The Republican majorities in the House and Senate are working to enact a massive budget and tax bill to advance the Trump administration’s pro-billionaire, anti-women agenda.
Both the House-passed bill and the current proposals from the Senate would make drastic cuts to vital programs that families rely on, including Medicaid, food assistance (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps), and student loan assistance.
It also includes needless and cruel attacks on immigrant families, all in order to pay for new tax breaks for billionaires and mega-corporations.
To make these egregious cuts more palatable and push the erroneous message that the bill is “pro-worker” and “pro-family,” congressional Republicans have included several tax provisions they claim would provide families with tax relief. These include:
Minor tweaks to the Child Tax Credit;
Expansions to tax benefits related to child care and paid leave;
Temporary exemptions on tips and overtime pay;
New child savings accounts and private school vouchers;
And new tax deductions for seniors and some people with car loans.
Don’t be fooled. While some of these provisions would help some families, they would not reach the families who most need support, especially in the context of an overall bill that prioritizes the wealthiest, raises costs, attacks immigrant families, and cuts basic needs programs that women and families rely on.
These provisions:
Do little to offset the deep cuts this bill would make to Medicaid, nutrition assistance, and other essential programs that millions of families depend on.
Do not reach the families who are most struggling in today’s economy.
Will not meaningfully help families, especially in light of proposed cuts to key supports, the rising costs of groceries, child care, and housing, and the increased costs of everyday goods due to the President’s tariff “war’.
Often benefit wealthy individuals and corporations rather than investing in families and communities directly.
Exclude immigrant families to make a cheap political point, rather than recognizing and rewarding the contributions these families make to our communities, tax system, and economy.
Increase interest rates on everyone and further drive up the deficit.
Pale in comparison to the trillions of dollars in new tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations, including possibly billions to Elon Musk and Donald Trump personally.
And, as part of a massive tax package that is overwhelmingly skewed to the wealthy, further drive up the deficit and increase interest rates on everyone.
In short, the Republican budget bill will result in increased prices and reduced supports for families and will increase the deficit.
The so-called “pro-family” measures in the bill would largely fail to reach many lower income families and don’t come close to making up for the harms caused by the overall cuts to basic need programs.
The Republicans’ budget exposes their true priorities. By offering these scant benefits to families, they hope to distract us from the real cost of their disastrous tax plan.
If Republicans really want to help families, they would pass a budget that raises taxes on top earners and big corporations, which would make our tax code fairer and lead to more meaningful investments in women, families, and our communities as a whole.
