The House voted to pass the Republican-backed tax bill by a margin of 227 to 203, meaning it will likely become a law by the end of the year, pending the Senate’s vote and Trump signing it into law.
In addition to cutting taxes for corporations and the wealthy, the legislation promises to be uniquely hazardous for women and families, despite meaningless assurances from Ivanka Trump to the contrary. Though the plan includes a provision that increases the child tax refund, it will, like the rest of it, mostly benefit rich families. From NBC News:
“Ten million children in low-income working families will get nothing from the last-minute changes to the GOP tax bill’s child tax credit increase — and as a result will get just a token increase of $75 or less per family,” Chye-Ching Huang, director of federal tax policy at the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said in an e-mail. “Another 14 million will continue to get less than the bill’s full CTC increase.”
The tax bill also removes both student loan interest deduction and employer-provided educational assistance—two hits that disproportionately affect women, who statistically carry more educational debt. Those seeking advanced degrees could owe 300 percent more each year thanks to a provision in the plan that taxes tuition waivers.
Also written into the bill is a repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, which at present ensures birth control, maternal care, preventative care and more for 55 million women.
If the legislation is ostensibly intended to help Americans, the majority aren’t buying it. A CNN poll found that 55 percent of respondents opposed the plan; only 33 percent favored it.
“Hard-working families see right through the brazen con job that Republicans are trying to sell them,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a speech ahead of the vote. “Why aren’t our Republican colleagues standing with their constituents? Why aren’t they joining us insisting on a better deal for American families?”
The bill, which represents the most heavy-handed tax overhaul in years, is expected to move through the Senate on Tuesday night and hit Donald Trump’s desk by Wednesday.
Update, 4:45 p.m.: Apparently we’re going to have re-do this thing, since it the bill has been found to violate the Byrd Rule in several instances:
