By a party-line vote of 52-48, Senate Republicans have voted to advance their legislation that raises taxes on the poor and middle class while giving a massive tax cut to the richest Americans.
Here is the vote:
Motion to Proceed to HR1 passes and the Senate is now debating tax reform. Vote was 52-48 with every Republican and zero Democrats voting to open debate.
— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) November 29, 2017
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Zero Republicans voted against advancing the legislation, which means that Republicans are about to jam through Congress a massively unpopular bill by late Thursday or early Friday morning.
There is precious little time for people who will see their taxes go up and/or lose their health insurance, or have their Medicare cut to take action.
Republicans have convinced themselves that their political survival depends on passing this bill, and they are already making noise about having to cut Social Security and Medicare to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy.
The American people have seen this movie before, as George W. Bush and the Republicans promised that a tax cut for the rich would lead to economic growth. Instead, Republicans blew up the deficit and set the stage for the great recession.
The tax cut legislation will be an economic disaster for hundreds of millions of Americans, but Republicans aren’t inching toward the cliff, they are running full speed with arms outstretched because they foolishly believe that economic ruin is the key to their salvation.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association