Latinos United for Healthcare

December 2, 2017


LATINO LEADERS DENOUNCE SENATE PASSAGE OF TAX OVERHAUL

Working families and children will have to pay for tax cuts for millionaires, billionaires, and big corporations

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, a coalition of 45 of the nation’s preeminent Latino advocacy organizations, denounces today’s passage of the Republican/Trump tax plan, which would cut taxes for the richest Americans and largest corporations, balloon the deficit by at least $1.4 trillion, and make millions of working families, seniors, and children worse off.

Latinos, like most Americans, will lose under this plan. By 2027, 70 percent of Latino families and 75 percent of Latino-owned businesses will see tax increases. At the same time, tax giveaways to the rich would be paid for by cutting nutrition, education, housing, and income support programs that help families make ends meet, putting the 6.3 million Latinos who rely on these programs at risk of falling into poverty. This plan will also trigger massive cuts to critical health care programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA), threatening the health of millions of Latino workers, children, and seniors.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act also attacks hardworking, tax-paying immigrants. This legislation requires certain immigrant parents to provide a Social Security number for each child to claim the Child Tax Credit—a powerful anti-poverty tool. This new requirement would add more burden and complexity, threatening the economic security of nearly 4 million Latino U.S. citizen children in mixed-status families.

“The bottom line is that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act gives millionaires, billionaires, and the largest corporations massive tax cuts and sticks the bill to our working families and children,” said Eric Rodriguez, Co-Chair of NHLA’s Economic Empowerment and Labor Committee and Vice President of UnidosUS (formerly National Council of La Raza). “Hurting the financial well-being of millions of working families while increasing the national deficit is shameful and goes against our nation’s values. It is time for Congress to prioritize the needs of their constituents over the desires of their donors.”

“Make no mistake about it, if signed into law, the tax plan that the Senate passed today will result in a massive transfer of wealth from working families to the rich and large corporations. Income inequality will worsen as tax credits and deductions that help working families are cut or eliminated, and the massive deficit this bill creates results in steep cuts to programs that give a helping hand to those working hard to climb up the income ladder. The Senate should instead focus its energy on a tax overhaul that provides relief to struggling working families rather than those who are already wealthy,” said Hector Sanchez Barba, NHLA Chair and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
| Michael Torra | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (202) 425-0582 |
| Brenda Arredondo | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (915) 373-1483 |

ABOUT THE NATIONAL HISPANIC LEADERSHIP AGENDA:
The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda is composed of 45 of the leading national and regional Latino civil rights and public policy organizations and other elected officials, and prominent Latinos Americans. NHLA coalition members represent the diversity of the Latino community – Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and other Latino Americans. NHLA’s mission calls for unity among Latinos around the country to provide the Latino community with greater visibility and a clearer, stronger influence in our country’s affairs. NHLA brings together Latino leaders to establish policy priorities that address, and raise public awareness of, the major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole. For more information, please visit: www.nationalhispanicleadership.org.

NHLA MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS:
Alianza Americas | American G.I. Forum | ASPIRA Association | Avance Inc. | Casa de Esperanza: National Latin@ Network | Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute | Farmworker Justice | GreenLatinos | Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities | Hispanic Federation | Hispanic National Bar Association | Inter-University Program for Latino Research | Labor Council for Latin American Advancement | Latino Justice PRLDEF | League of United Latin American Citizens | MANA, A National Latina Organization | Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund | Mi Familia Vota | National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures | National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives | National Association of Hispanic Publications | National Day Laborer Organizing Network | NALEO Educational Fund | National Association of Latino Independent Producers | National Conference of Puerto Rican Women, Inc. | National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators | National Hispanic Council on Aging | National Hispanic Environmental Council | National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts | National Hispanic Media Coalition | National Hispanic Medical Association | National Institute for Latino Policy | National Latina/o Psychological Association | National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health | Presente.org | SER Jobs for Progress National | Southwest Voter Registration Education Project | UnidosUS | United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce | United States Hispanic Leadership Institute | United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce | U.S.- Mexico Foundation | Voto Latino