Civil and Human Rights Coalition Calls on Congress to Reject Tax Scam Bill

WASHINGTON – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement ahead of the expected votes in the House and Senate on the so-called “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act”:

“As we head into this holiday season, one thing is clear: The partisan tax bill that Congress will vote on this week is a huge gift to corporations and the wealthiest one percent of Americans. According to the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation, this Republican bill will add $1.6 trillion to the deficit. And based on statements from Republican leadership, in 2018 we can expect the Republican Congress to try to slash essential programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and food stamps to pay for it. Women, people with disabilities, children, and people of color will be disproportionately harmed. We cannot let this happen.

This tax scam bill will also take away health care from millions of people in our country, and leaves too many children behind. Included in the bill is the repeal of the requirement that all people in the United States purchase health insurance. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, this repeal provision will lead to at least 13 million Americans losing their health care coverage. And changes to the Child Tax Credit will still leave 10 million children under the age of 17 in the lowest-income families with no or little increase in their credit.

This bill was crafted without a single hearing that included feedback from the American people. It is deeply unpopular. And given the speed and secret nature of the process, most lawmakers and the public still do not know what is in the bill, let alone what all the impacts of it will be. This is a disaster waiting to happen. Congress must reject this tax scam, and should instead work on a bipartisan basis to create a tax plan that is balanced, transparent, and fair.”

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.