Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Senate Republicans’ Willingness To Go Nuclear And Detonate Senate Rules To Give Massive Tax Cuts To Billionaires

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor to warn Senate Republicans against bypassing the Senate parliamentarian to hide the true cost of their tax breaks for billionaires. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

America's in crisis. We know that. We can feel it.

This week, the crisis seeps even more deeply into the halls of the United States Senate by what the Republicans are trying to do.

Senate Republicans are so hell-bent on cutting taxes for billionaires, they’re now willing to detonate the rules of the Senate, violate norms and traditions, and break their word to get it done.

Republicans are doing something they said they’d never do: they are about to go nuclear.

Republicans know their so-called “current policy baseline” gimmick won’t likely fly. It's hocus pocus. Even right-wing Republican Chip Roy called it ‘fairy dust.’

So, now they are getting ready to decide for themselves which rules of the Senate to follow and which rules to ignore. They know this is so fallacious, so ridiculous, and that it was ruled against them by the parliamentarian when Trump was president the first time, that they have decided they're going to break the rules, the norms, their word because they are so frenetic. They are frothing at the mouth, almost, to give tax breaks to their billionaire buddies. It's a low day for the Senate.

By ignoring the parliamentarian, Republicans are going nuclear. They are tramping all over the rules that have governed the Senate for decades in order to give massive tax cuts for their billionaire friends.

What ever happened to all those promises we heard from Republicans, including the Republican Leader, that they wouldn’t touch Senate rules?

Not three months ago, Leader Thune stood right here on the floor, in his first address as Republican Leader, and said “one of my priorities as Leader will be to ensure that the Senate stays the Senate.” Well that sure isn’t happening right now.

He has indicated repeatedly that he would not topple the sixty vote threshold they’re now seeking to undo.

So, I guess when it comes to cutting taxes for billionaires, suddenly Republicans don’t care much about the Senate rules at all, and don't care about breaking their promise about what they would do when they came in.

But frankly, this isn’t just a fight about Senate procedure. This is much bigger.

This is about Republicans being afraid to tell Americans the truth behind their agenda.

Republicans know that if they make Donald Trump’s tax cuts permanent, through this current policy baseline, they will add $37 trillion to the debt in the next 30 years. $37 trillion – about as much as a total debt we've accumulated over the last 240-some odd years in this republic. Amazing, horrible, with horrible consequences.

Our children will be saddled with soaring interest rates and a crippled economy. The ultra-rich will become even wealthier and Americans who live paycheck to paycheck will suffer more.

Republicans know their agenda is deeply unpopular with the American people, that's why he sends out all these smoke screens every day to try to divert our attention. Greenland, Panama, Gulf of America. He knows it. They all know it, they're just too afraid to have the debate.

They won't come here on the floor and say the vast majority of their tax cuts are for the wealthiest of America. They won't dare say it, but it's true. That's who the Republican pay masters are, these rich billionaires who want their taxes cut. That's what they want and that's what they’re doing. They’re afraid to admit they’re taking away Medicaid from millions of Americans. I think 70 million Americans benefit from Medicaid.

So instead, they go nuclear, in a self-serving effort to hide the truth, use phony accounting, fake math, which will hurt us.

They're increasing the deficit by a lot, no matter what paper they try to slide before us.

They try and hide the cost of their billionaire tax cuts. It’s not going to work. As in Wisconsin, across America, the American people will see right through it.

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