Orrin Hatch

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, today I wish to honor Mark E. Miller, for his distinguished public service and professional assistance to the Senate Finance Committee, as well as to the rest of Congress. Mr. Miller served as the executive director of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, or MedPAC, for the last 15 years. During that time, he dedicated himself to our country, ensuring Congress received impartial, data-driven, and sound policy advice to transform the Medicare Program while protecting our Nation's seniors and the disabled. MedPAC was established by Congress in 1997 as part of the Balanced Budget Act. It is a nonpartisan agency that provides analysis and policy recommendations regarding the Medicare Program, including payment, beneficiary access to care, and quality of care for traditional fee-for-service Medicare and Medicare Advantage. As all of us know, the analysis we get from MedPAC is critical in how we, as Members of Congress, debate, address changes, and ultimately make improvements to the Medicare Program. Throughout his service, Mr. Miller ensured that MedPAC consistently fulfilled its mission of providing objective, empirically driven policy analysis and advice to Congress. Mr. Miller himself also testified, answered calls, and otherwise provided invaluable advice on complicated Medicare payment issues to both majority and minority leaders, Finance Committee chairmen and ranking members, as well as other committee members, and other Member offices regarding all things healthcare. Throughout his years of service, Mr. Miller has proven himself a trusted source of objective information. Mr. Miller gave years of his life, including countless long nights, weekends, and early mornings to make sure Congress has the best and most reliable information it can get. In turn, that analysis has guided many ideas and recommendations into legislation that made its way to a President's desk for signature. Mr. Miller's professionalism, expertise, energy, patience, humor, and dedication make him an example to all of us as we work the process of designing and ultimately enacting legislation. Mark has been there from the beginning, watching an idea being born, helping to develop policy to achieve that idea, and providing valuable policy counsel as it works its way through the legislative process to ultimately becoming law. Thanks to his sense of purpose, dedication, and love for this country, Mr. Miller should be seen as just as much an influence on our current Medicare policy as most Members in this body. Mark is a consummate professional, and he will be missed. I wish him all the very best as he takes the next steps in his successful career. May we ever remember Mark's service, and may MedPAC ever be guided by the same sense of duty and purpose Mr. Miller instilled in his 15 years leading that organization.

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I have just withdrawn the request. I will insert it later when it is more expeditious to do it. The announcements I have been talking about is dated today, and it was produced by the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation. I would like to put it in the Record. We will do that, if we can. I hope my colleague will allow me to do that, and I will ask consent that it be put in the Record. That analysis shows that middle-income taxpayers are winners. That nonpartisan data shows--sorry, my writing is not too good here--well, it shows that they are winners, and that is the clear impact of this bill. That data cuts through the rhetorical fog generated by my friends on the other side. My friends on the other side focus on the year 2027--10 years from now--when, guess what, that is the year past the sunset of tax cuts on the individual side. Focus on the years the cuts are in effect, and you will see the middle class are really winners. There is no question about it if you focus on it. I ask unanimous consent that this report, ``A Distribution of Returns by the Size of the Tax Change for the Conference Agreement for H.R. 1, the `Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,' '' by the Joint Committee on Taxation be printed in the Record.

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, then I will withhold the unanimous consent request.

Mr. HATCH. I have the floor.

Mr. HATCH. No, not just yet. I am going to finish these remarks. I am going to insert in the Record an analysis of winners and losers. The analysis is dated today. It was produced by the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have it printed in the Record.

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I have been listening to this debate for a long time, and I have to admit it has been interesting, but it has been prolonged way beyond where it should have been. My friends on the other side make much about this process, demeaning the Members and staff who really put it together. This bill was marked up in the Finance Committee. It is the first reconciliation bill to be processed in committee in the Senate in over 12 years. During that period, Democrats held power for 8 of those years; Republicans, 4 of those years. The reconciliation bill that made up part of the Affordable Care Act never went through the Finance Committee. That reconciliation bill never went through any real Senate process. To be fair, the Affordable Care Act repeal bill that my side proposed didn't go through the Finance Committee either. As difficult as it was, as chairman, I put out a chairman's mark, modified it, permitted debate and amendments, and put it to a vote, all in conformity with committee rules. We had a full Senate debate, amendments, and votes. So I don't want to hear tonight or at any time that the process deteriorated. It didn't deteriorate.

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I agree.

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I have listened to the comments of my friends on the other side for several hours. Frankly, it has tried my patience. If you boil down the inaccurate assertions, you come up with two basic points. One, that the bill before us cuts taxes for wealthy taxpayers proportionately more than it does for middle-income taxpayers. Two, this bill raises taxes on middle-income taxpayers. Nothing like some old-fashioned nonpartisan light to cut through the partisan fog created by my friends on the other side. I refer to a set of tables developed by the nonpartisan official congressional tax scorekeeper, the Joint Committee on Taxation, which I will ask consent to have printed in the Record. The tables show significant tax cut for middle-income taxpayers. Let's take a look at taxpayers in which the median U.S. income reside. I am talking about taxpayers at income levels between $50,000 and $75,000. In 2019, two-thirds of taxpayers receive a tax cut of greater than $500. In 2021, 61.7 percent receive a tax cut of greater than $500. In 2023, 54.8 percent of taxpayers will receive a tax cut of greater than $500. In 2021, 53 percent of taxpayers receive a tax cut of greater than $500. The individual income tax cuts sunset in 2026. Let's take a look at another middle-income group, those in the $75,000 to $100,000 cohort. In 2019, 77.8 percent of those taxpayers receive a tax cut of greater than $500. In 2021, that figure is 72.2 percent. In 2023, that figure is 63.1 percent. In 2025, that figure is 61.4 percent. The individual tax cuts expire in 2026. I ask my friends on the other side to shut down their rhetorical fog machine. Stop the phony characterization of this bill as a tax cut for the wealthy. Recognize it for what it is, a tax cut for Americans that is focused on middle-income families.

