Senator Cornyn visits Houston to promote Tax Cut and Jobs Act amid economic uncertainty

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- In the first months of President Donald Trump's second term, the nation's capital has many moving parts.

One of the major pieces of legislation on the table is from his first term. The Tax Cut and Jobs Act was passed 8 years ago but is facing a reauthorization.

Major parts of the act expire at the end of the year, including the corporate tax rate, the standard deduction, and the child tax credit.

Sen. John Cornyn was in Houston Monday to discuss it at a generational hardware store on Westheimer. Several small business owners discussed how they've used the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act as a tool for their respective businesses and what they think will happen if Congress does not extend key elements that expire at the end of this year.

Cornyn, a Republican senior senator from Texas, wants to extend the cuts, which he says are not just for the wealthy as some critics have alleged. With inflation pecking away at profits and an uncertain economic climate in the early days of a new White House administration, ABC13 asked Cornyn about how the President's tariffs impact these same businesses.

"The tariffs are, in part, a little bit unpredictable because some of them are not economic related," he said.

He and the small business owners, which included a restauranteur, a tool supply business, and an office supply company, think it's too early to know what the long-term impact of tariffs against Mexico, Canada, China, and Europe might have. But they're not ready to say they're an issue.

"We're going to have to wait and see how these things hash out," Cornyn said. "Part of the problem is that we've sort of grown accustomed to other countries treating us differently than we treat them."

They said they could see now that the 2017 Tax Act helped them. They want it extended. If that happens, Congress will have to find the money somewhere. Government estimates are that it could cost north of $600 billion over the next decade.

Cornyn believes that Texas is somewhat insulated from some of the global impacts because of its friendly business environment. Those business owners remain hopeful but pragmatic about the possibility of tighter times to come.

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