Tell Lawmakers To Vote NO! On Tax Cuts
Say no to the GOP tax scam! Call your senators today at 888-516-5820. and tell them to VOTE NO. The GOP plan give huge tax breaks to corporations, the 1 percent, and the GOP's big-money donors. The rest of us will pay with big cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, education, and other necessities. We beat them before. Let's beat them back again.
CBO Finds GOP Tax Plan Hurts Poor
CBO finds GOP tax bill hurts poor more than thought. WaPo: "The Senate Republican tax plan gives substantial tax cuts and benefits to Americans earning more than $100,000 a year, while the nation’s poorest would be worse off, according to a report released Sunday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Republicans are aiming to have the full Senate vote on the tax plan as early as this week, but the new CBO analysis showing large, harmful effects on the poor may complicate those plans. The CBO also said the bill would add $1.4 trillion to the deficit over the next decade, a potential problem for Republican lawmakers worried about America’s growing debt. Democrats have repeatedly slammed the bill as a giveaway to the rich at the expense of the poor. In addition to lowering taxes for businesses and many individuals, the Senate bill also makes a major change to health insurance that the CBO projects would have a harsh impact on lower-income families."
Battle For Control Of Consumer Protection Bureau
Battle for control of consumer agency heads to court. NYT: "The battle over who will lead the federal government’s top consumer financial watchdog agency is now headed to court. The extraordinary fight, which intensified on Sunday night, adds to the uncertainty over the fate of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a regulator created in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of nearly a decade ago. It encapsulates dueling visions of how the American financial system could be regulated, as President Trump moves to loosen regulation created under the Obama administration to rein in the financial industry. Leandra English, the deputy director of the bureau who was set to become its temporary chief, filed a lawsuit late Sunday night to block Mr. Trump’s choice of someone else from taking control of the agency on Monday morning. Mr. Trump has been seeking to install his budget director, Mick Mulvaney, as the agency’s acting director."
GOP Tax Bid Undermines Infrastructure Funding
For Trump, GOP tax bill could have big downside. The Hill: "The GOP tax plan that is speeding through Congress could deliver a much-needed win for the White House, but it could also kill one of Trump's other top priorities: legislation to rebuild U.S. infrastructure. Not only would the tax overhaul use up one of the potential funding options for repairing infrastructure, it would also eliminate a financing tool that states have used to back a wide range of infrastructure projects. That could spell doom for Trump’s infrastructure overhaul, which was always going to be a tough sell for fiscal conservatives on Capitol Hill. 'Preemptively removing [private activity bonds] as a financing tool for infrastructure projects would undermine Congress's stated goal of leveraging a $1 trillion investment in our nation's infrastructure,' said Richard A. White, acting president and CEO of the American Public Transportation Association."
December Government Shutdown Looms
Congress stares down shutdown amid December deluge. Politico: "December is shaping up to be the cruelest month for Republicans who control Capitol Hill. Under enormous pressure for a legislative achievement, GOP senators will attempt to follow their House counterparts this week by passing a massive tax overhaul they can send to President Donald Trump by the end of the year. At the same time, they're dealing with Democrats to avert a Christmastime government shutdown. And that battle is complicated even further by an emotional fight over the fate of hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants... The to-do list, which Trump will discuss with top congressional leaders at a White House meeting on Tuesday, doesn’t end there. Lawmakers are butting heads over a third tranche of emergency aid for hurricane-ravaged areas. Key surveillance powers used by the National Security Agency need to be renewed. Funding for a health insurance program benefiting 9 million lower-income children is already long expired, with several states close to running out of cash. And it all comes against a continuous backdrop of sexual harassment bombshells that are ensnaring a growing number of lawmakers — not to mention a dramatic Senate special election in Alabama that could immediately prompt ethics proceedings, a rarity in the chamber."
States Prepare To Shut Down Child Health
States prepare to shut down children’s health programs if Congress doesn’t act. WaPo: "Officials in nearly a dozen states are preparing to notify families that a crucial health insurance program for low-income children is running out of money for the first time since its creation two decades ago, putting coverage for many at risk by the end of the year. Congress missed a Sept. 30 deadline to extend funding for CHIP, as the Children’s Health Insurance Program is known. Nearly 9 million youngsters and 370,000 pregnant women nationwide receive care because of it. Many states have enough money to keep their individual programs afloat for at least a few months, but five could run out in late December if lawmakers do not act. Others will start to exhaust resources the following month."