Mr. HATCH. The Senator is correct. The conference report language for the bill does not change or modify the intended scope of the statement he cites. The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service should interpret the stock attribution rules consistent with this explanation, as released by the Senate Budget Committee. I would also note that the reason his amendment No. 1666 was not adopted is because it was not needed to reflect the intent of the Senate Finance Committee or the conferees for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. I thank my friend from Georgia for his leadership on this issue to ensure that the stock attribution rules operate consistent with our intent and do not result in unintended consequences. I look forward to continuing to work with him on this important issue.

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, this fellow has a very interesting way of trying to get his point of view across. It shouldn't be done here in this august body. Let me just start again. The Senate will soon vote on the conference report for H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. I have waited a long time to be able to give this final statement in support of tax reform legislation. I have been in the Senate for a little while. I have been party to a number of major legislative achievements, like the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the creation of the CHIP program, the Child Health Insurance Program, and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, to name just a few. These are landmark bills, and I have had a lot to do with them. The legislation before us is as important and as far-reaching as anything I have been privileged to work on. It is beyond gratifying to see the Senate reach this point, and I look forward to finally seeing real tax legislation signed into law. I apologize for this type of intemperate action and mouthing off inside of this august Chamber. People feel very deeply about these things on both sides of the issues. Passage of this important bill will be historic. It is the combination of years of work by people in both parties, in both Chambers, and on both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue. Many of us in this body have been waiting for years for this opportunity, and millions of Americans outside of this body have been waiting even longer. It is no secret that our Tax Code is broken. Members of both parties have acknowledged this. If you walked across the country and asked Americans of all backgrounds and ideologies, you wouldn't find many who would be willing to defend the status quo. I don't think you would find anybody. There is one apt phrase my good friend Senator Wyden uses to describe our Tax Code. He calls it ``a dying carcass.'' Indeed, our Tax Code is dying and rotting. It has hampered job creation, wage growth, investment in the United States, and it has chased American companies to foreign shores. I don't know how it could be more harmful than it has been. It has also given foreign companies a leg up on U.S. businesses in the global marketplace, leading to a record number of foreign takeovers and inversions. The bill before us will address these problems and help us turn the ship around. Our legislation will reduce the corporate tax rate to 21 percent-- something that is long overdue--the lowest level in the modern history of the United States, placing our country slightly below the average of industrialized countries. These changes will once again give American companies a competitive edge and bring more businesses back home instead of losing them the way we have been. Hundreds of economists have said that our bill will boost economic growth, and numerous companies have indicated that once our bill becomes law, they will invest heavily in expansion and job creation right here in the United States of America. In addition, as the Joint Committee on Taxation has made clear, reducing the corporate tax rate has distributional effects that go beyond the companies themselves, their high-ranking officers, or even their richest shareholders. In fact, JCT--the Joint Committee on Taxation--estimates that workers bear 25 percent of the corporate tax rate and other economists have found that this number can reach as high as 75 percent. This means that no matter how you slice it, Americans will see their wages go up when corporate tax rates go down. Further, over the last few decades, we have seen a massive expansion of pension and retirement assets, much of which are invested in corporate stocks. While many of my colleagues like to decry any business from merely earning a profit, the truth is that the continued rise in corporate profits has significantly expanded the wealth of middle-class workers and taxpayers who have continually set aside funds for the future. A representative from the Tax Policy Center testified before the Finance Committee in the spring of last year. At that hearing he stated that 37 percent of corporate stock ownership was held in retirement plan accounts--37 percent. That was the largest share of overall stock ownership, and that statistic syncs up with the distribution tables put out by the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation. For all of these reasons, lowering the corporate tax rate has been a bipartisan goal for over a decade now. I have said it before: Presidents Clinton and Obama, Senators Wyden and Schumer, and most of the other Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee have at some point in the recent past endorsed a significant reduction in the U.S. corporate tax rate. Our bill will achieve this bipartisan goal and place our country well within the mainstream among our international competitors. This is a good thing--not just for businesses and rich stockholders but for working, middle-class families as well. Let's be clear. This bill's chief focus is about helping the middle class. I know there is a tendency among some in this Chamber to act and speak as though all money in this country inherently belongs to the government. I won't speak for everyone, but those of us who have worked on this bill tend to think differently. Aside from business reforms that will grow our economy, increase wages, and create jobs, our bill will lower individual tax rates across the board, allowing hard-working Americans to keep more of their money. In our bill, we also nearly double the standard deduction for individuals and married couples. This feature will significantly reduce the burden of tax filing for millions of middle-class families and decrease even further the overall tax liability of millions more. For the first time in more than 30 years, nearly every American will get more money back by just filing out an EZ form. This, without a doubt, fulfills our goal of simplifying the Tax Code. For individuals who are concerned about being able to itemize--again, we believe the number of people with this concern will decrease dramatically under our bill--we retain a number of key provisions that benefit many in the middle class. For example, this historic legislation will allow individuals and families to continue to claim deductions for State and local taxes, up to $10,000 a year. It will keep in place, with relatively minor adjustments, the deduction for mortgage interest. And Americans who itemize and want to deduct their charitable deductions will be free to do so. This has made America great, and it has helped us at the same time to be more charitable. We are also expanding the child tax credit with this bill, doubling it from $1,000 to $2,000 per child and making the credit far more refundable than ever before. The adoption credit will stay in place. The deduction for medical expenses will still be available. Credits and assistance for students and their families will be untouched. We