Analysis · Floor speech · beta

Richard J. Durbin

Democrat on Working Families Tax Cut Act (Executive Session) 2026-07-22

314 words · 19 sentences · 28 clauses

Statement grade

A–

Average 86 / 100

A score under 50 is red. Choose a measurement to see where it lost points and why; choose it again to clear.

Procedure 13%Positioning 13%Claims 66%Promise 9%

This view breaks the statement into its steps and names what each one does.

Mr. President, Procedure · 15 wordsI would like to react to the statement of my friend and colleague from Wyoming.Procedure Positioning · 7 wordsI am against fraud. That is it.Positioning Procedure · 3 wordsOn the record: ProcedurePositioning · 18 wordsI am against fraud. I am a Democrat, and I don’t know where he reached this different conclusion, PositioningProcedure · 16 wordsbut I want to make it very clear. Having said that, I am also a realist.Procedure Claims · 101 wordsI know that the families I represent in Illinois and across the Nation are facing budgets, family budgets, which are impossible to live with. They are not only struggling paycheck to paycheck, they are also watching the price of groceries go up. They know the price of gasoline goes up and down, and now it is on the upward trend because of the President’s war in Iran. Utility bills in my State are up 15 percent this year over last year because of President Trump’s energy policy, ¹which is opposed to sustainable, renewable sources of energy, which are the most affordable. Procedure · 6 wordsThe list goes on and on.Procedure Claims · 56 wordsThe Big Beautiful Bill, which Republicans brag about, was a bill that ended up with millions of Americans losing their health insurance because the cost of premiums had gone up too high.² So I think it is just great that we have tipped income exempt from taxes and that other breaks are given to working people. Promise · 6 wordsI would support those any day. Claims · 33 wordsBut the bill that created those also gave the biggest tax cuts in the history of the United States to the wealthiest people in the United States--nothing, very little, for families in comparison. Positioning · 15 wordsThat is the difference. I think we ought to be honest with the American people.Positioning Claims · 17 wordsThe No. 1 issue in this campaign is the affordability that families worry about every single week. Promise · 21 wordsThere is an issue I am going to address here more particularly, which gets to the heart of this as well.

At a glance

Lost points for

Switch Claims on to list the checkable claims here.

What the tags mean

Signal · 71

12 of 12 deductions are Signal

Signal checks whether every part makes a point, gives a reason, or asks for action. A low score means the speaker filled time with fluff, pleasantries, or attacks.

Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “I would like to react to the statement of my friend and colleague from Wyoming.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “I am against fraud.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “That is it.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “On the record:”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “I am against fraud.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “I am a Democrat,”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “and I don’t know where he reached this different conclusion,”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “but I want to make it very clear.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “Having said that, I am also a realist.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “The list goes on and on.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “That is the difference.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “I think we ought to be honest with the American people.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.

Relevance · no score

Not applicable: nothing to answer. Excluded from the average.

Relevance checks whether the speaker stays on topic and answers the question asked. A low score means the speaker dodged the issue.

Respect · no score

Not checked: graded before this measurement existed. Excluded from the average.

Respect checks whether the speaker argued with people’s positions and records rather than attacking the people: insults, mockery, or bad motives assigned to them. Criticism of what someone did, however strong, is not marked.

Clarity · 100

0 of 12 deductions are Clarity

Clarity checks for plain speaking, clear ownership of actions, and honest limits on certainty. A low score means vague promises or evasive language.

Nothing lost points.

Claims · 2

This list shows the factual statements you can check for yourself: the words as said, and the claim restated to stand on its own.

1“Utility bills in my State are up 15 percent this year over last year”Utility bills in Illinois in 2026 are up 15 percent compared with 2025.search
2“ended up with millions of Americans losing their health insurance because the cost of premiums had gone up too high”The Big Beautiful Bill caused millions of Americans to lose their health insurance because premium costs rose too high.search

Analyzed on 2026-09-15