On the recordNovember 14, 2017
I thank Mr. Garamendi for bringing this Special Order to the floor today. Mr. Speaker, I am here to point out the unfairness of the Republican- led bill for tax reform, as they claim, that would be devastating to New York's middle class families. I want the people at home to know that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have said: ``This proposal appears to be the first Federal income tax modification in American history that will raise income taxes on the working poor while simultaneously providing a large tax cut to the wealthy.'' Mr. Speaker, this bill is flawed and unfair on many levels. One thing I have learned since taking office back in January, here in this Congress, is how very different the regions of this country are. It is different from State to State and it is different from place to place. The amount of money that people make in different regions is different. Their cost of living is different, their property tax bills are different, and their State income taxes are as different as night and day. There are now 105 million full-time jobs in the United States of America. Fifty-nine million of those jobs pay less than $50,000 a year. Eighty-six million of those 105 million full-time jobs pay less than $75,000 per year. In my district, the average salary is actually higher than that, but so are their property taxes, so are their income taxes, and so is there cost of living.…