have made all of these changes and, when necessary, preserved current law, with an eye toward helping the middle class. I know a number of my colleagues like to argue that this bill will have different results. Let's look at the numbers. Under this bill, a typical family of four, earning the median family income of $73,000, will see their taxes go down by more than half-- about 58 percent. That number means something more than just a simple percentage; it means that an average American family will be able to keep $2,058 more of their own earnings next year. That is a mortgage payment, a downpayment for a car, or several months' worth of groceries. What about a single parent? Under our plan, a single parent with one child, making $41,000, will see their taxes slashed by nearly 73 percent. That is almost a three-quarter reduction in tax liability. That means a savings of more than $1,300 over the course of a year. That could be a month of daycare expenses, multiple car payments, or a family vacation. These are things that matter to American families, and they well should. But our friends on the other side have been so caught up in partisan politics that they decided to ignore the Americans who will benefit from this legislation. I think it started with the election of President Trump and the retention of Senate control by Republicans. Their base protested, occupied, and disrupted the transfer of power from President Obama to President Trump. Here on the Hill, the ``resistance'' was in full effect right off the bat, with a coordinated effort to stall nominations in committee, which included unprecedented boycotts and refusals to meet with nominees. It has only gone downhill from there. While we heard words from our friends on the other side about participating in tax reform, their actions showed otherwise. I don't know how they can stand here and make some of the arguments they do. Unprecedented process demands were made. Resistance was the plan, and that plan was carried out. Now we hear about massive tax cuts for the very rich and huge breaks for corporations, but these claims fall apart when you look at the facts. Again, this isn't unchartered territory for my friends on the other side. Accusing Republicans of hating the poor and loving the rich is one of their go-to moves. I have seen it for over 40 years. Every time you turn around, there is one of their go-to moves, and it has nothing to do with reality. I do think they are getting more desperate and vicious in their attacks because they regret their own decisions to sit out of this endeavor. That is precisely how it happened. Our colleagues were apparently so preoccupied with denying President Trump and congressional Republicans any success, they chose not to engage and instead to sit in the peanut gallery throwing out baseless attacks. As I have said literally dozens of times over the past few years, I wish the Democrats had joined us in this process, put aside their ultimatums and preconditions, and helped to advance policies that they have claimed to support for years now. But we are where we are, and while the bill before us includes a number of ideas and proposals Democrats have supported, we are prepared to pass it without their votes, if that is what it takes. There have been some Democrats who have worked with us, but they have been few and far between. Once again, this is a historic bill. I am proud of the work we have done in the Finance Committee, here on the floor, and in conference to get us to this point. I again invite our friends on the other side to also support the bill. I am proud of our colleagues who have put in so much effort to get us here. I am proud of the staff on Capitol Hill who have labored day and night to assist in this endeavor. As I said, this legislation has been years in the making. I urge all of my colleagues to support the conference report and help us send it to the President's desk. You will not regret it. Those who support this will not regret it. I think we ought to get rid of this hatred for Donald Trump that currently exists in this country and in this body. I think we should give the man a chance. He hasn't even been President for a year yet. Give him a chance. Even though he hasn't been President for a year yet, we have had some amazing changes in this country for the better, and I think we could have many more. What really interests me is that Donald Trump, 6 or 7 years ago, was working with Democrats as well as Republicans. He offered to work with the Democrats on these matters, and they have not taken up the offer. Instead, it is as though they are still bitter because he beat their candidate for President. I would like to have us get over that type of petty politics and see what we can do to work together. Heaven knows, on the Finance Committee, I believe we have good Democrats on that committee, as well as good Republicans, and I think we can work together. I have to say, I don't think we have as well as we should, but I think we can, and I am hopeful that we will. This is an important bill. It is a bill that really does need to pass. It is a bill that will help this country. It is a bill that will help the middle class. In fact, it is going to help everybody, but it will certainly help the middle class most of all. I hope our colleagues put aside their petty politics on both sides and come together to support this bill, which literally can help save this country an awful lot of pain over the next number of years and give the government the kinds of resources that it needs to be able to do what the Federal Government needs to do for its people. I think we can. People in this body know that I have spent years here. I am the most senior Republican. I have been here longer than any other Republican that I know of, and I have the legislative record to back it up--a record that has included working with Democrats almost every step of the way. I am offering to make sure we work together, but I haven't seen it on the other side. Can they get over the bitterness they have? We heard this loudmouth in the Gallery who has no good sense and a total lack of etiquette and a total lack of respect for this government and this Senate. If I were on his side, I would be humiliated because he was just a big loudmouth who didn't mean a doggone thing. Unfortunately, I think there are more people like that who are so bitter that they will raise these types of issues without really trying to work together. I am one who has a reputation for working together. I am chairman of the Finance Committee. I have enjoyed my work with the distinguished Democratic leader on the Finance Committee, Senator Wyden. I care for him. I care for the other Democrats on the committee, as well as all of our Republicans. We work pretty well together. It is getting harder and harder to work together when all we see are screaming and shouting because they can't get their way because they are no longer in the majority. I hope they get over that, and I hope they start working with us. If they will, we can do an awful lot of good things for this country, and we can bring people together across this whole country-- people who right now are divided because they don't know what to do. They see us screaming and shouting around here and a total lack of willingness to get together. I would like to change it. I am open to changing it. This bill that we have is a very, very important bill, and we need to pass it. My friends on the other side need to realize that, and I hope we will get some of them to vote for it. They know it is right. Deep down, they know it is right. It might not be everything they like themselves. It is not everything I myself would like. But it is a doggone good bill, and it is something that could really help this country pull out of the mess that it is in. Mr. President, I yield the floor.

