Today, U.S. Representative Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09), New Jersey’s only member of the House Ways and Means Committee, excoriated GOP members of the committee who voted against his amendment restoring the full State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction.  The Republican tax scam sequel makes permanent a $10,000 cap on the SALT deduction long favored by New Jerseyans. Republicans killed the amendment on a 14-21 party line vote.

“The Republican Party has no shame and no sense. The GOP tax scam that stole money from regular Americans to reward big business is about as popular as rugburn.  Now Republicans are jamming through a second tax scam. What they did today was an insult to my constituents who have long used the state and local tax deduction to pay bills and cover expenses. It was also an attack on local government, harming services including fire departments, police departments, public schools, and safe roadways. But they don’t care. House Republicans are like bank robbers in the vault who hear sirens in the distance and speed up stuffing their satchels with other peoples’ money. They won’t stop until they’re halted cold by the American people.”

Since Republicans first announced their tax scam legislation in 2017, Rep. Pascrell has been one of the bill’s most forceful opponents in the House. He led the fight against the SALT cap in the Ways and Means Committee and introduced several amendments to block its enactment, only to be thwarted by united Republicans. Rep. Pascrell has written several op-eds on the law, calling it “one of the most reckless pieces of legislation I’ve seen come across my desk in over 20 years in office,” and has worked to highlight the hypocrisy and lies Republicans have told about the law. Since House Republicans announced their intention to pass a second tax scam and make the SALT deduction caps permanent, Pascrell has been sounding the alarm on the catastrophic impact the legislation will have on Garden Staters and other Americans.

Watch Rep. Pascrell defend his amendment to restore the SALT deduction here.

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