On the recordDecember 19, 2017
I thank my fellow Kentucky native for yielding. Mr. Speaker, today, my Republican colleagues will vote to approve a historically unpopular bill. The American people don't buy Republican claims that the bill will help middle class families. In fact, in several years, more than 83 million middle class families will see a tax hike. The people see that Republicans have sold their souls and principles to give tax cuts to wealthy corporations and to pay back their billionaire donors. They know the Republicans have abandoned any claim to fiscal responsibility. After all, nonpartisan analyses conclude this bill will add more than $1 trillion to the debt. But the Republican leadership has a plan to make up the difference, and it is something else. They are already working on legislation to make massive cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs families need. This isn't tax reform. This isn't help for the middle class. It is a scam, it is fraud, and it will have dangerous, long-lasting consequences for the American people. I urge my colleagues to defeat the rule and to reject this scandalous Republican donor payback legislation.