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, the Senate will soon vote on the conference report for H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. I have waited a long time to give this final statement in support of tax reform legislation. (Disturbance in the Visitors' Galleries.)

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I, personally, congratulate the distinguished Senator from Ohio. He is one of the most intelligent people in this body. He has had all kinds of experience outside of the Senate. He is a person whom everybody should listen to. He makes a lot of sense. He is one of the most valued members of a very strong committee, with all kinds of valued members on it, but he is one of those valued members on the Senate Finance Committee, and I have nothing but respect for him. Everything he has said here this evening is true. It is mind-boggling to me that we even have arguments from the other side. We are talking about pulling this country out of the mess it is in, and it is going to take this. I just want to compliment the distinguished Senator from Ohio. He is a terrific human being, with a tremendous ability, who has had a lot of experience outside of the U.S. Senate, and who has been successful everywhere he has gone. He is one of the most distinguished members of the Senate Finance Committee. He is not talking politically; he is talking factually. I just wish everybody in this body were on the floor to listen to him. I have tremendous respect for him. That is one reason I am getting up here right now. We can turn this mess around, but if we don't do it soon, it may be impossible to turn it around. We have been spending this government into bankruptcy. That is where we are. We keep making excuses so we can go back and beat our breasts and claim we are doing so much for the people when we are just spending them right into bankruptcy. It is making it more difficult for the committees to do their work. I just wish we could get both sides together once in a while instead of having all of this inner conflict on everything that comes up. It is almost like, if a Republican says something, it has to be contradicted, and I might add, if a Democrat says something, he has to be contradicted. I don't mind good arguments. I don't mind people having different points of view. That is what makes this place a great place. That is what helps the United States of America to be a great country and a great government, but we don't even listen to each other anymore. Where is this bipartisanship that this country really, drastically needs? We happen to be in the majority right now. It seems to me that a decent minority would want to find ways to work with the, hopefully, decent majority. I think we can be very decent on our side, and I believe my colleagues on the other side can be very decent. Let's get rid of the politics, and let's do what is best for America. Let's get this country out of the mess it is in. The distinguished Senator from Ohio has shown us some ways here. Our tax policy is for the birds. We know what we need to do, but every time you raise a solution, you have somebody saying: Well, that is not the answer. Then we have the conflicts between the two Houses. That is good because that is what helps us to refine some of this legislation. All I can say is, I just wish all of us would put the country first, put politics second, be politically astute but at least be open to rational reasoning, whether it comes from the other side or our side. I am just amazed at how we can sit and belabor these things day in and day out and never really get together. We are hurting the country because we are unwilling to get together. We are hurting the Congress of the United States because we are unwilling to get together. I could go on and on as to our unwillingness to get together. I think it is time for us to wake up and start saying: Look, let's find common ground. Let's find ways of getting together instead of constantly fighting each other on every stinking issue that comes up. There are reasons for differences in politics and reasons for differences in tax policy, but we ought to be able to at least discuss these differences without there being total partisanship, which is what we are, unfortunately, suffering from. I believe we can turn this mess around. If we do, it will be a banner for everybody to march behind, and it seems to me it will be an example for the whole world. I would like to see us do it. I know there are people on the other side who cannot stand the President. Yes, he won an election they didn't think he should have won, but he did win. He has thrown his hands open to the other side and, I believe, would do more. It was only 7 or 8 years ago when he was much more moderate than he is now. I think all they need to do is to reach out and grab his hands and say: Look, we will find some common ground here in the best interests of our country and in the best interests of everybody. It is not bad to fight things out. I don't have any problem with that. That is part of this body, part of what we do. But we actually have to come to some conclusions that will push the country forward, and we are not doing that, except on a limited basis that really doesn't amount to all that much. We are coming to the end of a very difficult year. The Democrats thought they were going to win the Presidency, and they didn't. They especially feel badly about losing to somebody like Donald Trump, who, I think, has held out his hands and his arms to them and would do so if they would just embrace a little bit more of what he is trying to do. I would like to see us do this. I believe he would throw his arms out to whomever in this body would work with him, and by working with him, we may be able to get some of our ideas on both sides actually put into law that may help this country. I really particularly enjoyed and appreciated the comments from the distinguished Senator from Ohio. I think he is one of the most distinguished people in this body. Earlier, I heard the distinguished Senator from Pennsylvania. He is a brilliant guy who works his butt off to try to get us into good places. We ought to listen more to these folks. There are folks on the other side who are brilliant, too, who, I think, make a real difference. I particularly enjoy my counterpart on the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Wyden from Oregon. We are different. We have different philosophies, but I have never seen a day when he wasn't willing to sit down and work out our problems, and that to me is pretty important. Our leaders are good people. I have watched Chuck Schumer for all the years he has been in the Senate and before, and he is a better leader than what we are getting here lately. I have watched Mitch McConnell. Mitch is one of the shrewdest people I have seen in this body since I have been a Member, and he is open. I would like to see our leaders get together a little bit more. I would like to see a little less fighting and a little more constructive work together. I don't expect miracles because I have been here only 41 years, but I do expect that we can do much better than what we are doing, and it is going to take both sides getting together to do it. We happen to be in the majority right now, and the Democrats should give us an edge. We should give them the edge when they are in the majority. I think that I, for one, have done that. I hope we can put aside our differences and start working together in the best interest of the country. I believe in this country. It is the greatest country in the world. People all over the world are praying that the United States will get it together. They know that we can lead. They know that we have leadership in the Congress of the United States. We can get it together if we will. I appreciate my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. I appreciate that we have differences. I appreciate that sometimes those differences put us into pitched battles. That is not all bad, either. But it is bad if we don't work things out and if we don't look for the good on the other side in both ways. I yield the floor.

