Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On House Passage Of The Harmful GOP Budget Bill That Paves The Way For Tax Breaks To The Ultra-Wealthy At The Expense Of American Families

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on House Republicans' passage of a budget resolution that paves the way for trillions in tax breaks for the wealthy by slashing vital programs like Medicaid and SNAP. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Last night, almost every single House Republican signed their names to what would be the largest Medicaid cuts in American history.

The havoc, the damage that would do to tens of millions of American families would be almost unprecedented when it comes to Medicaid.

Why did Republicans do it? So they could cut taxes for the billionaire’s club.

The Republican agenda is quickly taking shape: under Donald Trump’s Republican party, billionaires win, American families lose.

Last night proved that Senate Democrats are right: it doesn’t matter if Republicans go with one bill or two bills or fifty bills. The end game for Republicans has always been the same: cutting taxes for billionaires and forcing American families to pick up the tab.

Now, the attention returns to the Republican Senate.

Republican senators know these billionaire tax breaks are unpopular, particularly because it will push deep, nasty cuts to Medicaid.

When I hear the Republican leadership talk about the bills they propose, they never mention the tax cuts to billionaires, which is the crown jewel, in their minds, of what they're doing. But they're afraid to mention it because they know how unpopular it is with the American people.

They know it’s going to increase the deficit by up to five trillion dollars. These deficit hawks on the other side of the aisle in the House are willing to increase the deficit by that much.

So what are Senate Republicans doing about it, knowing how high they would increase the deficit and cause a rise in interest rates, a rise in costs, and a risk of economic downturn?

What do they do?

Instead of facing the problem head on, they’re resorting to budget gimmicks to hide the true cost of their billionaire tax cuts.

They want to use something that some of them call a current policy baseline.

In essence, current policy baseline is an attempt to magically turn five trillion dollars of deficit spending into zero dollars on their balance sheets.

The deficit would still be there. It would still go up by five trillion in actual terms, but this sleight of hand – this hocus-pocus – says it's not going to appear on a balance sheet because we’re calling it current policy baseline.

Congress – Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative – has never used a current policy baseline for reconciliation. And for good reason.

Any junior high school math student could tell you their current policy baseline gimmickry is utter nonsense.

It’s an attempt by Senate Republicans to hide the true cost of their billionaire tax cuts from the American people.

At least House Republicans are honest about the outrageous cost of their tax cuts in terms of the deficit.

In fact, the House Freedom Caucus is being far more honest about the deficit than our Senate Republican colleagues.

Maybe the Freedom Caucus should send those debt clocks that Representative Thomas Massie wears on his lapel to the Senate Republicans. 

Now, what happened in the House last night and what happened last week in the Senate is only the beginning.

Democrats are going to fight these billionaire tax cuts tooth and nail. Democrats are glad to have this debate

Because the American people will be aghast when they learn what’s really in the Republican tax bill. And that is huge tax breaks for their billionaire buddies, who are all doing well, God bless them. But the last thing America needs is another tax break for them, who are so rich already.

Americans are worried that with these tax breaks, inflation is going to get worse.

Americans are worried that Donald Trump will start a trade war with our allies and make trips to the grocery store an utter nightmare.

We learned yesterday, for example, that consumer confidence saw its biggest drop last month in four years – in four years. So, this idea that the Republicans can hide what they're doing to the American people is not working, and we Democrats are going to make sure that Americans know exactly what they're doing, in terms of their tax breaks for billionaires hurting the average American.

The issues Americans are actually worried about are costs, and inflation, and getting decent healthcare.

But what are Republicans spending their time on here in Congress? Cutting taxes for billionaires, and then hiding the true cost on the deficit with sleight of hand.

They are slashing away at Medicaid and SNAP and so many other services that bring down the cost of living.

This is absolutely not what the American people signed up for, and Republicans know it, because they don't talk about it.

Republicans, talk about how $2 trillion – or close to $2 trillion – in your plan goes to the very wealthiest in America. You can't talk about it. You know why you can’t talk about it?

Because you know how unpopular it is. Yes, it's true that the small number of very wealthy – greedy people I might say – who want their taxes even lower have a disproportionate hold on the Republican party in the House and Senate.

So they're doing it, but they're afraid to talk about it. And when it comes to these tax cuts, when it comes to the cuts in Medicaid and so many other bad things that their budget does, Democrats will fight it tooth and nail to prevent them.

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