November 16, 2017
For immediate release
Contact: Karen Strickland, President, 206-326-0685
Statement on Tax Reform Bill Passed Today by U.S. House
Tukwila, WA -- The Republican-controlled House has once again demonstrated its firm determination to worsen the economic stability of our members and their families. All four of our GOP congressmembers — U.S. Representatives Reichert, Herrera Beutler, Newhouse, and McMorris Rodgers — voted along party lines to pass the House tax reform bill.
The harm their tax bill will cause is unconscionable, ranging from the fact that many of their tax breaks for working- and middle-class families are temporary while those for corporations are permanent, to taxing tuition waivers for graduate students as if they were income, to the elimination of the deduction of our state and local sales taxes.
We need elected officials who understand the needs of their constituents and the majority of Americans in our country, and take action to build us up, not tear us down.
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AFT Washington, AFL-CIO, represents 7,000 education employees in higher education, pre-K through 12 and is affiliated with the 1.6 million members of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).