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize a longtime member of the Senate family who is concluding his tenure with us as this session comes to a close. His last day of service in the U.S. Senate will be December 22. Steve Johnson, a resident of Annandale, VA, and a native of Freehold, NJ, is retiring as the manager of the Senate Dining Room after 22 years of service. Steve has managed the Senate Dining Room with hospitality, professionalism, and graciousness. He is extremely knowledgeable about the history of the Senate Dining Room and has introduced many of our guests to the stained-glass George Washington Memorial Window, which is often the focal point for visitors. The window was purchased by the Federal Government for the Capitol in 1910 from the artist, Maria Herndl, for $1,000. The window's Revolutionary War scene shows President George Washington on his white horse conversing with Marquis de LaFayette and Baron von Steuben, the drillmaster of the American Army. I only know the story behind the painting because Steve told me. Steve sure knows his history, but his primary focus has always been on his team and the Members of this body. Under Steve's leadership, the Senate Dining Room has been an ideal venue for conducting the important business of the U.S. Senate. Throughout his career, he has been responsible for overseeing and implementing the requests of Members of the U.S. Senate and has done so with efficiency, poise, and thoughtfulness. Steve has always been resourceful and, at times, creative. Once, a former Senator who, at the time, happened to be the Vice President of the United States, ordered a lunch that had not been on the Senate Dining Room menu for several years, but thanks to Steve's ingenuity, Vice President Joe Biden enjoyed his chopped salad immensely. On another occasion, Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist stopped by the Senate Dining Room after a long day on Capitol Hill and ordered chocolate chip cookies and milk. The cookies were not on the menu, nor were they in the kitchen, but they still showed up at the Chief Justice's table, thanks to Steve's quick thinking and resourcefulness. Remarkably, during his Senate service, Steve also found the time to train and compete in 18 marathons. He has qualified and run the Boston Marathon seven times, and I hear that more marathons are in his future. On behalf of myself and my colleagues, I wish to express our deep affection and gratitude to Steve Johnson for his 22 years of faithful service to the U.S. Senate. We will miss him dearly. We wish Steve and Joanne, his wife of 32 years, a happy and healthy retirement.

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. Madam President, before I turn to the main portion of my remarks, I would be remiss if I failed to recognize two staffers who were instrumental in helping us pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act earlier this month--James Williams, my senior policy adviser, and Nick Clason, a talented young staffer. Both worked long hours to help make tax reform a reality. I wanted to take just a brief moment to recognize them for the late nights they spent helping me to hash out the details of this bill. They are some of the hardest working members of my staff, and I hope they know how much I appreciate them.

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate, recognize, and acknowledge the longtime public service that Donald Harlan Hansen has provided to the State of Utah. This month, Donald Hansen will officially retire as the civil litigation chief for the Salt Lake County district attorney. He has worked for the district attorney since 2001, where he served as lead counsel in jury and bench trials before State and Federal courts and countless administrative proceedings. Prior to his work with the Salt Lake County district attorney, he worked for the Utah Attorney General, in which capacity he served as litigation counsel for critical legal cases throughout the State. Utah- born and bred, Donald graduated from the University of Utah before obtaining his law degree from the S.J. Quinney College of Law. Donald has been published in many legal proceedings and is admitted to practice law before the Utah Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah, the Oregon Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Donald currently lives in the Mill Creek area of Salt Lake and is the father of four children and the grandfather of 12. He is a dedicated public servant, and I wish him the very best in his retirement.

