CORREA LEADS BLUE DOG COALITION PUSH FOR BIPARTISAN, FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE TALKS AHEAD OF TAX CUTS AND JOBS ACT EXPIRATION, BUDGET RECONCILIATION PROCESS
“[The] expiration of the TCJA presents an opportunity to pursue a bipartisan, budget-neutral solution that supports everyday people.”
WASHINGTON — Today, Representative Lou Correa (D-CA), the Blue Dog Coalition Policy Chair, led a majority of the Coalition in a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson and House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith calling on them to work on bipartisan, fiscally responsible policies that support Main Street as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) expiration approaches, advocating against a blanket extension and pushing for robust, bipartisan, and common-sense negotiations ahead of the budget reconciliation process.
“We spent more on interest payments than on education, veterans, and transportation combined,” the Blue Dogs wrote. “Extending the TCJA would add over $600 billion in additional debt-servicing costs over the next decade, adding to the already unsustainable fiscal situation.”
Recently, the Congressional Budget Office found that fully extending the TCJA would add an astonishing $4.6 trillion to the federal deficit over ten years after accounting for interest. The Treasury Department also found that a blanket extension would disproportionately benefit the top 0.1% of earners (those earning over $3.5 million), saving them over $300,000 in tax bills every year, compared to the benefit for the average household on Main Street of $2,000.
“Instead of adding to the national debt and exacerbating Congress’ unstainable budgeting issues while mostly helping the wealthiest people in the country, we believe that the expiration of the TCJA presents an opportunity to pursue a bipartisan, budget-neutral solution that supports everyday people,” the Blue Dogs continued. “This can be achieved by a targeted extension of the TCJA tax benefits for the working and middle class—Americans who need them the most. These tax cuts should be offset by a mix of spending cuts and increased revenue to make sure everyone pays their fair share.”
This letter was co-signed by: Representatives Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA), the Blue Dog Coalition Admin Chair, Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), the Blue Dog Coalition Communications Chair, Adam Gray (D-CA), the Coalition Whip, Jared Golden (D-ME), Jim Costa (D-CA), and Sanford Bishop (D-GA).
“We have long prioritized fiscally responsible policies that encourage economic growth, and the new tax policy must strengthen the middle class, hardworking families, and seniors, not penalize them,” they concluded. “We believe targeted spending reforms and increased revenue to reduce the national deficit while spurring our nation’s economic competitiveness can be enacted to help everyday Americans.”
You can read the full text of the letter HERE.
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