WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) today introduced an amendment to hold Senate Republicans accountable for their pledge that their tax plan will not result in any cuts to Medicare.
Under the Senate’s “pay-as-you-go” rules, Congress is required to offset the cost of each piece of legislation or risk across-the-board spending cuts to various government programs. Under this rule, the Republicans’ tax plan would trigger $150 billion in spending cuts, including a $25 billion annual cut to Medicare.
The Senators’ amendment would roll back the corporate tax rate to its current level of 35 percent (the tax plan would lower the corporate rate to 20 percent) should there be any cuts to Medicare as a result of the tax plan.
“Republicans have promised repeatedly that critical safety net programs like Medicare won’t be affected by their disastrous tax plan,” said Booker. “Our amendment simply puts those promises in writing. Senate Republicans should back up their words with action.”
“The Republican tax bill sets up $25 billion in annual cuts to Medicare to help pay for huge tax cuts to corporate special interests and the wealthiest individuals in the nation,” said Sen. Menendez, a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee that writes federal tax policy and has direct oversight of Medicare. “Medicare is a bedrock of financial security for millions of seniors in New Jersey and across America, and after a lifetime of hard work, our seniors deserve more than empty promises from the Republican Party.”
Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Ed Markey (D-MA), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), also cosponsored the amendment.
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