December 20, 2017
WASHINGTON, DC—UnidosUS (formerly NCLR) decried the passage of the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” a Republican-led tax bill that gives huge and unnecessary tax breaks to big businesses and the richest Americans at the expense of working and middle-class families. Today’s party-line vote moves forward a massively unpopular bill that will explode the U.S. deficit and put the future of our children and our country at stake.
“Plain and simple, this is a historically bad piece of legislation. With its massive and permanent tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest of Americans and tiny and temporary cuts for the vast majority of American families, this bill is not only unconscionable, it is obscene. The Republican congressional leadership and the administration are treating the very rich to a high-end 'all you can eat' buffet and sticking our families and our kids with the check,” said UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía.
Up to seven-in-10 Latino families who earn $75,000 or less per year would pay more in taxes by 2027, as temporary individual tax cuts expire. What’s worse is the bill will make health care more expensive and push it out of reach for many. Thirteen million people could lose health coverage and many will face a 10 percent increase in their premiums with the repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate.
Analysts also expect the bill to increase the national debt by $1.4 trillion or more over the next decade. That will likely trigger draconian cuts to essential programs like Medicare, Medicaid and SNAP, which helped lift 6.3 million Latinos, including three million Latino children, out of poverty in 2015. Gutting them risks pushing millions in our community into poverty. Funding for public education is also in jeopardy, thanks to a provision that scraps deductions for state and local taxes.
“This needless attack on the well-being and prospects of our children is wrong, but it is also short-sighted. These kids will be the backbone of the American workforce in the next decade so failing them now will hurt all Americans. This Republican-led Congress and the administration have truly put our country's future at risk and they have only themselves to blame for the consequences of their foolish actions. And our community will neither forget the devastating impact of this bill nor who traded our future for their narrow self-interest,” concluded Murguía.
UnidosUS, previously known as NCLR (National Council of La Raza), is the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organiation. Through its unique combination of expert research, advocacy, programs, and an Affiliate Network of nearly 300 community-based organizations across the United States and Puerto Rico, UnidosUS simultaneously challenges the social, economic, and political barriers that affect Latinos at the national and local levels. For almost 50 years, UnidosUS has united communities and different groups seeking common ground through collaboration, and that share a desire to make our country stronger. For more information on UnidosUS, visit www.unidosus.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.