Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Tomorrow’s Vote To Advance The Bipartisan Tax Relief For American Families And Workers Act

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on tomorrow’s vote on cloture on the motion to proceed to the bipartisan Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Tomorrow, Senators will have a chance to take up a bill that, in one fell swoop, will deliver significant tax relief for America’s families, for America’s businesses, and Americans suffering from natural disasters.

All we have to do is come together – both parties, bipartisan – and vote yes to advance the bipartisan tax package.

Democrats are ready to get this tax package done. It already passed the House – under the leadership of a Republican Chair of Ways and Means, Congressman Smith of Missouri – with an incredible margin of 357-70. A majority of both parties voted strongly for this bill. Frankly, it’s hard to imagine a vote more lopsided than that in this Congress.

If we get this bill done, it will go to the president’s desk. It will become law. That means families and businesses and parents will see more money coming back to them during tax season. More Americans will have a little more money in their pocket. Half a million kids will be lifted out of poverty, by expanding the Child Tax Credit. Sixteen million kids will also see these benefits. And most of those kids are working-class, poor kids. And now that Senate Democrats and House Democrats and House Republicans are all on board – Senate Democrats, House Democrats, House Republicans, all on board – we’re very close to getting this bill done.

The only ones standing in the way of enacting tax relief right now are Senate Republicans. Everyone else – even House Republicans, hardly known for their moderation – support this tax bill.

Respectfully to my Republican colleagues here in the Senate, it’s never a good sign to be to more obstructionist than House Republicans on any issue, but that’s precisely where our Senate Republican colleagues find themselves in right now. That’s where they are.

At yesterday’s Republican weekly lunch, one senator was passing around pamphlets telling his colleagues to oppose this bill – to oppose even having a debate. They’re repeating a whole bunch of false talking points about undocumented immigrants and about discouraging work. They’re trying very hard to justify voting no.

But let’s be honest: there’s no great mystery behind why Senate Republicans oppose a tax bill they many of them helped write.

Senate Republicans are looking at the calendar and they have decided they care more about the results of the election than in passing a law. They hope that if things go their way, they can get a more conservative package sometime in the future. And they’re willing to walk away from expanding programs like the Child Tax Credit along the way.

Don’t take it from me. Listen to what my colleague, the senior senator from Missouri, said yesterday about Republican leadership. “They’re not interested in passing anything, clearly.”

“They’re not interested in passing anything, clearly.”

What a shame. What a shame. Senate Republicans love to say they care about families, yet it seems like most of them will block a bill that expands the Child Tax Credit, lifts half a million kids out of poverty, and expands benefits to sixteen million children.

Senate Republicans also say they are champions of business, yet it seems like most of them will block a bill that rewards businesses that invest in R&D, helps pay for new equipment, which will promote new jobs, new job growth, and innovation.

I certainly hope I’m wrong. I hope Republicans seize this opportunity send a tax bill to the president’s desk – a bipartisan tax relief bill passed by a majority of House Democrats and House Republicans.

If the American people see that the only reason this tax relief bill fails was because Senate Republicans stood in the way, they aren’t likely to forget it very soon.

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