NEWS: Sanders Statement on Voting “No” on Tax Deal

NEWS: Sanders Statement on Voting "No" on Tax Deal

• August 1, 2024

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 - Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) today released the following statement after voting no on the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, which would deliver tens of billions of dollars in tax breaks to some of the country's largest and most profitable corporations:

I strongly support restoring the expanded Child Tax Credit from the American Rescue Plan that reduced childhood poverty in America by over 40 percent.

I cannot, in good conscience, however, vote for the tax package that is being voted upon today.

At a time of massive wealth and income inequality, we should not be giving tens of billions of dollars in tax breaks to some of the largest and most profitable corporations in America.

Incredibly, this legislation would hand out a $2 billion retroactive tax break each to Lockheed Martin and Raytheon - some of the most profitable defense contractors in the world.

Further, at a time when Artificial Intelligence and automation threatens to displace millions of American workers, this legislation could provide billions of dollars in tax breaks to companies like Amazon, Google, Verizon, and Facebook to replace workers with machines or robots.

Three years ago, as part of the American Rescue Plan, Congress passed an expanded Child Tax Credit that put $300 a month per child directly into the bank accounts of tens of millions of families. This provision alone lifted nearly 4 million children out of poverty.

The tax bill on the floor today is only one-tenth the size of the Child Tax Credit in the American Rescue Plan and would only last for three years. When all is said and done, this bill would provide at least $3 in corporate tax breaks for every $1 in tax cuts for working families with children. That is not a good deal.