WASHINGTON, DC - Yesterday, at the first public hearing on the Republican tax plan, Ways & Means Democrats held Republicans accountable for their failing law that raises taxes on working families, increases healthcare costs, and explodes the debt. Democrats called out the multitude of failed promises that President Trump and congressional Republicans made when they rammed the bill through Congress last year, including the promise that this legislation would be “rocket fuel" for the economy and lead to increased job growth and higher wages.
Rep. Neal: “In search of revenue to pay for corporate cuts, the GOP upended the health care system, causing 13 million Americans to lose their coverage. For others, health insurance premiums will spike by at least 10 percent, which translates to about $2,000 of extra costs per year for a family of four." [VIDEO ]
Rep. Levin: “In terms of wages, this is trickle-down, and in terms of growth, the evidence so far is it’s also going to be trickle-down." [VIDEO ]
Rep. Lewis: “Today, Congress turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to the needs of the people. You rushed a bill of this size for a message, not merit…This bill is not for the people, it is not of the people, and it was not and never will be tax reform." [VIDEO ]
Rep. Doggett: “We’ve not seen any surge in new jobs. The rate of job creation that began seven years ago in the Obama Administration has actually declined slightly on average during this administration. Many large corporations with multi-billion and billion dollar tax benefits have actually laid off employees. Wage growth has been very sluggish - a far cry from the $4,500 that we were promised." [VIDEO ]
Rep. Thompson: “When you cut taxes for the rich and corporations and pay for that by adding to the national debt, that’s not a lot of help for families." [VIDEO ]
Rep. Larson: “Residents of my state, because they’re no longer able to take the state and local tax deduction, find themselves in a situation where they’ll actually be paying more." [VIDEO ]
Rep. Blumenauer: “The elimination of the individual mandate is going to cause increased premiums and have a ripple effect throughout the economy and people that I represent." [VIDEO ]
Rep. Kind: “There was one predictable consequence of this tax legislation, and that is over 80 percent of the corporate tax cut is going back, not into employee salaries or bonuses, but into share buybacks, dividend distribution, downloading corporate debt, and executive salaries. Why was it predictable? Because it’s exactly what corporate America told us they were going to do." [VIDEO ]
Rep. Pascrell: “Residents of the majority of states are slated to experience an unlegislated tax increase. It’s almost as though the members who voted for this tax scam didn’t consider its impact on states, or just chose to look the other way." [VIDEO ]
Rep. Crowley: “Thanks to this bill, we’ve already seen premium increases in the individual market…. All told, with executive actions from the Trump Administration, the GOP plan will lead to a double digit rate increase across the nation. Can you believe it? Not only did Republicans give trillions in tax cuts to corporations, but they also made health care practically a luxury item for many working Americans today." [VIDEO ]
Rep. Davis: “I am disturbed that businesses, instead of investing in workers as the Republicans promised, are padding the wallets of wealthy shareholders and crowing about how the tax cuts will allow them to slash jobs via automation. I am deeply disturbed that Chicagoans tell me how this law is bad for small businesses." [VIDEO ]
Rep. Higgins: “The American economy’s growth slowed at the start of 2018, as household spending stalled in spite of the recent tax cuts. The U.S. economy grew at a rate of 2.3 percent in the first quarter of this year according to the United States Commerce Department. That was slower than the 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017. So it appears as though despite all of the glittering generalities about the effect of this tax cut, economic growth has actually slowed from the quarter preceding the enactment of the tax cut." [VIDEO ]
Rep. Sewell: “When I go home to Alabama, I keep hearing from my constituents at town hall meetings, ‘well, when am I going to see the effects of the tax cuts on my everyday life?’" [VIDEO ]
Rep. DelBene: “If it’s retirement planning you are putting money away over a long period of time hoping that you will get that return to help you when you do retire. If this tax bill puts us in a situation where our deficit increases, as the CBO report says today, we could be in a place where that fiscal irresponsibility impacts people’s retirement security." [VIDEO ]
Ways & Means Democrats will continue to hold Republicans accountable next week when the Ways & Means Tax Policy Subcommittee holds a hearing on tax reform and small businesses.
