Dem rep: ‘Democrats are not opposed to tax reform; we’re opposed to harmful tax reform’

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) rebuffed accusations on Wednesday that Democrats are inherently opposed to tax reform, saying that the party is simply opposed to what he called a “harmful” rewrite of the tax code.

“Let me say, Democrats are not opposed to tax reform. We’re opposed to harmful tax reform,” Lieu said on CNN’s “New Day.” “And this bill is going to harm America by exploding our deficit by $1.5 trillion, it’s then going to require automatic cuts of $25 billion to Medicare and most of the benefits of this tax bill go to the super wealthy.”

Lieu’s comments came hours after Senate Republicans approved a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s tax code in a party-line vote. The House approved the legislation earlier on Tuesday, but will have to vote again on Wednesday, because of a few provisions stripped from the Senate-approved bill over budgetary issues.

{mosads}The GOP tax-reform legislation offers deep, permanent cuts to the nation’s corporate tax rate and temporarily slashes individual tax rates. 

House Republicans are expected to pass the bill once again on Wednesday, making good on a vow to send the measure to President Trump’s desk by Christmas and achieving their first major legislative victory of Trump’s tenure in office.

Not a single Democrat in either chamber on Tuesday voted in favor of the tax bill, which they say will serve as a massive windfall to the wealthiest Americans. Republicans, on the other hand, say the tax code rewrite will spur economic growth and make the U.S. more attractive to companies.