Washington, DC—In response to the Senate passing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act today, U.S. Conference of Mayors President and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu issued the following statement:
“Today’s vote puts partisan politics first and real people last. This middle-class tax increase is Washington at its worst, which is why mayors of both parties strongly opposed this tax hike on hard-working families. This bill will severely undermine economic development in cities and towns across the country, add to the deficit and make our country weaker, not stronger. It will make communities less safe and far less equitable. Cities will need to do much more with far less – and, once again, Republican and Democratic mayors alike will have to step in and clean up Washington’s mess.
“As the Senate and the House move to conference and reconcile the differences between their bills, we strongly urge leadership to take a step back and make significant improvements to the final product that prioritize the middle and working class over billionaire donors. We hope leadership will recognize the concerns of bipartisan mayors before lasting damage is done.”
On background: as you write, please note that mayors of both parties have strongly opposed the tax bill based on the following:
- Loss of the State and Local Tax Deduction (see here, here, hereand here)
- Loss of health insurance for 13 million people (see here)