[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 183 (Thursday, November 9, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H8683]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      OPPOSING REPUBLICAN TAX PLAN

  (Ms. BARRAGAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. BARRAGAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to oppose the Republican tax 
plan and to highlight another devastating proposal in it.
  The Republican tax plan proposes to eliminate the medical expense 
deduction. Eliminating this deduction could raise taxes on nearly 9 
million people, including cancer patients and their families, seniors, 
and those with disabilities and chronic health plans.
  Currently, people with high healthcare costs can deduct medical 
expenses that exceed 10 percent of their total income. Let me give you 
an example.
  If you are a retiree living in southern California suffering from 
multiple sclerosis and you live on $75,000 a year annual pension, you 
could write off $70,000 a year in medical expenses, giving that person 
a tax break of about $20,000. Removing the itemized medical deduction 
would spell financial disaster for that person.
  Now, half of those claiming the deduction have an income below 
$50,000 per year. So just think about how devastating losing this 
deduction will be.
  I can't stand idly by while my Republican colleagues put forth a tax 
plan that takes money from the sickest and neediest among us in order 
to give tax cuts to corporations and the top 1 percent of earners. This 
is a bad bill.

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