Connecticut lawmakers say they’re outraged that Republican leaders in Congress are trying to push through a huge reform of the tax system within weeks.
The House Ways and Means committee marked up the bill Monday, considering amendments.
Connecticut’s 1st District congressman, John Larson, who’s a member of the committee, condemned the hearing as "theater."
“We’re the oldest committee in Congress and members on this side of the aisle aren’t even entitled to bring an expert witness on any aspect of the tax code that affects 100 percent of the economy,” he told his fellow lawmakers. “And people in my state in the middle class are going to get a tax increase.”
Many lawmakers from Northeast states are concerned because the bill eliminates the federal deduction for state and local taxes - a benefit that’s used extensively in states like Connecticut.
Meanwhile, Senator Richard Blumenthal called the bill fundamentally unfair and fiscally irresponsible.
“It essentially saddles us and future generations with trillions of dollars of additional debt,” he said during a news conference in Hartford. “I am unwilling to look my four children in the eye and say ‘I’m taking a huge tax cut so you can pay trillions of dollars of debt in the future.’ I don’t think we ought to be doing that to future generations.”
Republicans hope to have the bill on the floor of the House for a vote by the end of the week.