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, last week, the Senate came another step closer to providing real tax relief to the middle class and providing a much needed boost to our economy. Yes, I am talking about the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. That bill spent years in the making. As my chief legislative focus for many years, tax reform is not some off-the-cuff effort. No, we have been researching, holding dozens of hearings, commissioning bipartisan working groups, and working with our friends on the other side of the Capitol and down the street at the White House for some time now. This bill is going to put another $2,200 in the pockets of the average American family. This bill is going to boost the economy. It is going to grow jobs and finally help end the wage stagnation we have been faced with for years. This bill is going to unleash the American spirit, bringing businesses back home where they started and encouraging other businesses to both come from abroad, as well as to grow from within. Once again, America will be open for business. I have not been alone in this process though, not by a long shot. In fact, tax reform has been a priority for many of my colleagues, including some who are no longer serving. I am talking, of course, about people like Congressman Dave Camp and Senator Max Baucus, who did a lot to move this effort forward. I feel gratified to have been here and to have worked with my colleagues to get this far. As efforts this year began in earnest, we set out to build on the work of our former colleagues and to give low- and middle-income Americans some much needed relief and to give our country an opportunity to compete in the global economy. Our bill will do that, but as we all know, these great reforms are not quite yet promised to the American people. There is still work to do as we work to iron out our differences with the House and make sure every section of this bill is ready to be eased into law or passed into law. That said, I think we deserve to celebrate a little bit and, more importantly, to thank everyone for their work to get us to this point. So many people--both in and out of Congress--have worked hard to get us this far, and I want to express my appreciation for their efforts. Of course, I can't thank everyone in a single floor speech, but I do want to thank some who may be within earshot of this Chamber. First and foremost, I need to thank Secretary Mnuchin and Director Cohn for their commitment to this effort and their help in getting it done. It is good to finally have an administration that is willing to lead out on tax reform. I also want to thank the distinguished majority leader who also did so much to secure the details of the bill and shepherd it through the Senate. Furthermore, I want to thank Chairman Brady and Speaker Ryan over in the House of Representatives, as well. They, too, have been great partners and leaders in this endeavor. I also need to thank the staff from the leader's office, including Sharon Soderstrom, Brandan Dunn, Antonio Ferrier, Hazen Marshall, Erica Suares, Terry Van Doren, Don Stewart, and Jane Lee. Of course, I want to thank the Members of the Senate Finance Committee who put in countless days, weeks, and months in preparing this legislation and helping to get it passed. All of our majority Members contributed greatly to this process, and I am most grateful. I also want to thank the tax legislative assistants from each of the committee members who helped to craft this bill; namely, Chris Allen, Sam Beaver, Joseph Boddicker, Chris Conlin, Shay Hawkins, Randy Herndon, Bart Massey, Monica McGuire, Mike Quickel, Zachary Rudisill, Andrew Siracuse, Robert Sneeden, Derek Theurer, and Mark Warren, all of whom did an outstanding job in helping us to produce this bill. I also thank the committee's legislative directors: Charles Cogar, Ken Flanz, Chris Gillott, Brad Grantz, Amber Kirchhoefer, Kurt Kovarik, Jessica McBride, Sarah Paul, Landon Stropko, Jay Sulzmann, Stephen Tausend, Pam Thiessen, and Christopher Toppings. In addition to all of the Senators and staff on the Finance Committee, I need to thank some others. As we all know, this process has been a joint effort with our friends on the Budget Committee. I need to thank Senator Enzi, once again, for his leadership on that committee to give us the reconciliation instruction that made this all possible. Additionally, I would like to thank members of his staff, including Joe Brenckle, Jim Neill, Betsy McDonnell, Matt Giroux, Paul Vinovich, Becky Cole, Eric Ueland, Thomas Fueller, and the rest of the Budget Committee team. Closer to home, I thank the staff of the Finance Committee, who have done so much of the heavy lifting here. I need to single out Mark Prater, my chief tax counsel, who has served the committee for decades, and whose knowledge and expertise on these matters is recognized by everyone here and by pretty much everyone everywhere else. I also express my thanks to the rest of my committee tax staff: Jennifer Acuna, Tony Coughlan, Christopher Hanna, Alex Monie, Eric Oman, Marty Pippins, Preston Rutledge, and Nick Wyatt. Additionally, I need to thank my staff director, Jay Khosla, who quarterbacked the staff through this whole ordeal and who has spent many years with me as we have laid the groundwork and started construction on this undertaking. I want to thank the other members of my senior team as well, including Matt Hoffmann, Jeff Wrase, Julia Lawless, Jennifer Kuskowski, Chris Armstrong, and Bryan Hickman. I need to thank the communications staff on the committee: Katie Niederee, Nicole Hager, and Joshua Blume. I also need to thank a couple of former staff members: Chris Campbell, my former staff director, who worked for years on this effort. While he is now at Treasury, I am sure he is celebrating right now along with us. I would also like to give a thank-you to Jim Lyons, my tax counsel, who, unfortunately, passed away a little over a year ago. He contributed greatly to this effort for a number of years, and his steady presence has definitely been missed. Other bodies deserve our thanks as well. Tom Barthold and his team at the Joint Committee on Taxation made themselves available at all hours to help us get this bill written and ready to pass, as did the staff at the legislative counsel's office, led by Mark McGunagle and Jim Fransen, as well as those who work with Elizabeth MacDonough in the Parliamentarian's office. I am so grateful to all of you for your sacrifices and talents that have allowed us to craft this impressive package. Unfortunately, though, there are too many people to thank in a single floor speech. So, please, let me express my gratitude to the countless individuals who have helped in this endeavor over the years. This would not have been possible without you. Before I close, I would like to reiterate that we are not yet there though. I know I will not rest and that I can count on the rest of you to keep going until we have this over the finish line. We are so close to finally giving the American people the Tax Code, and, in turn, the economic growth not only they but their children and grandchildren deserve. It is my solemn commitment to keep working and get this done for all of us. I yield the floor.

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. The Senator is correct. The intent of the provision is to exclude all amounts paid or accrued for services costs with no markup. Thus amounts paid or accrued in that account would be excluded from the base erosion anti-abuse tax. Other accounts related to the same transaction may or may not be excepted from this tax. Similarly, it is the intent that for purposes of the base erosion anti-abuse tax that the business judgment rule will not prevent an amount from being excluded under the act. I would like to thank my friend from Ohio for his leadership on international tax issues, especially since he joined this committee. I look forward to continuing to work with him on these important issues.

