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Congressman Evans Statement on House Passage of H.R. 1

December 19, 2017

The American people will not forget the reckless gamble the Republican Party took today with their vote to pass their tax scam

Today Congressman Dwight Evans (PA-02) released the following statement after voting ‘No' on H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Our country has not seen bipartisan tax reform since 1986, and I believe we can all agree that the U.S. tax code is in need of a major facelift. The way the Republican Party and the Trump Administration are going about tax reform is all wrong. Real tax reform, not the phony charade that we just witnessed, must be comprehensive, simplify our tax code, and ensure a progressive tax code that helps move everyone in our neighborhoods forward, without arbitrarily picking winners and losers.

"Governing is all about choices. And today we saw the Republican Party and the Trump Administration make a choice that I firmly believe is a step in the wrong direction for the people of Philadelphia and America. Their bill H.R.1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, does absolutely nothing to move our country forward—it is a bridge to nowhere. I've said it many times before and I'll say it again there is no such thing as a free lunch. It is our most vulnerable who will pay the price under this bait-and-switch tax scam. The Republican Party always talks a big game about how Democrats are the party of taxing and spending but today it was the Republican Party who peddled a sham bill to hard-working Americans that shifts the financial burden on generations to come. Where is the Tea Party which was up in arms when President Obama and Congress worked to stabilize our economy? I thought they cared about the debt and deficit," Congressman Evans said.

Before the champagne is uncorked I would like my colleagues on the other side to consider this fact: corporate revenues as a percent of total revenues fell for 14.5 percent to 9.2 percent from 2006 to 2016. Despite concerns expressed about the size of the corporate tax rate, current corporate taxes are extremely low by historical standards, whether measured as a share of output or based on the effective tax rate on income, based on historical CBO research. With the huge drop in the corporate tax rate, my guess is that it will only mean less tax receipts overall. That means cuts to programs like CHIP, SNAP, and education, from the early childhood to the later stages of education. What happened to the land of opportunity?

"Today's vote is an incredibly disappointing step in the wrong direction. We should be in the business of ‘doing no harm' and working to ensure our neighborhoods have the tools and resources they need to be successful. It is entirely counterintuitive for the Republican Party to vote against their own interests and the interests of our neighborhoods by voting to take away life-lines of success from our cities and suburbs in need. The citizens of Pennsylvania and the American people will not forget the choice that was made here today," Evans said.

Media Contact: Becca Brukman, 202-225-4001, Becca.Brukman@mail.house.gov