President Donald Trump praised the House Republican tax plan introduced Thursday, saying that "it's all about jobs" and that "we'll make America globally competitive again."
"They are going to get it done," Trump told reporters before a meeting with GOP leaders. "It's tax cuts. It's tax reform.
"And we added the word jobs, because it's all about jobs," he said. "We are going to have tremendous numbers of jobs pouring in.
"You are going to see numbers and growth — and you'll see jobs and you'll see really wages going up.
"Something we are seeing now is, for the first time in a long time, wages are starting to rise for people," the president said. "And in some cases, they have been 18-to-21 years without a real salary increase or wage increase.
"So, a lot of good things are happening, but this is the final, element: tax cuts and tax reform."
The House plan slashes the corporate tax rate, lowers taxes for most Americans, though it limits the deduction for homeowners and would add $1.5 trillion to the nation's debt over the next decade.
Middle-income families would pay less, thanks to doubling of the standard deduction and an increase in the child tax credit.
In addition, wealthy Americans would benefit from the repeal of the alternative minimum tax and phase-out of the estate tax.
Trump said that reductions in corporate tax rates and other incentives will make the U.S. "competitive again with the rest of the world."
"What that's going to do is create tremendous success for companies and jobs," he said, flanked by House Speaker Paul Ryan and Texas Rep. Kevin Brady, who chairs the Ways and Means Committee. "It's about jobs."
Trump said that he expected Congress to "have a bill on my desk, hopefully, by Thanksgiving — if that's possible — and I want everybody in this room standing by me."
Ryan later told CNN that "the whole purpose of this is a middle-class tax cut, to give people more take-home pay.
"More to the point, we have to get faster economic growth, because with faster economic growth, you get bigger paychecks, you get bigger wage growth.
"We are almost dead last in competitiveness in the industrialized world with our tax code," the Wisconsin congressman said. "We're putting ourselves in the front of the pack with this.
"This leads to higher standard of living and bigger paychecks," he said. "That's the purpose of doing this."
House Budget Committee Chair Rep. Diane Black of Tennessee said that "our goal has always been to relieve the tax burden on middle-income families so they can save for the future with a simpler and fairer system.
"The bottom line is that we believe people need more of their paychecks, and individuals spend their own money more wisely than the government. Period."
Other Republicans were just as laudatory of the plan, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky saying that the chamber will release its own proposal.
"Both chambers are going to keep moving full-steam ahead, because we are committed to achieving our shared tax reform goals for the middle class, working families, and small businesses," McConnell said in a statement.
He said the House proposal "puts more money in middle-class pockets, produces better jobs for workers and secures more opportunity for our children."
South Dakota Sen. John Thune, chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, said that "through comprehensive tax reform, we will be able to provide Americans with more jobs, fairer taxes, and bigger paychecks.
"For the first time in decades, we have an opportunity to fix our broken tax code and provide better economic opportunity for middle-income Americans," Thune said.
Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs said that the plan represented "a once-in-a-generation opportunity to free Americans from a convoluted and oppressive tax system.
"The status quo is not good for individuals, families, and businesses.
"Today, we turn the page to a new era — and I am fortunate to be able to work on tax simplification and reform."
Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel said that under the plan, "Americans will see historic tax reform that overhauls our nation’s outdated tax code and provides tax cuts to hard-working Americans."
David McIntosh, president of the Club for Growth, praised the House proposal overall but added that "the bill does not do enough for small businesses — and by restoring the 39.6 percent tax rate on some taxpayers, the legislation effectively punishes success and caves to the Democrats' class-warfare rhetoric."