The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“ECONOMIC GROWTH” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the Senate section on pages S3269-S3270 on June 7, 2018.
The Department provides billions in unemployment insurance, which peaked around 2011 though spending had declined before the pandemic. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, claimed the Department funds "ineffective and duplicative services" and overregulates the workplace.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
ECONOMIC GROWTH
Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, 16 months ago, President Trump and Republican majorities arrived in Washington with clear instructions from the American people: Get the Federal Government out of the way. A decade of Democratic control meant that taxes were too high, regulations were too burdensome, and America was too difficult a place to start a small business or hire more workers.
Republicans heard our marching orders loud and clear. We used the Congressional Review Act a record 16 times to root out invasive rules that tripped up small businesses. We uprooted key pieces of ObamaCare and Dodd-Frank that had burdened the middle class, and we delivered a long-overdue, comprehensive overhaul of America's Tax Code. It is helping to rejuvenate the economy and is letting American families keep more of what they earn.
Today, under this Republican government, the U.S. economy is healthier than it has been in a long time. We have the lowest unemployment in 18 years, and more open positions than workers seeking jobs for the first time since the Labor Department started collecting these data. There is record levels of optimism among small businesses and manufacturers. More Americans are saying that now is a good time to find a quality job than at any point in the last 17 years.
In the Obama years, prosperity was slower in coming. Opportunities were comparatively few, and what limited growth did occur flowed disproportionately into America's very biggest urban centers.
Now our economy is starting to work better for all kinds of communities. I recently heard a few inspiring stories from my friend Senator Portman. In Zanesville, OH, the owners of GKM Auto Parts spent much of the last decade watching health insurance premiums soar. By 2016 they could no longer support coverage for their employees, but as Senator Portman recently explained, one of the first things the company was able to do following the passage of historic tax reform last year was to restore that coverage.
He also shared that builders and manufacturers across his State, from Wolf Metals in Columbus to Advanced Industrial Roofing in Massillon, are increasing pay and benefits, investing in equipment, and creating jobs as a direct result of tax reform and this pro-growth economic climate.
We are hearing stories like these from every corner of our country.
American workers and job creators are turning the page on the last decade and writing brand-new success stories, and Republican policies are helping to make that happen.
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