11.30.17

Durbin: Republican Tax Plan Looks Out For Special Interests & Corporations, Not Working Families

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today blasted Senate Republicans for ramming through a partisan tax plan this week, which will raise taxes on millions of middle-income families in order to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals and corporations.  In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin explained how the Republican Tax Plan would also cause 13 million Americans to lose their health insurance – and increase individual market premiums by at least ten percent every single year – and would add up to $1.5 trillion to the national deficit in order to find even more money to fund tax cuts for corporations and the highest-earners in this country. 

On top of this, Durbin called out Senate Republicans for voting against an amendment to help fix the faulty incentives in the tax code that encourage corporations to ship jobs overseas.  Durbin’s amendment with Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) would have rewarded American companies that create jobs in America, pay their employees a living wage, provide basic health and retirement benefits, and hire veterans.

“In the current tax code, if you decide to ship your jobs overseas, put your factory overseas, and put Americans out of work, you know what the tax code says?  Be my guest.  The provision says you can deduct the cost of moving.  So we incentivize and reward companies that want to leave America.  What Senator Brown and many on this side of the aisle believe, as I do, why don’t we incentivize the companies that want to stay in America? Why don’t we incentivize those who say we want to hire American people and pay them a decent wage?  That’s what a tax code is all about, I think – create incentives for good things for the American economy and discourage bad things,” said Durbin.  “But this tax code is loaded with incentives.  It’s loaded with special interests.  The special interests we’re focusing on are American workers and their families with this amendment.”

Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor are available here. 

Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.

Recently released analysis by the non-partisan Joint Committee on Taxation revealed that by 2027, taxpayers in every income bracket earning less than $75,000 per year will, on average, experience a tax increase under the Senate Republican plan.

Further, recent analysis by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office shows that beginning in 2019, Americans making under $30,000 will, on average, see their taxes rise under the Senate Republican tax plan.