Last week’s Senate GOP tax plan debate — and what comes next
On Monday, November 13th — just four days after Senate Republicans released the preliminary version of their tax plan — the Finance Committee began what’s known on Capitol Hill as a “markup.” That’s the process of amending and voting on legislation as a committee, and for major bills, it typically follows months of public debate and careful consideration. Not so, this time around. This bill, which makes $10 trillion in changes to tax policy, raises taxes on middle class families and showers cash on multinational corporations and special interests, had been crafted in secret and released to the public late at night just before the Veterans Day weekend. Calling this process reckless is an understatement.
The markup began Monday afternoon with opening statements by my Republican and Democratic colleagues. Democrats highlighted the appalling unfairness of how the Republican plan forces millions of middle class families to pay for tax cuts for multinational corporations. Republicans stuck to the old trickle-down fantasy that has been proven wrong time and time again.
Day 2 — Questions
On the morning of the second day of markup, the Democrats were set to ask expert witnesses about the impact of the bill. But there was a problem — we had been told to expect a major update to the bill from the Republicans, the kind that would have an impact on millions of families. The update was nowhere to be found. Nevertheless, we went ahead with our questions as best we could given that we still hadn’t seen the final bill.
That afternoon, a bombshell dropped. We were stunned to learn that Republicans had added a backdoor repeal of the Affordable Care Act individual mandate to their tax plan. Suddenly, their proposal was going to mean thirteen million Americans would lose their health care, and millions more would see a major increase in health insurance premiums — all to pay for huge corporate tax cuts. The Republican tax bill officially became an attack on Americans’ health care, too.
Day 3 — Questions and Amendments
Late Tuesday night, the Republicans finally released the updated version of their bill, and it had only gotten worse for the middle class. Under this new update, the tax cuts for families were temporary, but the tax cuts for corporations were permanent. That was just one among many serious changes to the legislation. I told the Chairman how rushed the process had become and that the Democrats on the committee were more than willing to work together with the Republicans, if they’d slow down and put a real focus on the middle class. Otherwise, how could anybody truly understand the impact of a bill affecting millions of Americans and trillions of dollars with only a few hours to look it over?
So on Wednesday, my Democratic colleagues and I offered amendments to create red-white-and-blue jobs, to protect Medicare and Social Security from cuts, and to help veterans, people with disabilities and families needing childcare. Every time a vote was called on one of our amendments, the Republicans unanimously shot it down.
Day 4 — Amendments and Closing Statements
Thursday started off with more shocking news. Shortly before the markup was set to resume, the non-partisan, number-crunching experts who help Congress analyze the impact of legislation released a new report on the updated Republican plan. It said the tax hike on middle class families had grown even bigger. Middle class families would be forced to pay BILLIONS more in taxes. But those huge corporate windfalls were still in place, and still written in stone. My Democratic colleagues continued to offer amendments late into the night, as Republicans continued to vote against each one.
A little after 10:00 p.m. on Thursday night, the amendment process ran out. Republicans called the final vote. No Democrats supported it. Every Republican did. The final tally was 14–12.
What comes next?
The Republicans handled this process with shameful and reckless haste. Now that the markup is over, the Republican tax plan is headed back behind closed doors. Republican leaders from the House and Senate will work out the differences between their proposals in secret. No one will know what kind of special interest deals will be cut, and the American people will have no say. But this fight isn’t over. Millions of hard-working people are facing a tax increase, higher insurance premiums and worse health care, but it’s not too late for Americans to speak out. So pick up the phone, write a letter, and tell your friends and families to get engaged. The American people can stop this bill in its tracks.
