FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                      Date:   February 28, 2017

Contact:    Ira Cohen                                                                          Phone: 773-533-7520

Rep. Danny K. Davis Response to President Trump’s Address to Joint Session of Congress

I listened closely to President Trump’s Address to the Joint Session of Congress hoping that the rocky start of the administration would temper the rhetoric and bring some reality to the plans for a new budget.  Instead I heard more of the same: claims with no reference to hard fact and proposals which benefit to the wealthiest and which threaten the well being of middle and lower income families.

President Trump’s tax plan, based on more of his campaign rhetoric is a $6 trillion dollar give away with nearly half the tax breaks going to the top 1% while a family with $50,000 income would receive a tax cut of $400 and millions of middle class families with children facing higher taxes.  The corporate tax cuts will do little to create jobs and will trickle down to CEOs and shareholders, not workers.  Repeal of the estate tax will give the Trump family huge tax breaks but will offer no result in federal budget shortages cutting critical programs for most Americans.

The President’s vague plan for what we all agree is much needed infrastructure appears more than ever to be a plan for a tax give away to wealthy investors and privatization of public commons.

Plans for the “repeal and replace” of the ACA continue to confound the President whose fantasies about health care continue to conflict with both reality and Congressional Republicans who have aimed their sights on “block granting” Medicaid which will not only undermine the health care for millions who gained health care under the ACA but for tens of millions more.

The President has no plan to pay for a “wall” or thousands of additional ICE agents but is ready to slash funds for EPA, diplomacy and safe water supplies.  He plans to add tens of billions to the military budget but cannot tell us what those tens of billions will buy.

This budget is a disaster waiting to happen.  I will be working to bring a budget to the floor which will meets the real needs of the American people.

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Congressman Davis is Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Human Resources within the House Committee on Ways and Means with broad jurisdiction over Federal safety net programs, including Unemployment Insurance, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Supplemental Security Income, child and family services, foster care, adoption,  child support, child care, and home visiting.