December 20, 2017-Today, the House and Senate passed their destructive tax bill on a purely partisan basis. The tax bill provides an enormous tax break to wealthy individuals and big corporations at the expense of the well-being of millions of others, including older adults. The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that the bill’s tax breaks for the wealthy will slash federal revenue by over $1 trillion, directly undermining critical programs that older adults rely on, such as Medicare, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

This bill threatens the health and economic security of older adults and their families in other ways as well. By repealing the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, the tax bill will leave 13 million Americans without health care, including older adults, people with disabilities and 5 million Medicaid-eligible individuals. The tax cuts will not provide financial relief to most older adults. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy finds that by 2027 the bottom three-fifths of Americans will see their tax bills rise, as temporary tax cuts for individuals expire and corporate tax cuts remain permanent. Further, under sequestration, the bill also triggers automatic cuts to certain federal programs, including $25 billion from Medicare in 2018 alone.

The fight is not over. Now that Congress has passed the tax bill, we must hold them accountable, and let them know that they can’t pay for tax cuts for the wealthy by slashing Medicare, Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, SNAP, and many other programs that older adults depend on.

We will be here in the New Year ready to fight back and provide you with the information you need to do your jobs. Thank you for everything you do. Together we will protect older adults, people with disabilities, and their families from harm, and work to strengthen the programs they rely on.