House Speaker Paul Ryan defended the highly criticized tax cuts Congress passed Tuesday night, and signaled the government will be able to stay open beyond Friday.
"Don't forget that we tax American corporations at the highest rate in the industrialized world," Ryan (R-Wis.) said Wednesday morning on NBC News' "Today."
House lawmakers voted Tuesday to slash the corporate rate from 35 percent to 21 percent as well as gave reductions to the country's top earners.
They'll have to vote again Wednesday, after the bill's Senate counterpart was stripped of provisions that violated the upper chamber's rules.
Reductions to big business have been called into question on whether corporations will pour new profits into the economy _ or pass them on to employees by way of higher salaries.
CEOs haven't signaled they'll reinvest the new money.
"Are you living in a fantasy world?" asked "Today" co-host Savannah Guthrie.
Ryan cited surveys by the National Association of Manufacturers, which indicate companies will put the money into equipment, wages and other capital.
"The data is really clear, by the way: workers benefit from this through higher wages," Ryan said. "It's not a question of if; it's a question of how much they benefit."
The Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy, in March, found Fortune 500 companies have $2.6 trillion in profits overseas _ a new record.
Ryan, a longtime House budget hawk, blamed the previous U.S. tax rate for forcing that cash overseas, and said it's why stockpiles haven't been invested here.
"You give businesses an incentive to invest in America, in their factories," Ryan said on "Today."
"American businesses are moving overseas," he continued. "They're not even American companies anymore. This is a trend that has to be reversed."
Ryan also signaled the government would not shut down, amid concerns Republicans and Democrats won't reach an impasse on a spending bill.
Earlier this month, Congress passed a two-week spending bill that kept the government open through Friday. Lawmakers have reportedly been at odds over a long-term bill, however, especially over disaster aid and benefits for children.
Ryan deflected questions about women who've accused President Donald Trump of sexual harassment. Three accusers recently implored Congress to look into the matter.
The speaker said those were criminal matters, which Congress can't investigate. He pointed to training lawmakers will now have to go through.
"Let's take this moment for as seriously and not make it a partisan thing," he said. "We need to make sure that this moment is the cultural changing moment it needs to be."
He declined to say if he agreed with the White House line that all of the president's accusers are liars.
"I'm focused on fixing Congress," he said. "I want my daughter to grow up in an economy _ to go into a work, public or private sector _ where she's going to be empowered, not harassed."
