On Thursday, Reps. Paulsen and Lewis and the do-nothing Republican Congress will vote on the Senate passed budget reconciliation bill—a procedural measure that paves the way for passing the Middle Class Double Tax, which will hike taxes on middle-class families in order to give tax breaks to the rich and big corporations.
Make no mistake—the budget reconciliation includes a plethora of harmful policies that would devastate middle-class families. It slashes $473 billion from Medicare, cuts more than $1 trillion from Medicaid and imposes $5 trillion in discretionary cuts to programs like Head Start, Pell Grants and cancer research.
But its true purpose is to pave the way for the Republican tax bill, which Republicans intend to jam through without a single Democratic vote. This bill cuts taxes for millionaires, billionaires, and big corporations, and leaves middle-class families holding the bag. Even President Trump’s economic advisor, Gary Cohn, admitted that he “can’t guarantee” middle-class families won’t pay more taxes.
And for states like Minnesota, the effects on the middle class are even worse. The Republican attack plan eliminates the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, the most popular deduction, punishing middle-class taxpayers by eliminating a deduction of thousands of dollars. Reps. Lewis and Paulsen are already on the record publicly supporting eliminating this deduction.
“With its deep cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, Pell Grants and cancer research, this budget is shameful and cruel,” said DCCC spokesperson Rachel Irwin. “But make no mistake, it was designed with one goal: to give a massive handout to the rich and attack middle-class families, who will see their tax burden skyrocket. Worse, Congressmen Paulsen and Lewis know this and will be held accountable.”