Hoyer, Pelosi, Schakowsky, Ruiz, and McEachin Join Americans Impacted by GOP Tax Scam to Mark Six-Month Anniversary of Its Enactment

Statement

House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD), Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA-12), and Reps. Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Raul Ruiz (CA-36), and A. Donald McEachin (VA-04) marked the six-month anniversary of the Republican tax scam by joining three Americans negatively impacted by its provisions at a press conference. They were: John Glaser, a senior on Medicare; Donna Cywinski, the mother of a son with a pre-existing condition; and Muneer Baig, a small business owner. Sharing their stories, the three talked about how the Republican tax law undermines Medicare for seniors, is making health care unaffordable for millions of working families, and favors large corporations over small businesses. The tax law will also cause taxes to go up for 86 million middle-class families in the coming years and will balloon deficits by an additional $1.8 trillion.

"Six months after they enacted a hastily written and dangerous tax law, Republicans are already hearing from the American people about how terrible it is," said Whip Hoyer. "Today, we heard from real Americans living through the negative impacts of this law -- seniors, people with pre-existing conditions, small business owners, middle-class families, all of whom are wondering how this Republican-led Congress could so disadvantage the majority of Americans in order to benefit only the wealthiest few with massive tax breaks. Democrats will continue to highlight this tax law's dangerous consequences to families and businesses."

"As Republicans celebrate six months since their tax scam sold out seniors and working families to hand tax breaks to the wealthiest 1 percent, hard-working Americans are paying the price," said Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. "The GOP tax scam means enriching Republican donors, wealthy shareholders and Wall Street, rewarding big corporations shipping American jobs overseas and driving up health insurance costs for hard-working families. Republicans are now revealing the depths of their cynicism by using their tax scam for the rich as a dagger to cut down essential protections for the 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions -- Americans who did nothing wrong, but who are being made to suffer so that Republicans can further enrich the wealthy and big corporations."

"I spent the better part of the last two days in the House Budget Committee, looking my Republican colleagues in the eye as they tried to justify a cruel budget that includes massive cuts to treasured programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid," said Rep. Schakowsky. "Republicans included these cuts in their budget to pay for the $2 trillion tax scam they gifted to the wealthiest millionaires and billionaires just six months ago. Maybe my Republican colleagues don't have the same type of constituents that I do -- seniors and older Americans who call my office, often in tears, wondering how they will afford their prescription drugs or basic necessities. Maybe my colleagues do have these constituents but they just don't care."

"The Republican tax bill means more pain, more suffering, and shorter life-spans for these individuals who go without care because they can no longer afford it. All of this to give a $1.5 billion tax cut to the wealthiest one percent. That's just not right," said Rep. Ruiz.

"Small business owners are the backbone of this economy, we should be helping them, not hurting them. The Republicans' tax plan helped large, multinational corporations and their wealthiest investors at the expense of hardworking Americans. Small business owners are facing increased complexity, the loss of deductions, and other changes that create immense uncertainty. As a former small business owner, I know firsthand the many responsibilities these Americans face -- this tax plan makes success more difficult for them," said Rep. A. Donald McEachin.

"Republicans' massive tax cuts for the very wealthy will clearly hurt seniors like me," John Glaser said, "and more so the most vulnerable and least fortunate among us."

"What I'm concerned about is that the Republican tax scam is going to undermine [my son's] ability to get coverage, first because they're going to make premiums go way up, and secondly because the refusal by the Department of Justice to defend the ACA in court is going to mean that people like my son won't be able to get insurance because they have a pre-existing condition," said Donna Cywinski. "Your job, Republicans, is to represent all of your constituents, not just the wealthiest."

"My question for those officials who passed this bill is," Muneer Baig asked, "if this was a small business and middle-class tax [bill], why are the benefits of the deductions that are for small businesses and the middle class expiring, whereas the corporate benefits are permanent? Why have you taken some of the deductions away that small businesses used to take, such as interest deductions, like new market tax credits? …Who does this impact? It doesn't impact a large C-corporation. It impacts a corporation like [mine]."