Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee are releasing a new report Wednesday calculating the impact of the GOP tax bill on the national debt and warning that Republicans may attempt deep cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and the Affordable Care Act’s market subsidies to plug the hole. A copy of the report was shared with POLITICO’s Alice Miranda Ollstein. Citing House Republicans’ 2019 budget resolution, which slashes hundreds of billions of dollars from social safety net programs over a decade, the JEC report estimates that each of the 130 million people who depend on those programs would lose an average of $1,500 per year in services and tax credits should the cuts take effect. The report breaks down the potential impact by state, finding that West Virginia, New Mexico and Arkansas would be among the hardest hit.
“Republicans continue to advance the same failed ideas from the past—cutting taxes for the wealthy while cutting key benefits for working Americans and seniors,” said Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee. “In order to pay for a disastrous tax plan, Congressional Republicans and the Trump administration have decided to endanger the health and financial security of 130 million Americans. Democrats stand ready to build on these successful programs while tackling the issues Americans care about, such as stagnant wages, skyrocketing health care premiums, and the rising cost of prescription drugs.”
Here’s what we know: Equality in the workplace (that includes equal pay and equal representation at all levels of organizations) could add between $2.1 trillion and $4.3 trillion to the U.S.’s GDP in the next decade. But estimates from the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee suggest that it’s going to take over 40 years to get there.
Real wages, for example, have fallen 2.2 percent in Pennsylvania in the months since Trump took office, the Democrats found, citing research by the Joint Economic Committee, while more than 1 million state taxpayers will receive no benefit — or face a tax increase — over the first two years of the Republicans’ tax overhaul.
Oct 05 2018
Heinrich Statement on September Jobs Report
“The economy has been adding jobs since the economic expansion that began in 2010, but it’s clear we still need to address the real economic challenges working Americans face in their day-to-day lives. But instead, my Republican colleagues and the Trump administration have decided their priorities lie in heaping windfall gains on the wealthiest Americans and special interests under the guise of supposed tax cuts for the middle class."
U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee, delivered the following statement at today’s hearing on American living standards. In his remarks, Senator Heinrich highlighted that the Republican tax law is doing little to improve working Americans’ wages or living standards. Senator Heinrich also highlighted the Measuring Real Income Growth Act (S.3440) he introduced which would provide better insight into how broadly economic progress is shared and whether living standards are improving.
DeLauro requested a report on the effects of the Republican Tax Plan from the Democratic staff of the Joint Economic Committee in Congress. The six-page report focuses on changes made in tax policy that the Democrats claim would encourage companies to move factories and jobs overseas, where corporate profits are taxed at lower rates. The report claims about 199,200 Connecticut residents — including 75,200 in manufacturing jobs — are at risk of seeing their jobs moved overseas due to the tax changes, based on Department of Labor data on industries that have a track record of moving production to foreign countries. Another 22,700 jobs at risk are in the insurance industry, which has moved operations overseas 66 times in the last five years.
The Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee are out with a report today arguing that federal support for rebuilding the Puerto Rican electric grid is crucial to getting the island’s economy humming again. Failing to ensure reliable electricity will further harm the ability to attract businesses to Puerto Rico and could fuel ongoing population emigration. Given the high cost of fossil fuels on the island, accelerating the transition to renewable energies could also help promote economic growth, the report adds. “We must focus on supporting local efforts to rebuild the power grid and other important infrastructure so it is resilient against future disasters and helps jump-start economic recovery on the island,” Sen. Martin Heinrich, ranking member on the committee, said in a statement.
“Instead of slashing budgets and cutting benefits that support children and their families—as Congressional Republicans and the Trump administration have attempted to do to pay for their massive tax giveaway for the wealthy and corporate interests—we need to invest in the future of our economy and support our children,” said U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee.
Sep 07 2018
Heinrich Statement on August Jobs Report
“Our workforce continues to gain jobs, but many working families, particularly in rural areas, are still struggling to get by. Wages have been stagnant for years, yet corporations have amassed record growth and profits. Nearly 40 percent of American families struggle to meet a basic need, like food, housing, health care, and utilities. It is clear that too many Americans are being left behind in our economy."