Family Insurance is expanding its family leave benefits. So is Broadridge Financial Solutions in New York, despite both Senators from New York voting against it. This is only the beginning.

My Democratic colleagues said tax reform would bring about ``Armageddon.'' They said nothing in our bill would help American workers. But the proof is in the pudding. The evidence is piling up. Middle-class families all over the country are glad their Congress and their President made tax reform a reality.

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