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Chairman Hensarling Delivers Opening Statement at Hearing on Economy, Anniversary of Tax Reform

Washington, Jun 20 -

Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) delivered the following opening statement at today’s full committee hearing to examine how tax reform and regulatory relief are empowering the economy:

Tomorrow marks the six month anniversary of the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act, and throughout the economy we have seen incredible good news that has made a great difference in the lives of our constituents. Not only do we have tax relief, but we have a new regulatory agenda under this Administration to right size regulation, and to help market participants actually comply, and to ensure that the burden of this regulatory infrastructure is minimized so that we can have economic growth – and indeed we do.

Average economic growth is now back to 3%. Why is that important? It is important because historically, no nation in the history of the world has enjoyed sustained 3% economic growth like the United States of America.

And historically, you will see that the vast majority of job creation, the vast majority of income increases, and the vast majority of poverty reduction all happen in 3% plus economic years. So, in just six months, one million new jobs have been created. Unemployment is now tied for a fifty-year low, incomes are on the rise – fastest in a decade – business investment is on the rise, consumer confidence at a seventeen-year high.

Small business optimism, and there is no better economic stimulus than business optimism, is at the second highest level in forty five years.

But not only do I see it in the stats, I hear it from my constituents. Just in the last couple of weeks, I heard from Brad in Wills Point, "the bank my wife works for has given two raises and increased benefits since the passage of the Act."

I heard from Jim in Royce City in the Fifth District, "we take home three to four hundred dollars more per paycheck."

I heard from Eugene in Chandler, "I’ll save about fifteen hundred dollars in taxes this year. I’m retired and on social security and a 401K plan, now I’ll be able to travel a little more and see my grandchildren more."

It is making a difference, but there is so much more to be done. There are some looming clouds on the horizon, including that fact that we are in a two-decade decline in companies going public. As recent as 2016, we saw entrepreneurship at a forty-year low. If we are going to compete with China - and particularly China 2025 - if we are going to make sure we have sustained 3% economic growth, there’s much more to be done.

The tax bill is behind us; the capital formation bill lies ahead of us. I hope that is something we can do on a bipartisan basis.