Letter to Ron Wyden, Chair of Senate Finance Commitee - Finance Committee Republicans Demand Full, Open Process To Vet Reckless Tax-And-Spend Proposals

Letter

Dear Mr. Chairman,
The Finance Committee has a vital and time-honored tradition of fully vetting legislative
proposals and voting on amendments. The Finance Committee has routinely carried out its
instructed responsibilities under regular order, even in the case of bills that have resulted in a
partisan outcome, such as the Affordable Care Act or the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, as well as bills
with a bipartisan outcome, like the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act. Now is not
the time to abandon this important tradition.

Legislation currently being contemplated and drafted behind closed doors by Senate Democrats
may encompass the rewriting of business, international, energy, housing, and other significant
structural elements of the tax code, along with sweeping changes to our nation's health
programs, federalization of unemployment insurance, and more. Unfortunately, the scope and
substance of this legislation remains unclear, as Democrats have chosen to write and discuss the
bill in secret, with no Republican input or consultation.

According to S.Con.Res. 14, the Finance Committee's reconciliation instruction states that the
Committee "shall report changes in laws within its jurisdiction that reduce the deficit by not less
than $1,000,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2022-2031." This instruction, which places
only a lower bound on deficit reduction, coupled with the degree of spending envisioned by
Democrats means that trillions of taxpayer dollars hang in the balance. While the legislation
Democrats intend to introduce has been withheld from Republicans on the Committee and from
the American people, press reports indicate a far-reaching and potentially highly disruptive
agenda.

Democrats' broad agenda ranges from rewriting the tax code to overhauling government
assistance programs, including: international tax provisions that would favor our biggest
competitors, like China, over American businesses; tax increases that would kill jobs and reduce
wages; energy tax policies that would gut certain sectors of the U.S. economy; construction of an
unvetted paid leave program; drug pricing legislation that could crush innovation; expansions of
Medicaid and Medicare; new powers for the Internal Revenue Service to monitor bank accounts
of virtually every individual American and business--all done willingly and solely along party
lines.

The Senate Finance Committee's jurisdiction comprises a broad set of federal programs and
policies with significant everyday impacts on all Americans. Legislation as unprecedented as the
Democrats' rumored proposal should be fully vetted and afforded appropriate opportunity for
debate. At this time, it does not appear that you intend to hold hearings on all provisions under
consideration, or allow for discussion of, or amendments to, the Finance Committee's
reconciliation package. Such a procedural scheme would circumvent standard Senate practice
and would deviate from the Administration's stated goals of bipartisanship, cooperation and
openness. If Senate Democrats insist on moving forward with this reckless, partisan proposal
and procedure, we request that you at least act to protect the rights and jurisdiction of the Finance
Committee and its members by not allowing for the marginalization of the Finance Committee
through this reconciliation process.

Failure to hold a full, open markup, as our House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce
Committee counterparts are doing, would amount to a massive and unfortunate concession to the
House, as well as to Congressional leadership. It would also serve to further erode the American
people's trust in the Senate as an open and effective institution, substituting a secretive process
behind closed doors for a productive public dialogue.

We stand ready to join you and our other Democratic colleagues in an open executive session to
thoroughly and rigorously examine and debate any forthcoming reconciliation proposals in the
Finance Committee's jurisdiction.

Sincerely,
______________________________ __________________