{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.donnelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press/donnelly-statement-on-vote-against-mitch-mcconnells-tax-hike-bill", "Donnelly Statement on Vote Against Mitch McConnell’s Tax Hike Bill", "2017-12-02", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "IN", "Joe Donnelly", "D000607", "www.donnelly.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Donnelly Statement on Vote Against Mitch McConnell\u2019s Tax Hike Bill\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tSaturday, December 2, 2017\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWashington, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly released the following video statement after voting against Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell\u2019s tax bill today. Donnelly has been willing all along to work toward tax reform that will benefit middle class families. Donnelly had meetings at the White House with President Trump, flew on Air Force One when the president came to Indianapolis, attended Vice President Pence\u2019s address in Anderson, and met with numerous members of the Administration.\r\nDonnelly, in his video statement, said, \"From the beginning I\u2019ve been willing to partner with Republicans, with Democrats, with the president, with this Administration. I agreed with President Trump\u2019s stated goals of supporting the middle class and keeping jobs here in America\u2026Here\u2019s the bottom line:\u00a0I opposed Mitch McConnell\u2019s bill because it is not tax reform, it\u2019s a partisan tax hike on Indiana\u2019s middle class, it does nothing to prevent outsourcing of US jobs to foreign countries, and it\u2019s a giveaway to Wall Street and other big money interests.\"\r\n\r\nTo see Donnelly\u2019s statement, click the image above or click here.\r\nTranscript of Donnelly\u2019s video statement:\r\nHello. I\u2019m U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly. I wanted to briefly speak to you about why I voted against Senator Mitch McConnell\u2019s tax hike bill.\r\nI believe we need to reform our tax code and cut taxes for the middle class. From the beginning I\u2019ve been willing to partner with Republicans, with Democrats, with the president, with this Administration. I agreed with President Trump\u2019s stated goals of supporting the middle class and keeping jobs here in America. I strongly believe tax reform can be done in a way that\u2019s good for working Hoosier families.\r\nUnfortunately, this tax hike bill from Senator McConnell does not reflect the priorities the president and I discussed on numerous occasions, including when I traveled with him on Air Force One to Indiana recently\u2014and that is why I couldn\u2019t support this bill. It results in a tax hike for nearly a million middle class Hoosier families in the coming years and it fails to address the outsourcing of jobs to foreign countries. In addition, this bill takes away health care and raises costs for millions of families.\r\nHere\u2019s the bottom line:\u00a0I opposed Mitch McConnell\u2019s bill because it is not tax reform, it\u2019s a partisan tax hike on Indiana\u2019s middle class, it does nothing to prevent outsourcing of US jobs to foreign countries, and it\u2019s a giveaway to Wall Street and other big money interests.\r\nIndependent, non-partisan analyses suggest this bill would raise taxes on a majority of families making less than $75,000, while at the same time giving a tax cut to the wealthiest and the top one percent. This bill does not close tax loopholes like one that allows Wall Street hedge fund managers to pay a lower tax rate than a Hoosier firefighter, than a Hoosier teacher, or a Hoosier steelworker \u2013 that\u2019s just not right and it\u2019s just not fair.\r\nI had high hopes that tax reform would include policies aimed at encouraging companies to invest in American jobs and penalize companies that ship jobs to other countries. This bill has neither the carrot to encourage investment in American workers, nor the stick required to address the outsourcing of jobs to foreign countries.\r\nI\u2019m disappointed because this represents a real missed opportunity. I believe our country is stronger when we work together and pass legislation that focuses on the middle class.\u00a0That didn\u2019t happen here but I will continue to fight for Hoosiers to help our middle class get ahead.\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.donnelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press/donnelly-statement-on-vote-against-mitch-mcconnells-tax-hike-bill"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7275659590959549, "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"}