Washington, D.C.- Today, Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) released the following statement after the House passed the final version of the Republican tax bill.
“Today will be remembered as the day Republicans voted in favor of taking money and resources away from working families and vulnerable populations in order to pad the pockets of their wealthy campaign donors. This is perhaps one of the largest redistributions of wealth ever from the lower and middle class to the upper echelon. And as afterthought, Republicans are punting more than $2.3 trillion dollars of debt to our future generations and then are already arguing that the solution is to dismantle Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, which has been a priority for Speaker Ryan since his first day in office,” said Rep. Grijalva. “Meanwhile, more than 86 million families in our country will see a tax hike; millions will be forced off healthcare, and our national deficit, which Republicans seemed so concerned about up until this point will skyrocket.”
“This is not the type of tax bill that our country deserves,” Rep. Grjivala continued. “It favors only big businesses, who for decades have continued to bloat their profits at the expense of American workers, and the wealthiest one-percent of the population who already fail to pay their fair share. With their votes, Republicans seem eager to move our country closer and closer to an oligarchy, where only the wealthiest few have a say.”
“Speaker Ryan and House Republicans just passed one of the biggest legislative scams in American history. Despite all of the rhetoric, lofty promises, and downright lies, the GOP tax bill is not written for the middle class, it’s written for corporations and the wealthy. Today, Speaker Ryan and Republicans confirmed loud and clear that their priority is to help corporate and special interests at the expense of working families in Wisconsin and across the United States,” said Rep. Pocan.
“Make no mistake, the Republican tax plan will negatively impact millions of American families, but what Speaker Ryan will do next is even worse,” Rep. Pocan continued. “The handouts to corporations and the wealthy from this bill are so drastic that they are projected to balloon the deficit by more than $1.4 trillion, and Speaker Ryan is already planning to use this as an excuse to make massive cuts to programs like Medicare and Social Security. When Congress returns in January, I will do all that I can to fight for working families and stop Speaker Ryan’s radical agenda from doing more harm.”
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The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is the largest caucus within the House Democratic Caucus, with over 70 members standing up for progressive ideals in Washington and throughout the country. Since 1991, the CPC has advocated for progressive policies that prioritize working Americans over corporate interests, fight economic and social inequality, and promote civil liberties. The CPC champions progressive policy solutions like comprehensive immigration reform, a $15 national minimum wage, fair trade, gun violence reform, debt-free college, and making the federal government a Model Employer.
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