October, 05 2017, 01:30pm EDT
219 Republican House Members Just Voted To Cut Medicaid, Medicare, And Public Education To Give Tax Breaks to Millionaires And Corporations.
WASHINGTON
Earlier today, the House of Representatives voted 219 to 206 in favor of the Republican House budget resolution that proposed $5.8 trillion in cuts over the next decade to Medicare, Medicaid, education, infrastructure and other critical services while paving the way for trillions of dollars in tax cuts that would mostly benefit the wealthy and corporations. The vote was almost entirely along party lines, with 18 Republicans joining all Democrats against the resolution.
The budget resolution also set up a procedure for fast-track consideration of tax legislation, enabling Senate Republicans to bypass bipartisanship to pass a tax plan with just 51 votes, rather than 60 votes typically required for such contentious legislation.
Congressional Republican leaders and President Trump released a framework for massive tax cuts last week that will cost at least $2.4 trillion, according to the non-partisan Tax Policy Center. The wealthy and corporations, which are primarily owned by rich shareholders, are the big winners. About 80% of the tax cuts will flow to the top 1% by 2027, when they would get a tax cut of $207,000, on average. That year under the plan, 3 out of 10 middle-class families making between $50,000 and $150,000 a year will pay $2,000 more in taxes, on average, depending on their income (the range is $1,300 to $2,500).
These large tax cuts will balloon the deficit and further jeopardize funding for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and education. Included in the $5.8 trillion in cuts to services under the House-passed budget are Medicaid and other healthcare programs ($1.5 trillion), Medicare ($487 billion), and nutrition assistance ($150 billion).
"This budget resolution is the first step toward an immoral tax scheme that will hand trillions of dollars to millionaires and corporations at the expense of millions of America's working families, many of whom will actually see a tax increase" said Frank Clemente, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness. "These tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations will ultimately be paid for by cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, education, disability services, and other national priorities, while the expansion of the deficit will further threaten Social Security. The Republicans who voted to advance this plan owe their constituents an explanation."
Below is an explanation of the tax cuts proposed under the Trump-GOP tax framework compared with the spending cuts proposed in the House budget resolution.
A more detailed version of this chart with sources is available here: https://americansfortaxfairness.org/wp-content/uploads/ATF-Comparison-of-Trump-Ryan-Tax-Plan-House-Budget-FINAL.pdf
MORE EFFECTS OF THE TRUMP-GOP TAX PLAN:
Tax Breaks for the Richest 1%:
In the U.S., the richest 1% of Americans will get 53% of the total tax cuts in 2018 and 80% after 10 years. They will get a tax cut of $129,000 in 2018, on average, and $207,000 in the 10th year.
Estate Tax Repeal:
The Trump-Ryan tax plan eliminates estate and gift taxes, losing $240 billion over 10 years and boosting the inheritances of the very wealthy.The federal estate tax is paid only by estates worth at least $5.5 million, just 2 out of 1,000 estates, or only 5,500 estates in all of 2017.
Repeal of the State and Local Tax Deduction:
The Trump-Ryan tax plan repeals the deduction for state and local taxes (SALT), raising taxes on the middle class and undermining local public services. Repealing SALT would raise $1.3 trillion over 10 years. Taxpayers can deduct state and local property taxes, and either income or sales taxes, from their federal taxable income. Over a third of taxpayers making $50-75,000 use the SALT deduction, and over half of those making $75-100,000. An average family in this last group would see their federal taxes jump by $1,800 if SALT is repealed. In addition to boosting middle-class taxes, repeal of the SALT deduction will make local taxation more expensive, putting pressure on localities to cut budgets for services like roads and schools. [Sources: Tax Policy Center, Government Finance Officers Assoc.
Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) is a diverse campaign of more than 420 national, state and local endorsing organizations united in support of a fair tax system that works for all Americans. It has come together based on the belief that the country needs comprehensive, progressive tax reform that results in greater revenue to meet our growing needs. This requires big corporations and the wealthy to pay their fair share in taxes, not to live by their own set of rules.
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Privacy Defenders Decry 'Spy Draft' in Section 702 Renewal Advanced by Senate
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Apr 18, 2024
Civil liberties defenders on Thursday decried the U.S. Senate's advancement of the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act, which critics say lawmakers are trying to ram through without protection against warrantless surveillance and with a provision that would effectively make every American a spy whether they like it or not.
Senators voted 67-32 in favor of a cloture motion to begin voting on RISAA, a bill to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which expires on Friday. FISA—a highly controversial law that has been abused hundreds of thousands of times—allows warrantless surveillance of non-U.S. citizens but also often sweeps up Americans' communication data in the process.
In a 273-147 vote last week, House lawmakers passed RISAA, including an amendment critics say dramatically expands the government's unchecked surveillance authority by compelling a wide range of individuals and organizations—including businesses and the media—to cooperate in government spying operations.
