Merkley on Senate Tax Passage: If This Horrific Bill is Allowed to Become Law, it Will Haunt America for Decades to Come

Statement

Oregon's Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after Senate Republicans pushed through their tax plan on a party line vote:

"Let's be clear: What just happened is a brazen move to rig our political system and our economy to work not for "We the People,' but for "We the Powerful.'

"Republicans just voted to raise taxes on millions of working Americans. They voted to rip health care away from 13 million of their constituents. And they did this all to shower massive giveaways on the richest Americans and powerful corporations.

"If this horrific bill is allowed to become law, it will haunt America for decades to come. The House will still need to act on the Senate bill. It's up to every American who believes in the "We the People' vision of our democracy to stop this bill before it gets to the President's desk."

Merkley offered the only Democratic amendment to pass during the floor debate. Merkley's amendment stripped out a special interest provision that would have provided an exclusive tax exemption to Hillsdale College, a private college heavily funded by the DeVos family.

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