oday, Rep. Dave Brat, member of the House Budget Committee and a former economics professor, voted to pass H.R. 6760, the Protecting Family and Small Business Tax Cuts Act. Upon its passage in the House, he released the following statement:
"The evidence is in: tax cuts are working for our economy. Consumer optimism is up, consumer spending is up, household income has reached record highs and unemployment is reaching record lows.
"In the Seventh District, the average family now has $2,000 more to spend in their family budget. Small businesses across central Virginia are using tax cuts to hire new employees, to increase pay and to buy equipment to help their businesses grow.
"As more money moves through our economy, more value is created, and we will continue to see even more economic growth. The common-sense thing to do, then, is to make these tax cuts permanent."
Last year, 19 Congressional Democrats (including Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee) as well as Independent Bernie Sanders expressed a desire to make individual and family tax cuts permanent. This year, however, House Democrats overwhelmingly rejected the measure.