{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://vasquez.house.gov/media/press-releases/vasquez-stands-workers-champions-permanent-no-tax-tips-wage-hike-tipped", "Vasquez Stands with Workers, Champions Permanent No Tax on Tips & Wage Hike for Tipped Workers", "2025-08-18", "2025", "2025-08", "Democrat", "House", "NM", "Gabe Vasquez", "V000136", "vasquez.house.gov", "vasquez", "https://vasquez.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 On August 18, 2025, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) stood in solidarity with workers at Barelas Coffee House in Albuquerque, expressing his support for making \u201cno tax on tips\u201d permanent policy and increasing the minimum wage for tipped workers \u2014 both measures included in the TIPS Act he is spearheading.\n\n\u201cTipped workers deserve to take home more of their hard-earned pay, but the current sham version of \u2018no tax on tips\u2019 isn\u2019t going to cut it,\u201d said Vasquez. \u201cThe reality is, under the law Republicans just passed, every worker will still pay taxes on tips and overtime, and they\u2019ll see increased costs from rising health care premiums, food, and utility costs. New Mexico\u2019s tipped workers help power local economies and the hospitality industry. They deserve better than this, and we\u2019re working to fix this with the TIPS Act.\u201d\n\nAt the event, Rep. Vasquez donned an apron and worked alongside tipped workers, taking orders and serving food. He also met with workers and advocates from One Fair Wage to hear their concerns about the impact the Republican tax law is having on their ability to make ends meet.\n\n\u201cThis tax law was crafted by Republicans to fund permanent tax cuts for the wealthy, while temporary perks like \u2018no tax on tips\u2019 and \u2018no tax on overtime\u2019 were just sweeteners to sell the deal to working Americans. But as you can see today, workers aren\u2019t fooled \u2014 they see this for the bad deal it really is,\u201d said Vasquez. \u201cThat\u2019s why I am standing with workers in their fight for the permanent, meaning solutions offered by the TIPS Act.\u201d\n\nOf note, Rep Vasquez flagged the following shortcomings of the current version of \u201cno tax on tips\u201d under the Republican tax law:\n\nWorkers will still pay taxes on tips and overtime every single month.\n\nMore than one in three tipped workers \u2014 and two thirds of restaurant workers \u2014 already pay $0 in federal income tax based on their tax bracket, so they will feel no benefit.\n\nThe Republican versions of \u201cno tax on tips\u201d and \u201cno tax on overtime\u201d expire at the end of 2028 \u2014 meaning the select workers who benefit will only benefit four times: once a year when they file annual federal taxes for 2025 through 2028.\n\nPaycheck-to-paycheck, tipped workers who are struggling to get by will feel poorer overall, as their pay flatlines and the cost of other things \u2014 like health care, utility bills, and food \u2014 skyrocket because of H.R. 1.\n\nRep. Vasquez is a cosponsor of H.R. 1314, the Tipped Income Protection and Support (TIPS) Act, to permanently eliminate federal income taxes on tips and end the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers. Under current law, tipped workers in New Mexico earn a subminimum wage of just $2.13/hour before tips \u2014 putting them well below the poverty line, despite working some of our communities\u2019 most essential roles.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T14:57:50Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://vasquez.house.gov/media/press-releases/vasquez-stands-workers-champions-permanent-no-tax-tips-wage-hike-tipped"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9312164038419724, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}