EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I move to proceed to executive session to
consider Calendar No. 775.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion.
  The motion was agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the nomination.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read the nomination of
Benjamin M. Flowers, of Ohio, to be United States Circuit Judge for the
Sixth Circuit.

                      Working Families Tax Cut Act

  Mrs. MOODY. Mr. President, I rise today to share some good news with
the United States of America. We just celebrated not only the birthday
of this Nation--250 years--but we also celebrated the anniversary of
the Working Families Tax Cut Act being signed into law.
  As my State's newest Senator, this was an important piece of
legislation for many reasons, and I will share what it has meant for
hard-working Floridians. But I championed this package, and I am so
excited to say that we were able to deliver major wins through this
legislation.
  It is the largest tax cut in the history of our Nation, and I
believe, on the birthday of the United States of America, it was
important to recognize that the people most wisely know how to spend
their money.
  And we have seen such positive results already for Floridians and
Americans alike. I just traveled around the State of Florida last week,
as all of our colleagues did, when we went back to our States and met
with our constituents. And I can tell you people were excited, and they
were excited because they were just coming off of having to file their
taxes. And they are already seeing what this is going to mean for their
families.
  We got together with law enforcement officers--hundreds of them--
where we highlighted no tax on overtime. A lot of people don't think
about how no tax on overtime helps those that wear a badge and pick up
extra shifts and put their lives on the line to protect us. Now they
get to keep more of that money when they do so.
  We celebrated no tax on tips at a restaurant called Beth's Burger
Bar, and so many of their waiters and waitresses were excited about
keeping more of their money.
  We talked to parents about child-owned investment accounts over at a
local school in St. Cloud.
  Floridians are just excited, and they have a right to be. We can
proudly boast that we now have the highest average tax refund of any
State in the Nation, and that is great news for Floridians.
  But it is not just Floridians. Millions of Americans have taken
advantage of these new tax cuts. Over 7.5 million individuals claimed
no tax on tips, and 29 million Americans have claimed no tax on
overtime.
  For a waitress working late shifts or a hotel worker that drives
Florida's tourism economy, that means they are keeping more of that
money. For the nurse or, as we discussed, for the law enforcement
officer picking up extra shifts, the linemen that so often have to come
in and restore power in Florida after storms--when they are putting in
extra hours--factory workers putting in extra hours to support their
families, that no tax on overtime rewards hard work instead of taxing
it.
  And these tax cuts weren't just for workers. They were also for
seniors, and in Florida--``the senior State''--this was incredibly
meaningful. In Florida, we are home to the largest senior--one of the
largest senior--populations in the Nation, with more than 5 million
seniors. That is more seniors than many of the populations in the
entirety of some of my sister States around the Nation.
  And so I argued very hard for the provisions that eliminated taxes on
Social Security benefits and provided additional relief through the
enhanced deductions for seniors. So there were two ways we were trying
to make it easier on our seniors. More than 35 million seniors have
already claimed the enhanced deduction, and that helps them keep more
of that retirement income.
  So after a lifetime of work, seniors deserve to keep more of what
they earned working, not send it back up

