On the recordDecember 19, 2017
I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, today we are debating the final version of the Republican tax bill, which I cannot support. This bill was flawed from the start. First of all, it was never deficit neutral and there was never a bipartisan negotiation. This is a Republican-only bill, and it was developed without any input at all from Democrats because they never sought our input at all. My Republican colleagues say they would like to jump-start the economy. Well, we can do just that by providing more tax cuts to working class families whose paychecks are already stretched far too thin and who would reinvest that money in the local economy. Instead, this bill provides them with crumbs, and temporary crumbs at that. Under this plan, corporate cuts, though, will be permanent. With this bill, we will see an entirely different, more expensive, individual Tax Code in 2025, when the middle class tax cuts expire. This bill also balloons the national debt, make no mistake about it. It repeals a critical healthcare provision that will result in 13 million Americans becoming uninsured. Now, these days, I hear a lot about accountability and encouraging competitiveness for the American worker, which I support. But this bill, with its novel loopholes and flawed trickle-down philosophy, does neither. It is a wasted opportunity. I believe that it is not too late, but the way this bill is written, I cannot support it.…





