WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) delivered the following opening statement at a hearing entitled “Tax Reform: Growing Our Economy and Creating Jobs.”
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Remarks as prepared for delivery:
“Today is the start of a series of hearings that will take a deep dive into how tax reform is growing the U.S. economy and helping Main Street businesses create jobs.
“Almost a year ago today we held a hearing to discuss how genuine tax reform would help grow our economy and create jobs for Americans — it was clear that something must be done to fix our outdated and burdensome tax code that was keeping America’s economy stuck in neutral.
“With an open process that spanned over six years, we developed a plan to provide tax relief to middle-income families and create an environment for good paying jobs to grow and make America the best place in the world to start or expand a business.
“The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was signed into law 5 months ago, was the result of this plan – and we’re starting to see it have an exciting impact on our economy.
“In August of 2016, CBO projected that GDP growth would slow to 2.1 percent by the end of 2018. Our families and workers deserved better than that slow growth status quo. And now, thanks in large part to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the economic outlook for America has dramatically improved. Already in the first quarter of 2018 we are seeing actual growth of 2.9 percent. And CBO projects that this will accelerate to 3.3 percent by the end of 2018.
“Before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, CBO projected investment would grow to 4.4 percent in the first quarter of 2018 – after tax reform, CBO revised its projection to 5.6 percent for that same quarter. And the data now shows that investment actually grew 6.1 percent in the first quarter of 2018 – even higher than CBO’s revised projection.
“Looking forward, CBO has also estimated that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will create 900,000 jobs, raise wages by $1.2 trillion, and boost investment by $600 billion.
“Today, we’re seeing consumer confidence rise to its highest level since 2000. The National Federation of Independent Business April 2018 survey shows small business confidence in the economy is near all-time highs. In addition, the percentage of small businesses that reported seeing profit growth is the highest in the 45-year history of the survey.
“This dramatic departure from our 2 percent slow growth status quo has helped families gain confidence once again in the American Dream. That’s because economic growth means real change for real people.
“I am hearing from entrepreneurs across my community who are excited again about the future of their businesses and I look forward to hearing from our guests today about what tax reform has enabled their companies to do.
“This was our goal when we passed tax reform. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was designed to deliver tax relief to middle-income families and grow the U.S. economy – and we’re accomplishing both.”