here to Washington, where we keep showing--time after time after time
these days--that so much of it has gone to fraud.
  And so making sure we are keeping money in the pockets of hard-
working Americans is incredibly important. So I just want to underscore
what that meant--that Working Families Tax Cut Act--just this past
filing season.
  Mr. President, 97 percent of all filers in the Nation--97 percent--
received a tax cut. American families and workers claimed $82 billion
in individual relief directly from the act, and Americans received $325
billion in total tax refunds--$325 billion in total tax refunds.
  And as I said before, Floridians can brag that they brought home the
largest average Federal tax refund in the country. Our State filers
brought home an average refund of $4,500, compared to the national
average of $3,300.
  Just as important as delivering tax relief and beefing up some of
those deductions were for Americans and our seniors, we also made sure
that that act invested in our next generation, our children. Through
the package, we thought outside the box. We did something that has
never been done before, and we created child-owned investment accounts
for every American child born, which was designed to give our next
generation a real jump start on the American dream.
  And a lot of people still do not know this. It shocked me, as I was
traveling around Florida last week. And these were folks who had just
had babies, and they did not know that their child that they were
holding was already eligible for $1,000 into an investment account.
  For every baby born, from 2025 through 2028, whose parents open up
one of these accounts--and it is so easy to do, incredibly easy to do--
the U.S. Treasury will invest $1,000. If the child doesn't touch it--
and you can add to it too. But if you don't touch that original
investment, by the time they are 18 and they are on their own, you can
use it for a vacation, for a downpayment on a house. There are ways
that you can use that. It is almost $8,000. If they don't touch it at
all, it is projected it could be hundreds of thousands of dollars upon
retirement--close to a million dollars, if not more.
  This is incredible news. So when you are hearing about all of the
fraud that we keep uncovering or where we sent millions of dollars to
some foreign country to help some crazy program for foreign nationals,
today, Americans can go to irs.gov/trumpaccounts and sign up and get
$1,000 for their kids.
  And the lens through which we viewed this and the lens through which
we approached this and argued for this historic act was: How do we
reorient? How do we course-correct and start making decisions on behalf
of this country to invest in Americans, American children, and American
industries first?
  More than 5.5 million child-owned investment accounts have been
opened nationwide so far, and 1.4 million are eligible for the $1,000
pilot program contribution.
  So in addition to these accounts, 40 million families have taken
advantage of the enhanced child tax credit that we permanently doubled
and expanded through the Working Families Tax Cut Act. So not only do
we have the investment accounts for these children, we also now have
given a double--permanently--child tax credit on your taxes.
  So, of course, preparing our next generation for success will require
more than just financial security, but this was such a great start
toward that end.
  And if I can get one thing through to American parents right now, it
is easy to sign up. There is money waiting for your children right now
from the U.S. Treasury because we want to set them up for success.
  But we didn't stop at financial investment. Education is also
important. And through this Working Families Tax Cut Act, of which we
are now celebrating the 1-year anniversary--and many of the provisions
that we all fought hard for, over on this side of the aisle, are now
just going into effect--we also made sure that there was a Federal tax
credit scholarship that could help millions of students across the
Nation get education of their parents' choice.
  Two decades ago, we did this in Florida. We had a low graduation
rate. I want to say it was in the sixties. We started with our first
school-choice statute. Two decades later, we are out now at over 92
percent graduation rate.
  It shows you that not every child learns the same, and parents know
what their children need. And educational needs should not be based on
the ZIP Code in which they are born.
  Florida has figured that out. We figured that out some time ago. And
now I am here as Florida's newest U.S. Senator, announcing a great
piece of legislation that will expand this approach to children across
our Nation. But even for States where you have universal school
choice--and there are a few of us like Florida, but others have started
with school-choice statutes--understanding that each child learns
differently, you can still take advantage of the Working Families Tax
Cut Act because it allows for the deduction of education expenses for
tutoring, for technology, and for so many of those supplemental
education expenses that come along with education that parents choose.
  So Floridians are still winning, even though we already have school
choice. When parents have more choices, we know--and we have seen the
data show--that students are more likely to find the educational path
that fits their unique talents and goals.
  And that, ultimately--for this country, for our Nation's forward
success--will mean a stronger workforce. It will mean more innovation
and a stronger economy, not just for the State of Florida--for which I
champion every day--but for our entire Nation.
  At the end of the day, families and small businesses know how to
spend their money far better than some of these bureaucrats that are
making decisions in the bowels of some of these Agencies. And we are
uncovering, day in and day out--and we will continue to do so--exposing
where some of those choices went awry and where some of those choices
led to corruption and crime.
  But we are here today to celebrate what we have been doing right and
how we have been course-correcting with our intent to focus on
bettering the lives of American families, American workers, and this
Nation moving forward.
  So I believe that less taxes will mean more opportunity, more growth,
more freedom for hard-working Americans, and I am incredibly excited to
be standing here today as one of the newest U.S Senators that helped
deliver this win last year.
  And as we are watching it go into effect and see the success and the
effect it is having on our constituents, it is certainly something to
celebrate, and I appreciate your giving me the opportunity to do so
today.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.