Press Releases

Today, the Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressman Cedric L. Richmond (D-LA-02), released the following statement on House passage of the Ryan-McConnell tax bill by a vote of 227-203.

“Today’s passage of the Republican tax bill was a missed opportunity for real, bipartisan tax reform. 83% of the tax cuts in the bill will go to the wealthiest 1% while only 17% will go to working families, and 86 million working families will see a tax increase as a result of the bill.

“In addition, the bill paves the way for billions of dollars in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, makes tax cuts for corporations permanent and those for working families temporary, leaves 13 million more Americans uninsured while raising health care costs for everyone, and fails to close tax loopholes for corporations.

“I could not, in good conscience, vote for a bill that gives the largest share of tax breaks to the wealthiest residents in Louisiana and other states, while taking away from working families across the country. I hope my colleagues in the Senate prevent this bill from becoming law so that we can work on real, bipartisan tax reform.”