[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 183 (Thursday, November 9, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H8684]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 REPUBLICAN TAX BILL GIVING TAX BREAKS TO MILLIONAIRES AND BILLIONAIRES

  (Mr. ENGEL asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, let's put rhetoric aside when it comes to the 
Republican tax bill. This is a bill that gives tremendous tax breaks to 
millionaires and billionaires while it hits the middle class.
  The facade of it may look like middle class people are getting a tax 
break, but when you add on all the deductions that they will now no 
longer be allowed to take, it is a negative for the middle class.
  The government is always accused of giving you something in one hand 
and taking it back in the other hand. A classic bait and switch, that 
is what this bill is about.
  In my home State of New York, which is a high tax State, people will 
no longer have the ability to deduct State and local taxes or deduct 
mortgage interest to the degree that they have now.
  So when you add it all up, what does it do?
  Higher taxes for the middle class, lower taxes for millionaires and 
billionaires like our President--a classic bait and switch.
  When you talk about New York, New York is a donor State. We give more 
money to the Federal Government than we get back, and this is just 
hitting New York in the head again.
  We should be protecting the middle class and letting people who can 
afford to pay more, millionaires and billionaires, pay more, not the 
other way around.
  Finally, whatever happened to the fiscal responsibility of the 
Republican Party? This blows a hole in the deficit--$1.75 trillion.

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