On CBS’ Face The Nation, Schumer Calls Elimination of State and Local Deduction First Achilles Heel of Republican Tax Plan; Schumer Also Says President’s Hurricane Maria Relief Efforts in Puerto Rico Have Been Slow-Footed, Disorganized, and Not Adequate – Urges President to Roll Up His Sleeves And Get to Work

On CBS’ Face the Nation, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer today called the elimination of the state and local tax deduction the first Achilles heel of the Republican tax plan and said it will be a real test for the Congressional Republicans who represent the states that would be hurt most by the elimination of this deduction. Leader Schumer also called President Trump’s Hurricane Maria relief efforts in Puerto Rico slow-footed, disorganized and not adequate and urged the President to roll up his sleeves and get to work.

Transcript of Schumer’s remarks on tax reform:

“The middle class at the same time is hurt. Just one more point here. The Achilles heel of this, the first one, there are many, is state and local deductibility. In suburban, fairly well-off districts, Republican, throughout the states like New York, California, Illinois, New Jersey, those people even with the standard deduction will pay a lot more. […. It should be a real test of their Congress people whether they vote with their constituents or they vote with the hard right ideology against state and local deductibility.”

 Transcript of Schumer’s remarks on Puerto Rico :

“Well, first of all, the president instead of tweeting against the mayor of San Juan who's watching her people die and just made a plea for help ought to roll up his sleeves and get to work here. The bottom line is at least for the first week and a half the effort has been slow footed, disorganized, and not adequate. And that's not just me saying it. General Buchanan said he doesn't have enough troops or material. The acting secretary of HHS Duke when she visited said that things are not good.

And so the bottom line is that we need more help. Marco Rubio is right. We need control and command. That means many more military troops. Let me give you an example. In Haiti there were 22,000 troops after two weeks here. Right now there are 10,000. And those are very, very recent. So this has not been a good response.

It needs the president to stop calling names, stop downgrading the motives of people who are calling for help, but roll up his sleeves and get to work. And, by the way, he should have gone to Puerto Rico earlier than two weeks. He'll go Tuesday. That's good. But two weeks after it hit. He was in Texas twice after that. Obama was up at Sandy two days afterwards. They say, ‘there are logistics that get in the way,’ but the president going makes a huge difference. And logistics didn't get in the way in the past.”