Press Release
Posted:
Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-05), member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, released this statement following the passage of the Republicans’ tax bill out of the Committee:
“On Monday, we began a committee debate on the Republicans’ tax bill. There were no hearings, we didn’t hear from any experts-- we went straight to debate with a vote scheduled for today. This timeline and process are completely outrageous for something as big as rewriting our tax code.
“Worse, today, before we were scheduled to vote on their bill we’d been debating all week, Republicans introduced a new version of the bill with significant changes, and gave Democrats 20 minutes to read it before we voted on it.
“20 minutes to figure out how every single American will be affected by a completely new tax code.
“Republicans have jammed a tax bill through committee that will:
- Repeal disaster relief for California fire survivors, families who’ve just lost everything;
- Repeal the student loan interest deduction, making higher education even more expensive;
- Repeal the Work Opportunity Tax Credit which has benefitted hundreds of thousands of veterans;
- Repeal a measure that allows teachers to deduct the cost of school supplies they purchase for their students, punishing them for enriching our children’s education;
- Repeal the medical expense deduction, which Americans with disabilities, long-term care needs, and high dental expenses rely on to afford care;
- Limit the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction that California families count on to lower their federal taxes;
- Limit the mortgage interest deduction that middle-class families use to afford homeownership.
“The provisions of this bill that hurts the middle class goes on and on.
“To add insult to injury, this bill takes that money from the middle class and adds an extra $2.3 trillion to our nation’s debt to give massive tax breaks to the wealthy and corporate interests, leaving our kids and grandkids to clean up their mess. This is a zero-sum game—corporate and wealthy tax breaks come at the expense of the middle class and future generations.
“Desperate for a political win, Republicans have completely shut Democrats out of a process that will have profound consequences on our country, economy, and national debt for decades to come.
“This is not how our democracy is supposed to work. I call on all House Republicans to drop this wrong-headed and rushed effort, and work with Democrats on meaningful and responsible tax reform.”