{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.lankford.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-lankford-supports-senate-tax-reform-bill", "Senator Lankford Supports Senate Tax Reform Bill", "2017-12-02", "2017", "2017-12", "Republican", "House", "OK", "James Lankford", "L000575", "www.lankford.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "12.02.17\n\t\t\t Senator Lankford Supports Senate Tax Reform Bill \n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n        \n\t\t\t\t Tax Bill Lowers All Middle-Income Tax Brackets, Doubles Child Tax Credit & Boosts Economic Growth\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 Senator James Lankford (R-OK) today voted in favor of the Senate version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which passed by a vote of 51 to 49. The House passed their version of the bill on November 16, 2017. The differences between the two bills will now be worked out in a conference committee between the House and Senate. Once the conferenced bill is approved by both chambers, it goes to the President\u2019s desk for his signature.\u00a0\r\n\u201cThe American economy is stuck,\u201d said Lankford.\u00a0\u201cFor a decade our economy has been anemic, growing at half the normal rate of growth.\u00a0Slow economic growth means stagnant wages, fewer new jobs, less construction, and fewer opportunities for people just starting their career.\u00a0\r\n\u201cEight years ago, Democrats in Congress passed a massive government debt-funded stimulus bill to jump-start the economy, but years later, the economy remains stuck.\u00a0Today, Congress took a different path to economic growth, allowing people to save or spend their own money in their own way.\u00a0Tax policy should be primarily about funding the basic needs of our government with the least amount of intrusion possible. This tax reform bill provides much-needed relief to Oklahomans by lowering tax rates for the middle class, doubling the standard deduction and child tax credit, as well as repealing the mandate tax to buy government-approved healthcare.\u00a0The bill also helps small and large businesses by reducing the rates and encouraging businesses to buy new equipment and hire more workers.\r\nLankford continued, \u201cOne of the most difficult aspects for the American people has been to separate fact from fiction in this tax debate.\u00a0Partisan political spin is easy in a bill this complicated.\u00a0While people are free to say or post on a website anything they choose, if anyone wants to know the actual facts of the bill, feel free to read the details yourself at: finance.senate.gov/taxreform.\u00a0Some organizations believe the tax bill will cause deficits and some economists claim the tax bill will provide tremendous economic growth to pay for itself.\u00a0This bill tries to strike the middle ground by acknowledging our growing debt and our declining economy.\u00a0We cannot cut enough spending to balance our budget, we must have a growing economy as well.\u00a0But, as I have often stated, we must continue to find ways to cut spending and identify greater government efficiency, and ultimately follow through with it.\u201d\r\nNotable Benefits of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act:\r\n \r\nLowers all middle-income tax brackets\r\nDoubles the standard deduction:\r\nFor an individual, the standard deduction goes from $6,350 to $12,000. For a married couple, it goes from $12,700 to $24,000\r\nFor a married couple, the first $24,000 is not taxable and most Americans will be able to file their income taxes on a single page\r\nDoubles the child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000 to help more families with children\r\nProtects family farms by doubling the exemption for estate taxes\r\nDoubles the deduction for school supplies for teachers, from $250 to $500\r\nProtects college students by maintaining the deduction for interest paid on student loans\r\nGives small businesses a much lower tax rate that is competitive with major corporations, by allowing the deduction of\u00a023% of qualified business income\r\nAllows companies of all sizes to write off certain capital expenses in the same year they have those expenses\r\nEconomic projections:\r\nIncreases GDP by 3.7% over the long term and 2.9% higher wages, according\u00a0to the Tax Foundation\r\nIncreases GDP between 3% and 5%, according to the\u00a0Council of Economic Advisers\r\nRaises an additional $1.26 trillion in federal revenues from economic growth, making the bill practically revenue neutral, according\u00a0to the Tax Foundation\r\nLowers the corporate business tax rate from 35 percent, one of the highest in the world, to a competitive 20 percent\r\nRepeals the Obamacare individual mandate that raised taxes on middle income families in Oklahoma, but it maintains all of the subsidies for lower income individuals\r\nMore than 60 percent of American households will get at least a $100 tax cut, according to a modest estimate from\u00a0the Joint Committee on Taxation\r\nStops the incentive for businesses to move overseas and encourages American companies to bring their international profits back to America, by moving to a territorial tax system\r\nKeeps graduate student tuition waivers as a tax exemption, unlike the plan passed by the House.\r\nThis bill does nothing to alter or change Medicaid or Medicare policy. Claims that automatic cuts will be made to these programs are unfounded.\r\n \r\n###\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t  \n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\tPrint\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tEmail\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tTweet\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t \n\t\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n    \n\t\n\t\n    \n    \n    \n    \t\n    \t\n\t    \t  \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tNext Article\n\t\t    \n\t\t    \n\t\t    \tPrevious Article", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.lankford.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-lankford-supports-senate-tax-reform-bill"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5344349667429924, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}