Civil and Human Rights Coalition Urges Senate to Reject Flawed Tax Scam

WASHINGTON – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement ahead of the Senate’s expected vote on its flawed tax reform legislation:

“The Republican tax plan is a scam, plain and simple. It would raise taxes on millions of middle-class and working families, all to provide tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations. Just yesterday, the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation released their dynamic score, finding that the Senate bill would increase the deficit by $1 trillion over the next decade. These cuts will eventually be paid for by requiring devastating cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, education, and other crucial services, harming many, particularly communities of color.

We are also opposed to provisions that would eliminate and essentially repeal the Affordable Care Act. A repeal of the individual mandate would take away health insurance from 13 million, take Medicaid away from millions, and raise premiums for many more. This is an attack on health care dressed as a tax ‘reform’ bill. 

Moreover, the consideration of this bill has lacked sufficient process, with major changes being made on the fly, leaving most people in the dark about what changes are actually proposed and how it will impact them, their families, and their communities. It is beyond irresponsible for Republican leadership to rush the passage of a bill that would have such a dramatic impact on our economy for generations to come without adequate analysis and thorough consideration. Rather than ramming through a partisan tax bill, The Leadership Conference urges members of Congress to instead work in a bipartisan manner to produce a tax proposal that is fiscally responsible, based in sound policy and economic analysis, and that will lead to opportunity and economic security for all of us and not just the wealthy few.

We urge all members of the Senate to vote no on this sham tax proposal.”

Earlier this week, The Leadership Conference, along with the National Health Law Program and the National Partnership for Women & Families, sent a letter to the Senate urging opposition to the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.” That letter is available here.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.