Third Way Statement on Republican Reconciliation Bill

WASHINGTON—After Republicans released their tax and health care bill language, Third Way released the following statement from Gabe Horwitz, Senior Vice President for the Economic Program: 

“Raising prices on US families, giving more benefits to the wealthy than middle class, and wreaking havoc on our budget deficit does not make America great again. 

“Let’s be clear, millions of people will lose health care coverage through substantial cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. Medical debt will explode. Hospitals in low-income and rural communities will be cut as well as nursing homes—all of which increase costs on working families. Energy prices will go up as taxes are increased on new nuclear, geothermal, wind, and solar. And this bill does nothing to stop the Trump tariffs which increase costs on groceries and other goods. 

“Benefits in this bill are also far too skewed to the wealthy rather than working- and middle-class families. The few bright spots—like enhancements to the Child Tax Credit, paid leave credit, and child care credit—are important, but they are just a sliver of what working families need. What’s even more troublesome is the fact that the wealthy will see massive giveaways while the deficit is set to skyrocket. We saw the national debt explode under Trump’s first term, and this bill accelerates that destructive trajectory. 

“If Republicans really want to make America great again, they can do that by scrapping this bill.”