Rep. Roybal-Allard Statement on GOP Tax Bill

Statement

Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40) issued the following statement about her vote against H.R. 1, the House Republican tax bill:

"On behalf of America's future generations who will be saddled with an unsurmountable debt created by H.R. 1, the Republican tax plan, I strongly opposed this bill. This rushed piece of legislation will not only add more than $1.7 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years, but it will also shift the burden of paying for that debt to our hardworking families.

"Despite our Republican colleagues' assertions that this tax plan will benefit the majority of Americans, numerous economists disagree. They note that nearly 45% of all households with children will see a tax increase, while 80% of our wealthiest citizens will receive a tax cut by 2027.

"Even more egregious, this tax bill seeks to eliminate the long-standing state and local tax deduction, subjecting every wage earner's income to double taxation. This defeats the original framers' intent to avoid a system of double taxation. The original tax code, drafted in 1913, consisted of three pages in its entirety and included the state and local tax deduction at the core of its responsible tax policy to ensure state and local governments could raise revenues for public schools, police, fire, and emergency services.

"Plain and simple, this tax plan is a tremendous windfall for our wealthiest 1% and large corporations. It favors large businesses over small businesses, it favors sending jobs overseas rather than creating jobs at home, it favors the wealthy over hourly wage earners, and it pays for these tax cuts for the wealthy by raising taxes on our middle class families to the detriment of Medicare, Medicaid, education, and other vital public services.

"The fact is, this bill is so skewed to benefit the wealthiest 1% in America that it could more accurately be named "H.R. 1%.' In the name of the other 99% of Americans, I voted against H.R. 1."

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