[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 14]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 20637]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                TAX BILL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 21, 2017

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I would like to include into the Record 
the following article:

             Tax Bill Would Trigger Cuts to Vital Programs

                            [Nov. 14, 2017]

       The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (SPAYGO) created a 
     budgetary enforcement regime to offset net deficit increases 
     that would otherwise result from new laws affecting direct 
     spending or revenues. SPAYGO in essence keeps a running tab 
     of the deficit effects of all such laws, including laws 
     enacted through the budget reconciliation process. If, at the 
     end of a session of Congress, the SPAYGO scorecard shows a 
     net debit for the upcoming year, numerous direct spending 
     programs will get hit with an across-the-board cut to ``pay 
     for'' that debit.
       The Republican tax bill released last week would increase 
     deficits by $1.5 trillion over ten years. If Congress does 
     not enact offsetting budgetary savings or provide some other 
     remedy, enactment of this bill will trigger massive automatic 
     program cuts every year for the next ten years. The tax 
     bill's deficit effects would trigger SPAYGO cuts that would 
     lead to outright elimination of many programs and still would 
     not be enough to offset the tax bill's costs in full.
       Damaging SPAYGO cuts resulting from the tax bill would 
     include:
       A 4 percent reduction in Medicare payments. Over ten years, 
     this would add up to hundreds of billions of dollars. (SPAYGO 
     caps the Medicare cut at 4 percent.)
       A doubling of loan origination fees for federal student 
     loans, making college more expensive for millions of 
     students.
       Elimination of funding for programs subject to uncapped 
     SPAYGO across-the-board reductions. Some of the largest 
     programs that would be zeroed out include:
       Social Services Block Grants, which are flexible grants to 
     states. They support a variety of initiatives serving low-
     income and vulnerable individuals such as adult protective 
     services, special services to persons with disabilities, 
     adoption services, case management, health-related services, 
     transportation support, foster care, substance abuse 
     services, home-delivered meals, independent and transitional 
     living, and employment-related services.
       Vocational Rehabilitation State Grants, which help states 
     assist individuals with physical or mental impairments in 
     developing new work skills and finding employment.
       Commodity Credit Corporation farm price supports, which 
     help stabilize and support farmer's incomes.
       Crime Victims Fund, which provides compensation to victims 
     of crime and supports victims' services.
       Prevention and Public Health Fund, which expands 
     investments in programs to improve health, primarily through 
     the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
       Trade Adjustment Assistance, which helps workers who have 
     lost their jobs due to trade-related circumstances, such as 
     an increase in imports.

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