GOP votes for tax cuts to the wealthy, financed on the backs of the middle-class and by taking away health care
PRESS RELEASE
Date: November 16, 2017
Contact: Adam Fox, 303-563-9108, afox@cohealthinitiative.org
Katie Reinisch, 303-653-1009, katie@progressive-promotions.com
DENVER – Today, House Republicans passed their irresponsible tax plan — a proposal that goes so far beyond taxes it should be considered a heist, rather than a reform. In addition to cutting taxes for the wealthy and big corporations and adding $1.5 trillion to the deficit, it is clear from the GOP budget instructions they plan to pay for these cuts by gutting Medicaid, Medicare, and other health care and social programs. Even worse, the tax heist ends up increasing taxes on many hard-working Coloradans while cutting programs they rely on.
The House GOP budget contains nearly $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and over $400 billion in cuts to Medicare. These are the expected targets for financing the large tax cuts to the wealthy and corporations. The Tax bill could lead to $25 billion in cuts per year to Medicare starting immediately.
Besides providing little tax relief for those they promised to help in the last election, the GOP appears to have tossed aside its long-held commitment to decreasing the deficit and the national debt. Although Republicans like Rep. Scott Tipton, Rep. Mike Coffman, and Rep. Ken Buck have pledged to lower the deficit, today they voted in support of a tax plan that is estimated to increase the deficit by $1.5 trillion over 10 years, sticking middle-class Americans and future generations with the debt.
“Republicans have said they will pay for their irresponsible increase in the deficit by gutting Medicaid, Medicare and other programs hard-working American families rely on,” said Adam Fox of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative. “With the repeal of the insurance mandate, it further harms low-income and middle-class families by increasing premiums, destabilizing the market and leaving more people uninsured.”
The fact is that this tax heist will not pay for itself with increased economic growth. Mainstream, bipartisan estimates show this plan would have very little positive effect on economic growth and is likely to damage growth as our country runs up the deficit, which will only lead to future spending cuts.
“Some Republicans say one thing and vote for another. As part of the Problem Solvers Caucus in the House, Rep. Coffman said he wants to stabilize the individual market. But repealing the individual mandate will do the exact opposite, leaving many more Coloradans uninsured and increasing premiums by double-digits,” said Fox. “Their tax heist won’t just provide a handout to the top 1%, increase the deficit, and leave thousands of Coloradans without the health care they need; it will devastate Colorado’s state budget and almost certainly mean cuts in state programs and services that help working families get by and get ahead.”
In their vote expected after Thanksgiving, the Senate should oppose the deceptive tax heist that will gut health care and hunger-care programs, increase the deficit and cut taxes for the wealthy and big corporations while hurting poor and working families. Instead, Congress should work on a bipartisan approach that does not lead to future spending cuts by increasing deficits nor harm the middle-class and the poor.
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Protect Our Care Colorado is a coalition of 48 organizations in Colorado advocating to protect the health care of Coloradans. To learn more about the coalition, visit ProtectOurCareCo.org.