WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, after an overnight vote-a-rama ended with Senate Republicans advancing their reconciliation budget bill that lays the groundwork to give massive tax windfalls to billionaires at the expense of everyday Americans, U.S. Senator Jack Reed issued the following statement:

“The Republican ‘billionaires-first’ budget would raise costs for working- and middle-class families in order to grant bigger tax windfalls to the wealthiest Americans.  These tax cuts aren’t free, they’re paid for by regular American families and they should be targeted in a fair and balanced way that benefits every American. 

“If Trump and the Republicans want to pass a tax cut for families struggling with high prices for food and housing, I’m all in.  But this plot is the exact opposite when it comes to families and prices.”

“As working families are struggling with higher prices for groceries, housing, and health care, this budget would shift a greater cost burden onto those who can least afford it.  And to add insult to injury, the Trump plan tilts overwhelmingly towards the very richest at the expense of everyday Americans.  It could kick a struggling senior out of their nursing home so people like Donald Trump can add more gold to his fancy Mar-a-Lago ballroom.

“It is telling that neither President Trump nor Congressional Republicans are doing anything here to bring down prices, tackle inflation, or make housing and health care more affordable for working families.  They aren’t prioritizing infrastructure investments or building bridges.  Instead, this Republican budget would do just the opposite: cut vital public programs like Medicare and Medicaid, make college less affordable, and roll back food assistance in order to fund a massive tax giveaway to the wealthy and well-heeled at the expense of workers, families, and older Americans.

“Time and again during the debate, Republicans had the chance to go on record to support programs like Medicaid and Medicare, which provide essential healthcare coverage to tens of millions of Americans, and to repudiate tax cuts for billionaires.  The record clearly shows who they are standing with.

“I will continue to oppose this reckless, fiscally irresponsible budget and work to get our nation on the right economic track.  Republicans need to kick the tax cuts for the rich habit and join Democrats to help lower prices, increase paychecks, expand opportunity, and strengthen the economy in ways that benefit all Americans, not just those at the very top.”

The last Trump tax cut fueled a record $1 trillion explosion in stock buybacks in 2018, but it failed to deliver promised benefits to middle- and moderate-income families.  While Republicans claimed it would be revenue-neutral, it ended up adding trillions to the national debt.  According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), extending the Trump tax cuts for the next 10 years -- as Republicans have proposed -- would add $4.6 trillion to the deficit.