This so-called "Make Everyone a Spy" clause would allow the attorney general or director of national intelligence to force electronic communication service providers to "immediately provide... all information, facilities, or assistance" the government deems necessary.
"This bill would basically allow the government to institute a spy draft," Seth Stern, director of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, warned Thursday. "It will lead to significant distrust between journalists and sources, not to mention everyone else."
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In addition to the "Make Everyone a Spy" provision, civil libertarians have sounded the alarm over the House lawmakers' rejection of an amendment that would have added a warrant requirement to the legislation.
Critics accuse Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and colleagues including Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) of trying to rush a vote on RISAA while disingenuously claiming Section 702's powers will expire with the law on Friday. That's a misleading claim, as a national security court earlier this month approved the government's request to continue a disputed surveillance program even if Section 702 lapses.
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Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)—who
said earlier this week that the bill would dragoon the American people into becoming "an agent for Big Brother"—on Thursday argued that "this issue demands a debate about meaningful reforms, not a rushed vote to rubber-stamp more warrantless government surveillance powers."
In an attempt to tackle the warrantless surveillance issue, Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) on Thursday proposed a RISAA amendment that would require the government to obtain a warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court before accessing Americans' private communications.
However, the amendment contains exceptions to the warrant requirement in the event of unspecified emergencies and cyberattacks.
"If the government wants to spy on the private communications of Americans, they should be required to get approval from a judge—just as our Founders intended," Durbin said in a statement. "Congress has a responsibility to the American people to get this right."
The Biden administration and U.S. intelligence agencies vehemently oppose the Durbin-Cramer amendment. The White House called the measure "a reckless policy choice contrary to the key lessons of 9/11 and not grounded in any constitutional requirement or statute."
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Since Israel launched what the International Court of Justice has said is a "plausibly" genocidal assault of the Gaza Strip in response to a Hamas-led October attack, the Biden administration has blocked three cease-fire resolutions at the Security Council. Under mounting global pressure, the U.S. finally abstained last month, allowing a cease-fire measure to pass.
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"We came to the Security Council today as an important historic moment, regionally and internationally, so that we could salvage what can be saved. We place you before a historic responsibility to establish the foundations of a just and comprehensive peace in our region."
Council members were given the opportunity "to revive the hope that has been lost among our people" and to translate their commitment towards a two-state solution into firm action "that cannot be maneuvered or retracted," and the majority of council members "have risen to the level of this historic moment, and they have stood on the side of justice and freedom and hope, in line with the ethical and humanitarian and legal principles that must govern our world and in line with simple logic."
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Parsi said that "a Western-friendly senior Global South diplomat" told him of Biden's veto: "Whatever agonizing claim the U.S. had to lead a self-appointed free world has died a very loud public death on the Security Council horseshoe tonight. YOU CAN'T LEAD IF YOU CAN'T LISTEN."
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Even after dozens of students were arrested, hundreds "rushed to take the place of their classmates" and continued the protest.
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The arrests of dozens of Columbia University and Barnard College students on Thursday "galvanized" other supporters of Palestinian rights on the campuses, as hundreds of students occupied the school's western lawn after New York City police filled at least two buses with protesters who had been detained for setting up an encampment.
"Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest," chanted hundreds of students as they marched around the area where organizers had set up a tent encampment early Wednesday morning.
Columbia President Minouche Shafik informed the campus community on Thursday that she had authorized the police to clear the encampment.
As it has been in the past, the school has become a center of anti-war protests—and crackdowns by school officials and the police—since Israel began its bombardment of Gaza in October.
Pro-Palestinian students and alumni have demanded that Columbia divest from companies that profit from Israel's apartheid policies in the occupied Palestinian territories and cancel its dual degree program with Tel Aviv University.
In response to pro-Palestinian demonstrations, Columbia in November suspended the campus chapters of Jewish Voice for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine—an action that pushed the New York Civil Liberties Union and Palestine Legal to file a lawsuit on behalf of the students last month.
On Thursday, police and Columbia employees took down about 50 tents that had been up for more than a day and disposed of them in trash cans and alleyways—but The New York Times reported later that "demonstrators repitched a couple of tents, and ... recovered the main signage from the encampment as well," while hundreds of students were "still gathered and chanting on the south side of the grass."
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U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), whose daughter, Isra Hirsi, was among the Barnard students who were suspended on Thursday for participating in the encampment protest, questioned Shafik about whether antisemitic protests have actually taken place at Columbia, prompting the president to say there have not.
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"Correct," replied Shafik.
On Thursday, Omar posted on social media two images of protesters at Columbia: one from the encampment this week, and one from 1968, when students protested the U.S. war in Vietnam.
New York City Council member Tiffany Cabán was among those who condemned the university's crackdown on the protests on Thursday.
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