11.15.23

Whitehouse Slams Republicans for Again Seeking to Reward Wealthy Tax Cheats

Washington, D.C.—Today, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement after Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) insisted the Senate vote on his amendment to cut $30 billion from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and 15 percent from all discretionary spending except veterans and defense as a condition of keeping the government open.  A new, informal estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) found the IRS rescissions would reduce revenue by $60.5 billion over the next 10 years, increasing the deficit by $30.5 billion.

“We can’t even vote to fund the government without Republicans trying to jam in budget-busting giveaways for wealthy tax cheats.  Republicans are, once again, exposing their faux fiscal responsibility and putting their megadonors first.”

CBO has scored Republicans’ attempted IRS clawbacks four previous times this year and found all would increase the deficit. Chairman Whitehouse lambasted a previous Republican attempt that would have stripped $25 billion from the IRS, reducing federal revenues by $49 billion over the next 10 years and adding $24 billion to the deficit.

Chairman Whitehouse has also called hearings on cracking down on wealthy tax cheats, the cost of tax avoidance by the wealthy and big corporations, and how the Bush and Trump tax cuts have been the primary drivers of the increase in the debt as a share of the economy.  And according to a recent CBO report, written at the urging of Chairman Whitehouse and Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR), making the Trump tax cuts permanent—as Republicans continue to call for—would add $3.5 trillion to the deficit.