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, with passage of this bill, we are another step closer to providing real tax relief to the middle class and providing a much-needed boost to our economy. Today's events have been years in the making. This has been my chief legislative focus for many years, and it has been a priority for many of my colleagues as well, including some that are no longer serving. I am talking, of course, about people like Dave Camp and Senator Max Baucus, who did a lot to move this effort forward. I feel gratified to have been here and to have worked with my colleagues to get this far. As efforts this year began earnest, we set out to give low- and middle-income Americans some much-needed relief and to give our country an opportunity to compete in the global economy. This bill will do that. With passage of this bill, American families will have bigger paychecks and better wages. Our employers will have more favorable conditions to invest in expansion, grow their businesses, and create more jobs right here in the United States. So many people both in and out of Congress have worked hard to get us to this point, and I want to express my appreciation for their efforts. Of course, I can't thank everyone in a single floor speech, but I do want to thank some who may be within earshot at the moment. First and foremost, I want to thank the members of the Senate Finance Committee, who put in countless days, weeks, and months in preparing this legislation and helping to get it passed. All of our majority members contributed greatly to this process, and I am most grateful. I also want to thank the distinguished majority leader who also did so much to secure the details of the bill and shepherd it through the Senate. I want to thank Chairman Brady and Speaker Ryan over in the House of Representatives. They, too, have been great partners in this endeavor. Of course, I need to thank Secretary Mnuchin and Director Cohn for their commitment to this effort and their help in getting it done. I want to thank the staff of the Finance Committee, who have done so much of the heavy lifting here. I need to single out Mark Prater, my chief tax counsel, who has served the committee for decades now and whose knowledge and expertise on these matters is recognized by everyone here and pretty much everyone everywhere else. Thank you, as well, to the rest of my committee tax staff: Jennifer Acuna, Tony Coughlan, Christopher Hanna, Alex Monie, Eric Oman, Marty Pippins, Preston Rutledge, and Nick Wyatt. I need to thank my staff director, Jay Khosla, who quarterbacked the staff through this whole ordeal and who has spent many years with me as we have laid the groundwork and started construction on this undertaking. I want to thank the other members of my senior team as well, including Matt Hoffman, Jeff Wrase, Julia Lawless, Jennifer Kuskowski, Chris Armstrong, and Bryan Hickman. I need to thank the communications staff on the committee: Katie Niederee, Nicole Hager, and Joshua Blume. I also need to thank a couple of former staff members. Chris Campbell, my former staff director, worked for years on this effort, and while, he is now at Treasury, I am sure he is celebrating on his own today. I would also like to give a thank you to Jim Lyons, my tax counsel who, unfortunately, passed away a little over a year ago. He contributed greatly to this effort for a number of years, and his steady presence has definitely been missed. Beyond my own staff, I want to thank the tax legislative assistants from each of the committee members who helped to craft this bill, namely, Chris Allen, Sam Beaver, Joseph Boddicker, Chris Conlin, Shay Hawkins, Randy Herndon, Bart Massey, Monica McGuire, Mike Quickel, Zacshary Rudisill, Andrew Siracuse, Robert Sneeden, Derek Theurer, and Mark Warren, all of whom did an outstanding job in helping us to produce this bill. I also want to thank the committee's legislative directors: Charles Cogar, Ken Flanz, Chris Gillott, Brad Grantz, Amber Kirchhoefer, Kurt Kovarik, Jessica McBride, Sarah Paul, Landon Stropko, Jay Sulzmann, Stephen Tausend, Pam Thiessen, and Christopher Toppings. I also need to thank the staff from the leader's office, including Brendan Dunn, Antonia Ferrier, Hazen Marshall, Erica Suares, Terry Van Doren, Don Stewart, and Jane Lee. This process has been a joint effort with our friends on the Budget Committee, and I need to thank Senator Enzi, once again, for his leadership on that committee to give us the reconciliation instruction that made this possible. Additionally, I would like to thank members of his staff, including: Joe Brenckle, Jim Neill, Betsy McDonnell, Matt Giroux, Paul Vinovich, Becky Cole, Eric Ueland, Thomas Fueller, and the rest of the Budget Committee team. Other bodies deserve our thanks as well. Tom Barthold and his team at the Joint Committee on Taxation made themselves available at all hours to help us get the bill written and ready to pass. As did the staff at the legislative counsel's office, led by Mark McGunagle and Jim Fransen and their whole team and those who work with Elizabeth McDounagh in the Parliamentarian's office. There are too many people to thank in a single floor speech, but, I am very grateful for the countless individuals who have in this endeavor over the years. We are not there yet, but we are getting closer. I look forward to moving this effort through the next steps and to working with my colleagues on other challenges that lie ahead.

