Blue Dog Leadership: We Will Not Vote for the House Tax Bill in Its Current Form

Today, the co-chairs of the fiscally-responsible, Democratic Blue Dog Coalition—Reps. Jim Costa (D-CA), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), and Daniel Lipinski (D-IL)—released the following statement announcing their opposition to the House tax bill in its current form:

"Earlier this year, we called for a tax bill that simplifies the tax code, is revenue neutral, prioritizes the middle class, promotes job growth, and invests in our nation's infrastructure. The Blue Dogs have evaluated the House tax bill, and we have determined that we cannot support the bill in its current form.

"We simply cannot support a bill that, by every kind of measurement, has been determined to add over $2 trillion to the deficit at the expense of middle-class Americans. It's a fact that some middle-class Americans will see their taxes go up and small business owners will face a more complex tax system under this bill. We are not convinced that the middle class gets a fair shake when it comes to the deductions that have been eliminated, where the tax brackets are set, and whether and where jobs will be created.

"As Blue Dogs, we have a long history of working with our Republican colleagues in the House to produce long-lasting, bipartisan solutions that truly work for the American people. Since the beginning of this year, the Blue Dogs have repeatedly reached across the aisle and engaged with the Republican majority and the White House to find a way to produce real, bipartisan reform to our tax system. We released the Blue Dog Vision for Tax Reform to remind our Republican colleagues that a previous bipartisan process led to the revenue neutral tax reform package in 1986, and that there is potential for bipartisan compromise today. Our tax reform principles were an exit ramp for congressional Republicans to move away from the partisan path they've been attempting to take—and it will continue to be an option as they confront the fact that partisan solutions simply don't work.

"We want to make bipartisan tax reform happen, and we've demonstrated that over the past year. Our hope is that, when this bill comes back to the House in a different form, our Republican colleagues will include us in a real way. History proves that's how we can produce real tax reform that is fiscally responsible and prioritizes the middle class. The Blue Dogs are always ready to make that happen. Americans deserve a more transparent, bipartisan process and a better result."

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