OPINION:
Promises made, promises kept. That’s what we’ve seen with President Trump back in the White House.
The American worker has been put first again, and it’s clear from what I hear across the country on my “America at Work” tour that families are feeling relieved and optimistic about their futures.
It’s imperative that Congress work in tandem with the president to build on this historic momentum. In short, we need the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to create one big, beautiful workforce.
In 2017, Mr. Trump shepherded his Tax Cuts and Jobs Act through Congress. It became the catalyst for our economic resurgence. The legislation reduced tax burdens on Americans from coast to coast, leading to a rapid job market expansion. Now, we have the chance to do that again: to launch our workforce into a golden age of economic opportunity.
With Mr. Trump back at the helm, average hourly earnings have risen steadily, inflation has dropped consistently and job reports have defied expectations. More than half a million jobs have been added to our economy since Inauguration Day.
We must keep stoking the flames of this red-hot economy. If Congress does not pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will expire, stymieing our comeback, destroying the progress we have made and putting a $4 trillion tax increase on all Americans.
Passing this legislation will extend much-needed relief for the American worker and promote the full return of American exceptionalism at home and in the global marketplace.
The bill will deliver an average of $10,000 more in take-home pay annually for families and eliminate taxes on tips and overtime pay. This would be the largest tax cut in history for the working class. Hardworking men and women earning $15,000 to $80,000 annually would receive an average tax cut of 15%.
The blue-collar boom is underway. With the assistance of the Trump tax cuts, our manufacturing base will receive the boost it needs to keep growing in two critical ways: expanded access to Pell Grants for technical schools so our students can be ready to fill in-demand jobs, and enhanced incentives for companies to build in America.
This pro-growth legislation is an essential piece of the puzzle as the Department of Labor fulfills our mission to support the American worker at every stage of life.
This pro-worker legislation would extend financial assistance to our students and graduates who pursue skilled trades instead of favoring four-year colleges. For the moms and dads building their families, it would expand access to child care and enhance the child tax credit. For those who want to rest easy in retirement after a lifetime of labor, the president’s proposal would roll out historic tax cuts for seniors on Social Security.
Though we have already reaped some benefits from the course correction that Mr. Trump brought with him on Jan. 20, much work remains for our American workers. Without the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, all these leaps and bounds would come to a screeching halt to the tune of a $4 trillion tax increase.
Failure to make the Trump tax cuts permanent would crush our gross domestic product, increase unemployment and cause the federal debt to surge. A massive tax hike would burden more than 26 million small businesses.
Critical opportunity zones would disappear by leaving behind our distressed and overlooked communities.
What’s worse, according to the National Association of Manufacturers, more than 6 million jobs will be lost, including more than 1 million in manufacturing. We cannot let that happen.
Our nation is teetering on the precipice of a historic comeback. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act will launch American workers, families and small businesses into a golden age of prosperity.
The stakes are clear, and it’s time for Congress to act. Securing these tax cuts isn’t just commonsense policy; it’s another promise kept to the American worker.
• Lori Chavez-DeRemer is the U.S. secretary of labor.
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