Costa Statement on House Passage of Tax Bill

Statement

Today Congressman Jim Costa (CA-16) released the following statement after the House passed the conference committee's version of the tax bill:

"Today's vote reflects a missed opportunity to use bipartisan comprehensive tax reform to return our nation to a fiscally-responsible path while making our tax system fairer and simpler. Instead, the House passed a partisan tax bill which will increase our national debt by $2.2 trillion and which pays for permanent corporate tax cuts by increasing taxes on America's middle class and families in 2025. The legislation the House passed today is fiscally-reckless and a sad excuse for reform, and it will harm people across our country and the San Joaquin Valley.

"History shows us that tax cuts are less effective at growing the economy than revenue-neutral reform, so adding $2.2 trillion to our national debt is not only irresponsible, it is senseless. By limiting the individual state and local tax deduction to $10,000, the bill will essentially be punitive double taxation on many individuals who live in states where both property and sales tax are high, such as California. By eliminating the individual health care mandate, the legislation will also increase both the cost of premiums and the amount government pays in health care subsidies while decreasing the number of individuals with health insurance. The California Hospital Association estimates that this will cause 40,900 individuals in my district to lose coverage and 1,810,000 individuals in California to lose coverage by 2025, all while adding to the national deficit.

"Although there are some good things in this bill, overall the bill does more harm to Americans and to the American economy than it does good. I simply could not vote for a bill that we all know is fiscally irresponsible, and that we all know will hurt so many people in our Valley."

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