{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.daines.senate.gov/news/press-releases/daines-supports-repeal-of-individual-mandate-in-tax-bill", "Daines Supports Repeal of Individual Mandate in Tax Bill", "2017-11-14", "2017", "2017-11", "Republican", "House", "MT", "Steve Daines", "D000618", "www.daines.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "U.S. SENATE \u2014 U.S. Senator Steve Daines today spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate after the Senate acted on his urging to include a repeal of Obamacare\u2019s poverty tax in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.\n\nWatch video HERE.\n\nDownload video HERE.\n\nLast week, Senator Daines sent a letter to Committee on Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch, urging him to include a repeal of the poverty tax in the tax legislation. Read the letter HERE.\n\nRemarks as prepared:\n\nMr. President \u2013 As we cut taxes, there\u2019s one goal I hold center: We need more good paying jobs and bigger paychecks for hardworking Montanans.\n\nIt was just announced that the Senate draft tax bill will repeal a tax that fundamentally targets the low to middle income in my state and across the nation. In fact, in Montana alone \u2013 75 percent of the people who pay this tax make less than $50,000 a year \u2013 32.5% make less than $25,000.\n\nThis isn\u2019t anecdotal \u2013 in 2015, nationwide, 78.98% of those who paid this tax make less than $50,000 a year \u2013 37.35% make less than $25,000.\n\nMr. President, the IRS pick pocketed over $3 billion dollars from over 6.5 million Americans in 2015 alone \u2013 a majority of whom make less than $50,000. This is a tax targeted at those in poverty.\n\nWhat is this tax you might ask? Where did it come from?\n\nI\u2019ll tell you where it came from \u2013 it came from Obamacare. It\u2019s the Obamacare poverty tax.\n\nOtherwise known as the individual mandate, which forces people to purchase health insurance or pay a fine, the poverty tax systematically taxes those making less than $50,000. As if it wasn\u2019t enough that Obamacare plans were too expensive for some of these folks, the IRS taxes them for not being able to afford it.\n\nSome say Obamacare steals from the rich to give to the poor \u2013 but honestly, Obamacare\u2019s individual mandate is the exact opposite of Robin Hood\u2019s famed cry. Obamacare\u2019s poverty tax is like Robin Hood stealing from Friar Tuck to pay King John.\n\nIt\u2019s unthinkable that we would leave such a provision in law when we have the opportunity to repeal it. By repealing it, we would, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), save $338 billion dollars over ten years. That\u2019s over $300 billion we can put towards additional tax relief for small businesses and families.\n\nAlternatively, if we do nothing \u2013 CBO projects that we will increase taxes by $43 billion. And those taxes will be paid primarily by America\u2019s low and middle income. $43 billion dollars in taxes on those who can afford it the least.\n\nObamacare\u2019s Poverty Tax must go \u2013 and there\u2019s no better time to get rid of it than now. I urge my colleagues to join me in fighting for the low and middle class of our nation.\n\nBenjamin Franklin is credited with phrase: just two things in life are certain: death and taxes. That may be so, but we don\u2019t need to make them both quite so painful.\n\nThat\u2019s why I\u2019m glad a repeal of the Obamacare poverty tax has been included in the Senate draft tax legislation. I urge my colleagues in the House of Representatives to do the same.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-04-08T22:12:50Z"]], "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://www.daines.senate.gov/news/press-releases/daines-supports-repeal-of-individual-mandate-in-tax-bill"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5091730747371912, "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"}