December 19th, 2017 by WCBC Radio

Congressman John K. Delaney (MD-6) voted against H.R. 1, the Republican tax bill. Congressman Delaney, the only former CEO of a publicly-traded company in the House of Representatives, releases the following statement:

“One of the things that used to be admirable about the Republican Party was that they espoused prudence and fiscal responsibility. It’s clear now that those days are long gone. By increasing our deficit, this legislation is going to make it much more difficult to invest in infrastructure, education and science and research – and that’s going to hurt our ability to thrive in the future that’s coming. This bill will also put increased pressure on important programs that help the most vulnerable in our society. I am deeply concerned that this bill will cement-in the stark inequality that has accelerated in recent decades.

“This is a huge missed opportunity, because we really do need to do actual tax reform in a way that helps working people and helps our businesses compete. A bill that would have included infrastructure, tax breaks for the middle class and a lower corporate rate, would have passed with substantial bipartisan support, instead we have this bill that delivers 83% of its benefits to the top 1% according to the Tax Policy Center. This bill is being sold as a jobs bill, when the private sector is already saying they won’t use these cuts to hire people – it’s a classic bait and switch.

“The rushing through and the hasty passage of this bill, with hardly any public hearings, open disdain for factual analysis and no effort at working across the aisle is a fitting conclusion to a 2017 that was defined by hyper-partisanship. For the good of the country I sincerely hope that we try a new approach in 2018.”