{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.brown.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/icymi_jct-confirms-again-tax-cuts-for-corporations-wont-grow-economy-deficit-will-explode-and-middle-class-families-will-pay-for-it", "ICYMI – JCT Confirms, AGAIN, Tax Cuts for Corporations Won’t Grow Economy, Deficit will Explode & Middle Class Families will Pay for It", "2017-12-01", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "OH", "Sherrod Brown", "B000944", "www.brown.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Friday, December 1, 2017\n            \n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tYesterday, the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) confirmed what we have known all along: the GOP tax bill won\u2019t grow the economy, it won\u2019t create jobs and it won\u2019t pay for itself. It will, according to JCT, add $1 trillion to the federal deficit even after accounting for economic growth. The deficit increase will force an automatic $25 billion cut to Medicare next year and give Republican leaders a reason to further cut Medicare and Social Security.\u00a0 The $25 billion cut to Medicare next year will mean a $16.4 billion cut for Ohio over ten years, according to the Joint Economic Committee.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nWhy will Medicare get Cut?\u00a0\r\nPay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) is a little-know law that requires Congress to calculate the costs and savings that any piece of legislation will have over a ten-year period. Under PAYGO, if by the end of 2017, the cost of all legislation passed this year would increase the deficit compared to previous years, it triggers automatic spending cuts across the budget, including Medicare.\r\nThat means money will be taken from Medicare and other programs like support for Ohio farmers and funding that ensure Customs and Border Protection can keep out borders secure \u2013 all to pay for the $1 trillion hole the Republican tax plan blows in the deficit.\u00a0\u00a0\r\nWhat will happen if Medicare loses millions?\r\n \r\nOhio\u2019s 2.1 million Medicare beneficiaries could see cuts to their care.\r\nDoctors could choose to cover fewer Medicare patients or none at all \u2013 making it harder for Ohioans to get the care they need.\r\nHome health services will get much more expensive. Home health agencies get 70 percent of their revenue from Medicare and Medicaid, and only 17 percent from private insurance. By cutting Medicare, seniors could face increased out-of-pocket costs for these services.\r\nPeople will lose their jobs. The American Hospital Association projects that the cuts under consideration right now could threaten more than 115,000 jobs alone.\r\n \r\nHow do we know Republicans want to use the deficit to cut Medicare and Social Security? They told us so:\r\n \r\nPresident Trump: At a cabinet meeting President Trump said: \u201cWe\u2019re looking very strongly at welfare reform, and that\u2019ll all take place right after taxes, very soon, very shortly after taxes.\u201d (here)\r\nSpeaker Ryan: At a town hall-style event in Virginia on Tuesday night, Paul D. Ryan, the House speaker, said the most important steps that could be taken to reduce the national debt were spurring economic growth and making changes to entitlement programs. (here)\r\nChairman Brady: Representative Kevin Brady, Republican of Texas and the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, said this month that tax overhaul \u201calone won\u2019t get us back to a balanced budget.\u201d He said that House Republicans would soon turn toward \u201cwelfare reform and tackling the entitlements.\u201d (here)\r\nChairman Hatch: Senator Orrin Hatch, the Republican chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, blamed \u2018liberal programs\u2019 for the nation\u2019s debt. (here)\r\nSenator Rubio: Republican Senator Marco Rubio said this week: \u201cThe driver of our debt is the structure of Social Security and Medicare for future beneficiaries,\u201d as he called for federal spending cuts. (here)\u00a0\r\n \r\nWhat else does the tax bill do?\r\n\r\n\u00a0\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "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://www.brown.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/icymi_jct-confirms-again-tax-cuts-for-corporations-wont-grow-economy-deficit-will-explode-and-middle-class-families-will-pay-for-it"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.3747289087623358, "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"}