Washington, DC – Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a senior member of the House Committees on Judiciary and Homeland Security, Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations, and Member of the House Budget Committee, issued the following statement about the passage in the House of the reckless GOP Tax Scam:

“In an unconscionable and reckless act, Republicans in the House of Representatives passed the so-called “Tax Cut and Jobs Act,” which more accurately should be called the “Republican Tax Scam Act.” Today, Republicans voted to raise taxes on tens of millions of middle class households, distribute huge tax cuts to those in the top 1%, and add $1.7 trillion to our national debt.

“The GOP Tax Scam eliminates or reduces tax benefits that directly benefit the middle class at every stage of life, by:

• taking away health insurance coverage from 13 million Americans;
• adding $2 trillion to deficit and the national debt; and
• triggering automatic PAYGO spending cuts to mandatory programs such as Medicare, which alone would see a $25 billion cut.

“Instead of doing tax reform, Republicans have found new ways to game the tax payer system by adding new loopholes that are only for corporations and the wealthy. But Americans are not fooled and know trickle-down economics has never worked. Americans see right through this phony tax plan and recognize it for the scam that it is.

“While super-wealthy corporations and individuals reap windfalls, millions of middle-class and working families will see their taxes go up. On average, families earning up to $86,000 annually would see a $794 increase in their tax liability, a significant burden on families struggling to afford child care and balance their checkbook.

“Under the Republican tax scam, the total value of tax cuts for just the top one percent is more than the entire tax cut for the lower 95 percent of earners. Put another way, those earning more than $912,000 a year will get more in tax cuts than 180 million households combined.

“To achieve their goal of giving more and more to the haves and the “have mores,” Republicans are willing to betray seniors, children, the most vulnerable and needy, and working and middle-class families. The $5.4 trillion cuts in program investments that will be required to pay for this tax giveaway to wealthy corporations and individuals will fall most heavily on low-income families, students struggling to afford college, seniors, and persons with disabilities.

“America will not be made great by financing a $1.7 trillion tax cut for the rich by stealing $1.8 trillion from Medicare and Medicaid, abandoning seniors and families in need, depriving students of realizing a dream to attend college without drowning in debt, or disinvesting in working families. The tax scheme passed by the Republicans is not a plan, but a scam that represents a betrayal of our American values.”