Cramer to vote ‘yes’ on bill without knowing how it impacts North Dakotans, because it doesn’t yet exist

With House mark-up, Senate mark-up and conference committee actions still to come, it was reported yesterday that Kevin Cramer, with zero knowledge of how the final version will actually impact North Dakota, has vowed to blindly vote yes on whatever tax reform bill makes it through the process. In fact, after the Senate released their version of the bill today, theWall Street Journal reported that, “policy gaps between the House and Senate will require Republicans to reconcile dozens or hundreds of differences.” Ben Hanson released the following statement:

While we expect our representatives to know what they’re voting on before they decide how they’re going to vote, Kevin Cramer has made this decision blindly.

We don’t yet know if the final tax reform bill will eliminate state and local tax deductions, which would raise North Dakotans taxes. We don’t yet know if the final bill will eliminate the mortgage interest deduction, which would raise nearly every homeowners’ taxes. We don’t yet know if the Section 199 deduction will be eliminated, which would raise taxes on ag producers. We don’t yet know if the final bill will cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, which would harm nearly every family in North Dakota.

Without considering how the bill will impact every single person that he represents, Kevin Cramer’s mind is already made up. Does he care to explain himself?