On the recordNovember 16, 2017
As we stand here today, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will tell you that this tax scam bill will help ordinary people. As we New Yorkers say: ``If you buy that one, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.'' This bill takes a wrecking ball to our middle class. It erases deductions that ordinary, working families count on to stay afloat. It raises taxes on 36 million middle class families. By eliminating the medical expense deduction, this scam will force nearly half a million New Yorkers who already struggle with serious illnesses to dig into overstretched bank accounts just to pay their healthcare bills. By gutting the student loan interest deduction, higher education will become even more expensive for 800,000 New York students. Graduate students will be taxed on tuition waivers. I heard from one woman in my district, a recent Ph.D., who said she would have paid $2,700 in income out of her pretax income of $13,000. The choice is clear. Vote ``no.'' Reject this scam. ____________________
