STATEMENT: CAP’s Neera Tanden: Can We Stop Pretending that Senate Republican Leaders Care About the Deficit?

Washington, D.C. — Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, released the following statement today after the U.S. Senate advanced its fiscal year 2018 budget resolution:

Because the Senate has set itself up to pass massive deficits to finance tax cuts for the wealthy and well-connected—people who need tax cuts the least—can we finally stop pretending that Senate Republican leaders care about the deficit?

Now the question is whether House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), who built his entire career and reputation around fear-mongering about looming deficit crises during the Obama presidency, will pull one of the most craven acts of hypocrisy in political history by agreeing to massive deficit increases just months into a Republican administration.

Related resources: 

• This Is How Much Average Americans Will Pay for Trump’s Tax Cuts for the 1 Percent by Rachel West, Katherine Gallagher Robbins, and Melissa Boteach
• For the Cost of Repealing the Estate Tax, Congress Could Buy Everyone in America a Pony by Rachel West and Harry Stein (TalkPoverty)
• Arctic National Wildlife Refuge 101: Protecting America’s Last Great Wilderness from Being Sold Out for a Congressional Tax Scam by Matt-Lee Ashley and Jenny Rowland

For more information or to speak with an expert, contact Allison Preiss at [email protected] or 202.478.6331.