Non-Partisan Scorekeeper says Republicans Tax Bill Will Benefit Billionaires, Increase Prices for Most Americans

Washington D.C. - The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has released their analysis of the Republicans’ budget bill, and the results are just as awful as we expected.

This new analysis comes as Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Ashley Hinson, Zach Nunn and Randy Feenstra have been telling Iowans they intend to “protect Medicaid” which is simply not true. This big, bad budget bill will add $3.8 trillion to the national debt, slash Medicaid, risk health care coverage for 281,000 Iowans, and gut the SNAP programs that 116,707 Iowans depend on – all so they can pay for tax breaks for the richest Americans who also happen to be their biggest donors.

This bill spells disaster for Americans. Rural hospitals will close or reduce their services. Iowans will have to drive farther and it will be more expensive to see a health care provider. There will be longer wait lines at emergency rooms. Farmers will lose money and rural grocery stores will struggle to stay open. Every $1 spent through programs like SNAP generates $1.50 in economic activity.

The top 0.1 percent are estimated to gain an average of $389,000 in yearly income after taxes. The CBO also predicts that the poorest tenth of U.S. households would see their income shrink by 2 percent in 2027, while the wealthiest tenth of U.S. households would see their income increase by 4 percent in 2027. Money is literally being taken from the poor, and given through tax breaks to the rich. The middle class is being squeezed once again by Republican decision makers.

“This Republican-supported tax plan makes life less affordable for working Iowans at a time when costs are already too high,” said Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart. “The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office confirmed that this plan will cause healthcare and groceries to become more expensive and people will suffer. Why are our Republican representatives lining the pockets of millionaires and billionaires with more gold while leaving regular Iowans without?”