For immediate release
Contact: Dave Perera
(202) 770-7899
dave.perera@mail.house.gov
REP. BARRAGÁN STATEMENT ON THE HOUSE PASSAGE OF THE GOP TAX SCAM BILL
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Rep. Nanette Díaz Barragán (D-San Pedro) issued the following statement after House Republicans voted for the third time to raise taxes on millions of American families:
“Today, House Republicans again put the demands of their donors ahead of America’s working class by voting to raise taxes on 86 million American families,” said Rep. Barragán. “While the GOP and their wealthy donors celebrate this massive tax scam, its devastating effects will be felt by students, teachers, seniors, workers, homeowners, and basically anyone who is not in the top one percent of earners.”
“The final GOP tax scam is filled with giveaways and loopholes that the wealthiest one percent will be exploiting for years to come. The fact that we had to have a revote on this bill is just one more example of how poorly written it really is. Instead of listening to their constituents—who overwhelmingly oppose this bill—House Republicans chose to support legislation that gives hard-working families across the country a tax hike.
Not only does the GOP tax bill hurt the middle class, but it goes out of its way to harm the environment as well. In a blatant attempt to buy votes, the bill allows oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which will cause irreparable harm to this wild place and the people and wildlife who depend on it. The legislation also significantly decreases the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction. This change will increase the tax burden on the approximately 1.5 million Los Angeles County households that rely on the deduction, as well as cause significant loss of local government tax revenue used to provide critical services, such as infrastructure, education, law enforcement and housing programs.
Additionally, the provision in this bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate is projected to cause 13 million Americans to lose their health care coverage and raise premiums by approximately 10 percent over the next decade. Other provisions impose new limits on mortgage interest deductions and give tax breaks to corporations shipping American jobs overseas. The bill also explodes the budget by adding over $1.5 trillion to the national debt, leaving Medicare and Medicaid vulnerable to future attacks and doing nothing to ease student debt, fix our aging infrastructure, and make medical care more accessible to all.”
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Nanette Díaz Barragán is proud to represent California’s 44th Congressional District, which includes the communities of Carson, Compton, Lynwood, North Long Beach, Rancho Dominguez, San Pedro, South Gate, Walnut Park, Watts, Willowbrook and Wilmington.