Republicans' Tax and Spending Bill Will Inflict Mass Suffering on Working Americans, Warns Senator Peter Welch

U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) sounded the alarm on the Senate floor, warning of the devastating consequences of the Republicans' tax and spending bill. The senator revealed that the bill will force millions of working Americans to lose their health coverage, rip away vital food assistance, and exacerbate income inequality, all to pay for tax cuts for the very wealthy. "Never in my time in Congress have I seen a bill that does so much damage, in so many ways, to so many people, in so many states, and that will affect so many generations," Senator Welch said.

Key Takeaways:

• The Republicans' tax and spending bill will force millions of working Americans to lose their health coverage, with 76,000 people in West Virginia and 278,000 in Tennessee set to lose access to health care and Medicaid.
• The bill will rip away vital food assistance for more than 42 million Americans, with 295,000 people in Tennessee and 278,000 in West Virginia set to lose access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
• The tax cuts in the bill will largely benefit the top 1% of income earners, with 60% of the benefits going to a couple of hundred thousand people.
• The bill will exacerbate income inequality, aggravating the wealth transfer from the working class and middle class to the very wealthy.
• The bill will accelerate climate change, making life tougher for everyday families and exacerbating the problem of income inequality.
• The bill will make life tougher for everyday families, with grocery prices, debt service, and utility bills set to increase under the bill.
• Senator Welch has proposed changes to the bill to prevent harm to rural hospitals, strengthen access to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, and protect home energy efficiency tax credits.

Sources:

• Senator Peter Welch's speech on the Senate floor, citation: "We have a job to do, and it's to strengthen this economy, provide more stability for our families and our communities. And in this bill, we're doing exactly the opposite: aggravating income inequality, not mitigating it, accelerating climate change rather than diminishing it, making life tougher for everyday families."
• Senator Welch's remarks on the Senate floor, citation: "More than 76,000 people in West Virginia will lose access to health care because of this bill... 278,000 West Virginians are going to lose access to the nutrition programs, to SNAP."
• Senator Welch's website and social media accounts.