Rep. Beto O'Rourke: Republican Tax Bill is "Terrible"
The House of Representatives is expected to re-vote on the Republican Tax bill Wednesday, after procedural problems invalidated the previous votes.
Three portions of the bill reportedly violate the Senate’s Byrd rule, although congress members had already voted 227-203 in favor of the bill. The Senate is expected to continue reviewing its version and vote Tuesday night.
Rep Beto O'Rourke (D-TX), who voted “ no” in the first round of votes, spoke to Cheddar ahead of the most recent snafu, and said that the bill was “terrible”. O’Rourke says Congress had the opportunity to promote upward mobility for low-income and middle class Americans, but doesn’t think the current version does that. Instead, he argues that the plan transfers 86 percent of tax cuts to the wealthy, and knocks 13 million people off health insurance.
“This is the most massive restructuring of the tax code in more than 30 years, and unfortunately this was a blown opportunity,” Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-TX), told Cheddar.
Before the voting glitch was revealed, President Donald Trump, Vice-President Mike Pence, and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, all took to Twitter to celebrate the win. Notably, Speaker Ryan says that the bill is going to help struggling Americans who are living “paycheck-to-paycheck.”
“We said in 2016 that it will take real tax reforms for families and businesses to get the economy growing, and we were serious,” he said.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/congressman-beto-orourke-d-tx-is-taking-on-texas-senator-ted-cruz).
Following the surprising big beat on estimates for the January jobs report, William M. Rodgers III, vice president and director of the Institute for Economic Equity at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, joined Cheddar News to break down the data. “We ended 2021 with a strong crescendo to a recovery that had taken hold, and we started 2022 in good fashion." He also discussed the dueling pressures of wage growth and inflation.
Jessica Mason Pieklo, senior vice president and executive editor of the Rewired News Group and co-host of the podcast. "Boom! Lawyered," joins Cheddar Politics to discuss Justice Stephen Breyer's retirement, legacy and potential replacement on the Supreme Court.
The Biden administration delivered a temporary win for student loan borrowers this year by extending the moratorium on federal payments for a few more months. That moratorium is coming to an end on May 1st and borrowers will again have their monthly loan payment plopped in their lap.
Stephanie Vanderslice, a creative writing professor paying off debt through the Parent Plus program, and Mike Pierce, executive director of the Student Borrower Protection Center, join Cheddar Politics to discuss.
2022 was already going to be a big year for the Supreme Court. We have decisions on major issues like abortion and gun rights on the way. Then, Justice Stephen Breyer announced his retirement and that set up a major confirmation fight for later this year. Amy Howe, co-founder of SCOTUSblog, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
The Labor Department released a better-than-expected report of 467,000 jobs added in January. Heather Boushey, Council of Economic Advisers Member for President Biden, joined Cheddar to tout the administration's handling of the economy amid the pandemic and the upward revisions for the previous month. "It also shows that, because of the revisions, the economy was stronger over the past couple of months," she said. "I don't think that this can be said enough, but economic forecasting during an historic pandemic is extremely difficult." Boushey also addressed issues involving wage growth versus the rapid rise of inflation.
The Labor Department's January jobs report showed 467,000 jobs were added, compared to the 150,000 that were projected, a sign that employment is continuign to return to pre-pandemic levels. Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at investment bank Stifel, joined Cheddar to break down the report, noting the big gains but adding a note of caution. "Remember, even with this morning's stellar report, we're still millions below that level that we had reached prior to the onset of COVID-19," she said." Yes, we are recapturing jobs. We still have further ground that needs to be made before we can talk about reaching that previous peak." Piegza also discussed the role of the Federal Reserve going forward as the employment figures turn more positive.
As President Biden's poll numbers fall with Black voters, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass. 7th District) joined Cheddar to discuss what she feels could help the embattled administration: deliver on policies. Pressley pointed to stalled legislation such as new voting rights laws and Build Back Betters and canceling student loan debt, which would go a long way to improving his standing with Black constituents. "President Biden has the authority and the power to alleviate this burden, which would also help in closing the racial wealth gap, and he can do it by executive action with the stroke of a pen," she said. "And it doesn't require one vote from Congress. So, the Biden administration just needs to deliver to Black America in a tangible and impactful way."