Mr. HATCH

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I have sat here and listened to Democrats, year after year, talk about how they are so much more committed to the middle class and to the poor, as they have driven us right into bankruptcy. Instead of trying to work on these matters so that we are not driven into bankruptcy, it is more and more spending, more and more Federal Government, more and more regulations, and more and more controls, all of which tend to make us less and less efficient, less and less successful, less and less able to do the will of the people, less and less able to really do the things we have been sent here to do. Now we are having a lot of complaining about what is going on right now, but, to make a long story short, the Democrats are pushing a financial system that was bound to take us right into bankruptcy. We might have had 2 more years where payments could be made, but we have gone right straight to hell as far as being able to handle the matters that are so important to every one of us in this country. Now, I have to admit that our side has some flaws, too. Some of our people think that we should do a better job without any money, or that we should do a better job without any increase in taxes, or that we should do a better job without the Federal Government. Both sides have been in error. Both sides have been, from time to time, wrong. But I have to say, as a former Democrat when I was coming up in Pittsburgh, PA, when I went to Brigham Young University, by the end of my time at Brigham Young University, I thought: My gosh, how could I have ever believed this stuff--which is more and more government, more and more spending, more and more bureaucracy, more and more controls over all of our lives, and less and less freedom. I can remember the days when we couldn't get the other side to work as hard as we should on national security issues, which were critical. Both sides have room to grow. Both sides have room to improve. Each side could do a better job here, and I have lived for the day when we both could work together, arm in arm, for the betterment of this country. But the betterment of this country isn't to go to socialized medicine, which is where the Democrats actually took us, until we finally pulled them back a little bit. Now, they had the help of some Republicans to do that, but the fact of the matter is that they were moving us right to socialized medicine, which really has never worked anywhere. It is as though they prey on the poor as though they are the only ones who could help them, when in fact they are part of the reason we are poor. The government cannot do everything. The government should not do everything. We, as a people, have to help ourselves and do a lot to help our country in the process. I get a little disgusted sometimes when I see the lack of communication between the two sides, the lack of working together. One side believes the Federal Government is the last answer to everything. My gosh, you have to be a real raving idiot to believe that. Well, maybe I shouldn't have put it that way. The other side sometimes has trouble seeing how we should help the poor and help those who are less fortunate than we are. But we have a lot of people on the Republican side who have spent a lot of time trying to help the poor, trying to get this country going again, trying to get the economy on top, and trying to get it so that we really can help the poor and not just mouth off about it. I am very concerned because, if we don't get together and start working together, it is going to get worse and worse and worse. But I think the crocodile tears on the other side, as we have watched them over the last year pushing us more and more toward socialized medicine--something that will not work, one-size-fits-all government programs, with no real restraint of growth or spending, just more and more buying of votes. I come away pretty disconsolate and concerned about the direction in which we are going. Both sides have enduring pluses, and both sides are wrong in some ways. Sooner or later, we have to find some way of assisting the greatest country in the world--which has the greatest economic system in the world, which believes in the free market system--and to do so without total government control. My friends on the other side like that government control because it means more control by them. We dislike it because we think they shouldn't have this kind of control. We know that is not good for the country. It is not good for the people. It is not good for our future. It is not good for our economy, but that is where we are. I would like to see us someday just really start working in the best interest of the country and a little less in the best interest of our respective parties. I am concerned about where we are going. I am concerned about how little effort is being put forth to try and bring us together. I am concerned about the itty-bitty, stupid, partisan infighting that goes on here constantly. It is not all bad, but it is not all good either. I am very concerned about a lot of this driven by a media that is one- sided, that really doesn't tell the truth, that really doesn't help us in this country--everybody--to know what is wrong. I think the media has gotten better in recent years, but it has pretty well been one- sided. I don't think anybody with brains would deny that. I am really concerned because I believe we have great people here. There are some wonderful people on the Democratic side. We know we have a lot of good people on the Republican side. We have to somehow find a way of bridging the gap and getting together and making this country solid, dependable, economically sound, and deserving of being called the greatest country in the world. I think we can do that, but we can't do it if we don't work together. We can't do it if we can't put aside Republican and Democratic itty-bitty problems and work together. We can't do that if we don't care. We can't do it if we keep having the ridiculous, stupid politics that go on around here year after year. It is not all bad, but it is certainly not all good either. I hope that somehow the more reasonable people on both sides will get together and start to work together. I remember when I became chairman of the Labor and Human Resources Committee in 1981 with the advent of Ronald Reagan. The Democrats had been in control for years, and they knew it. My gosh, when I got here, there were 60 Democrats in the Senate--62 Democrats, 38 Republicans. It was hard to get a point of view across; that is, the Republicans' point of view. Then Ronald Reagan came along. I have to say, it brought an awareness to the public that something was wrong here, and he was able to bring us together. I saw some of the greatest Senators over the years on both sides work together. I saw Daniel Patrick Moynihan come here and work with people like me. Some mentioned Senator Kennedy and Senator Hatch. When I became chairman of the Labor and Human Resources Committee, Kennedy had been chairman of the Judiciary Committee and came over to become my ranking member. I have to give him credit because he was willing to give and to work together. He always had to have his share of whatever it was, but he did move. He did come over. He was willing to. Some point to that particular Hatch-Kennedy period as a pretty good period at the time in the U.S. Senate. Certainly Ted Kennedy did. He was calling me from the Cape before he died, knowing I cared for him, knowing we were people who fought for very hard battles against each other, from time to time, but who really respected each other because we both believed in our respective sides, and we were willing to stand up for our particular beliefs. I don't see as much of that today as I did then. Maybe I am shortsighted. I don't know, but I don't think so. I am very concerned that we are not doing the job for the American people in our little bitty fights that we have around here that don't amount to a hill of beans. I am somewhat depressed because of the way things are going right now. I can't say I am discouraged because I keep thinking we can come back, we can do better, we can witness things, and we can find ways of getting together. We can work together, but so far I haven't seen that, not for a number of years. We can blame both parties for it, I am sure. One party believes the Federal Government is the almighty blessing to all of this, while the other believes, hey, we need not allow a central government to control everything. It is good that we have two differences of opinion in these areas. I don't think it hurts the country at all to have differing opinions, but it does hurt the country when one side thinks their opinion is the only opinion that should be given any credence or consideration. I have seen a lot of that around here. Both sides are at fault, by the way. I am very concerned about it. I look over at my colleague from Oregon. When he was chairman, I was his ranking member. When I am chairman, he is my ranking member. We have gotten along well. He is a proud liberal, and deservedly so, and I am a proud conservative. I think most people would say deservedly so. We are two people who can make this place sane and who have been working assiduously together to try to help our country. I see these two-bit, partisan politics arising all the time around here, and I don't think we benefit from it. In fact, I know we don't benefit from it. I am not meaning to blame anybody, but I think we ought to all do some self-awareness studies and determine what role we have in the deterioration of what has always been great about the U.S. Senate. What role do we have? Are we living a plus role or are we living a minus role? It would be wonderful if we could all live plus roles. I like my Democratic colleagues, every one of them. There is not one of them I don't care for. I am hoping we can start working together and open our eyes and our hearts and our minds to some of the points of view of the other side. It is hard to do sometimes because we have people around here who are so partisan that they think there is only one side. I can tell you, there are two sides. I remember the day when Republicans wouldn't vote for any social spending program, and I remember the day when Democrats thought everything should be a social spending program and didn't care where the moneys were coming from or if they were there at all. I have seen both sides, both extremes, throughout my 41 years in the U.S. Senate. I have also seen times when leadership, true leadership, has brought us together, where consideration was given to the Democratic side, consideration was given to the Republican side, and we worked out our difficulties. We worked together. We didn't mouth off all the time against the other side. Naturally, I like those days better than what we have today.

Mr. HATCH. Yes, sir.

Mr. HATCH. I didn't yield to you. I am saying I will yield for a question.

Mr. HATCH. I felt bad about that.

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.