Small Business Week

Floor Speech

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Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, the performance of the U.S. economy is something to behold. It doesn't matter if you measure it by the unemployment rate, by the quarterly growth rates, or by wages, virtually every sign points to a growing thriving economy.

Let me emphasize some of the outstanding job numbers that came out just last week. In April, there were 263,000 new jobs created-- 263,000--beating even the most optimistic estimates. The unemployment rate fell to 3.6 percent--the lowest unemployment rate in nearly half a century.

The first quarter saw a 3.2 percent growth, the best in 4 years. The truth is, the United States' economy has taken off like a rocket.

Today we find ourselves in what some economists refer to as a ``full employment'' economy, because there are more job openings than there are job seekers. That is a remarkable place to be, and I have no doubt that it is in significant part due to the pro-growth policies created by a Republican-led Congress and the Trump administration the last 2 years.

Less than 1\1/2\ years ago we passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. We tried to make this a bipartisan effort, but our Democratic friends wanted no part of it. This was the first major tax overhaul in a generation. This legislation removed many of the burdens from families, entrepreneurs, and job creators and let the free market take the wheel.

A lot of pundits and a lot of the naysayers--the professional cynics--said it wouldn't work, but I think the results speak for themselves. Workers are bringing home more in their paychecks, and businesses are using their savings to invest in their employees.

One of the most common remarks I hear from employers when I am in Texas is that they can't find enough qualified workers for the job openings that exist. That is their biggest challenge because of this booming economy.

In the days and months following the signing of the tax bill, companies began announcing how they would use the money that they would save because of the legislation to invest in their employees and their business. We heard from big companies like AT&T, which is headquartered in Dallas, which provided $1,000 bonuses for more than 200,000 of its employees, including more than 32,000 who live in Texas. There was also Southwest Airlines, which gave all 550,000 of its employees a $1,000 bonus. Plus Southwest Airlines donated $5 million to charity, to boot.

We saw headlines in the major newspapers about how these and countless other big companies were using their savings, but the less read stories about local businesses in small town papers are just as important.

This week is National Small Business Week, an opportunity to celebrate small businesses that line Main Streets throughout America, but don't let the word ``small'' fool you. America's 30 million small businesses are an economic force unparalleled anywhere in the world. More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business-- more than half. Small businesses are responsible for about two out of every three jobs created.

One of the reasons my State is doing so well economically is because we welcome small businesses with open arms. It is an ideal home for entrepreneurs because we believe in keeping taxes low and regulations at a rational minimum. According to the Small Business Administration, there are more than 2.6 million small businesses throughout the State of Texas, accounting for 99.8 percent of all Texas businesses. They employ more than 45 percent of the State's workforce and account for a massive portion of our State's economy. These are exactly the kind of folks I had in mind when I voted to pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, because I knew it would lower rates for small businesses and allow them to use the savings to invest in their employees and their business.

After the legislation passed, just to make sure, I traveled the State and held roundtables with small businesses to learn more about how they were using the savings. One of the small business owners I heard from was Josh Agrelin, whose company, Re-Bath, specializes in bathroom remodeling. A few years ago, back in 2014, I spent a day with the crews at Re-Bath of Austin as part of the NFIB's Small Business Challenge Campaign. I got to try my hand at tiling and remodeling a bathroom, and while I will not be opening my own contracting company any time soon, I had a great time learning about this Austin franchise and getting to know its employees.

When I saw Josh again at our roundtable last year, he told me he plans to use the savings from tax reform to grow the size of his workforce by adding two additional installation crews and purchasing new equipment.

For big businesses that might not sound like a lot, but for small businesses like Re-Bath, it makes a world of difference. It means they can offer more services and gain more business, grow the size of their business, and pay their employees even better. It was great to see how Joshua was looking forward to opportunities to grow his business and I am glad this legislation could help make that possible.

In Houston, I visited with Southland Hardware, a store that opened in 1935. This is an old-fashioned hardware store. You don't see many of those anymore. It has been a community staple, and it is appropriately dubbed ``the store that has `almost' everything.'' It is owned by Marty and Patricia O'Brien, and they were kind enough to host me and a couple of other businesses for a roundtable last spring.

Marty told me that because of the tax savings, they were able to provide bonuses and raises, hire another employee, and do some improvements on their property. For Marty, being able to invest more in his business, which was originally owned by his father-in-law and will one day be run by his children, is no small thing.

I also spent some time on the gulf coast, in Corpus Christi, speaking to Steve Raffaele, the president of American Bank. He told me the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would likely provide them with $12 million of additional capital savings. He said that for each dollar of capital saved, they are able to lend approximately $10 in their market communities along the Coastal Bend region of our State. He estimated that over 5 years that equates to $120 million of additional lending and investment. Given their average loan size, that means more than 500 small businesses could be positively impacted. That is a big deal for a community like Corpus Christi, but especially for one so severely impacted by Hurricane Harvey just about 1\1/2\ years ago.

Today small business optimism is at a record high. I hope that small businesses across the country feel empowered to take their businesses further because of these pro-growth policies. Small businesses are, as I said, the backbone of our economy and, of course, of each of our communities.

This Small Business Week we celebrate the entrepreneurs and the job creators who had the courage to take an idea and build it into an opportunity for themselves, for their families, for their employees, and for their communities. These men and women are proof that the American dream is alive and well, and we are grateful to each of them for the contributions they make to our communities and to our country.

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