Republican Congressmen continue their push to give more handouts to those at the top, risking Social Security and Medicare
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
MADISON, Wis. – Six years ago this week Republicans and former President Donald Trump passed a massive tax handout to big corporations and the wealthiest Americans, with little benefit to working families in Wisconsin. Now, after trillions have been added to the national debt thanks to this package, Republicans in Congress continue fighting to extend these handouts even further.
“The first Tax Scam was bad enough. It saddled our nation with more debt, all to give the richest Americans and big corporations a massive handout they didn’t need. Now, six years later, Republicans like Congressmen Bryan Steil and Derrick Van Orden want to extend even more handouts to big corporations, like oil and gas companies, and the ultra-wealthy,” said Opportunity Wisconsin Program Director Meghan Roh. “Meanwhile, Steil and Van Orden have spent this year voting for harmful bills that threaten the success of families and seniors here in Wisconsin. While trying to secure more handouts for those at the top, they would threaten access to Social Security and Medicare, raise food and utility costs, and more. It’s time for our members of Congress to focus on helping the people they represent.”
Penny Fassler, a small business owner in La Crosse, added, “For years, Republicans in Congress have rolled out the red carpet for big, successful corporations, who are doing just fine. It’s time for our members of Congress, including Reps. Derrick Van Orden and Bryan Steil, to start supporting small businesses here in Wisconsin, along with giving working families the tools they need to succeed and support our local economy.”
Congressmen Steil and Van Orden have supported multiple measures that would add even more handouts to those at the top.
Earlier this year, Steil co-sponsored a bill to make many provisions of the original Tax Scam – also known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – permanent. This bill would make permanent the law’s individual tax cuts, provisions that gave a $49,000 annual tax cut to the top 1 percent , 100x larger than what those in the bottom 60 percent would receive. This proposal would also make the 2017 laws pass-through deduction permanent. This deduction helps wealthy business owners avoid paying their fair share, lowering taxes for the richest one percent of Americans by $34 billion.
This fall, both Steil and Van Orden saw another opportunity to look out for those at the top, co-sponsoring a bill that would extend the pass-through deduction that primarily benefits owners of large companies. According to ProPublica, an analysis of the original Tax Scam found that “the top 1% of Americans by income have reaped nearly 60% of the billions in tax savings created by the provision. And most of that amount went to the top 0.1%. That’s because even though there are many small pass-through businesses, most of the pass-through profits in the country flow to the wealthy owners of a limited group of large companies.”
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