Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and federal Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday that tax reform envisioned by Republicans will unburden businesses and allow workers to receive wage increases.

Mnuchin said that “over 80 percent of business taxes is born by the worker,” so cutting the corporate income tax rate will make companies more competitive and provide flexibility to boost their workforce and paychecks.

During remarks at a lunch at the Olmsted hosted by Greater Louisville Inc., the metro chamber of commerce, McConnell and Mnuchin told the crowd of businesspeople that they’re confident about raising the federal debt ceiling this fall. They also predicted success in gaining a consensus on tax reform with backing from Congress and President Donald Trump’s administration.

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The two characterized the current tax code as cumbersome for regular Americans and stifling for small and large businesses. It’s led many companies dodge high corporate income taxes by parking billions of dollars in offshore bank accounts – which both men said drags on new investment and job creation in the U.S.

McConnell noted that while two deductions are not on the table – mortgage interest and donations to charities – eliminating myriad others is necessary to recapturing funding that can grow the economy.

A moderator reading several prepared questions asked about the chances of repealing the Dodd-Frank Act, which was enacted after the financial crisis and places a variety of regulations on banks and the broader financial industry.

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McConnell mentioned lack of support by Democrats for several initiatives led by the GOP, saying that Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, see Dodd-Frank as “something akin to the Ten Commandments.”

Mnuchin, 54, was accompanied by his new wife, actress and producer Louise Linton, who is 36. The two were headed to Fort Knox with McConnell after the lunch to tour the bullion reserve at the Army post and view the eclipse.

Earlier in the day, an organization conducting a multi-state bus tour to highlight their opposition to GOP health care reform held a press conference at Louisville’s Waterfront Park. Save My Care, which is sponsored by a coalition of health care and advocacy groups, released polling that shows that Kentuckians oppose the fixes proposed by Republican leader and also blame McConnell for pushing it.

The results said nearly three-fourth of respondents disapprove of McConnell’s job performance, and nearly half are less likely to vote for him the next election because of his support for the new law, according to Public Policy Polling of Raleigh, North Carolina.

When asked about the failure by Republicans to enact legislation to replace the current law known as Obamacare, McConnell said that “the way forward is somewhat murky,” despite the collapse of insurance markets in many communities, and the subsidies will continue to go to insurance companies.

He took the opportunity once more to blame Democrats for not getting on board.

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A health care analyst for the left-leaning American Bridge said that McConnell and Trump have exaggerated the demise of insurance markets. After GOP replacement efforts failed, insurers stepped in to offer coverage in several of the 80 counties once at risk of having no insurer offering plans under Obamacare in 2018.

Trump has since threatened to eliminate cost-sharing subsidies for insurers picking up medical bills for low-income Obamacare customers.

Despite repeated attempts by Trump to “sabotage the Affordable Care Act … it’s time for Republicans to come to terms with reality and commit to working across the aisle to improve existing law,” Andrew Bates, of American Bridge, said in an email.

Reporter Grace Schneider can be reached at 502-582-4082 or [email protected].