VIDEO: Cassidy Makes the Case for Tax Reform on the Senate Floor

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, spoke on the Senate floor today

as the committee prepared to unveil its version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, legislation that would cut taxes and reform the federal tax code to make it more simple and more fair.

A full transcript of Cassidy’s remarks is below. Broadcast quality video for TV stations can be downloaded here.

CASSIDY: Let me begin by saying, the achievement of this tax proposal is not about anyone in this chamber. It is about the working families who for the last eight years have not done so well.

They’ve either lost their jobs or their wages have been flat. Their benefits have not improved or indeed the cost of those benefits have risen dramatically.

I can say with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that is being introduced today, they will increase their take-home pay, they’ll have higher wages, they will have a better life.

Now, let’s talk about how that would be. How will these working families improve? Mr. President, you mentioned in your remarks, businesses will have money to invest. There will be competition for workers. As there’s competition for workers, workers are paid more. They’re given better benefits.

What do those better benefits and better wages mean? It means that they can invest more in their family and their children’s future and that in turn will change their family’s life for generations to come.

So on behalf of those working families I echo Chairman Hatch, that if there is a suggestion by anyone that can make this better, I ask them to bring that suggestion forward.

Because this is not about Republicans, this is not about Democrats, it’s not about anybody in this chamber, it’s about those working families who for the last eight years have not done as well as the American dream would say they should.

So Mr. President, on behalf of those working families I congratulate Chairman Hatch for this job and I look forward to its passage. And I look forward for all the benefits of this bill coming to help those families across our country and in my state of Louisiana.