Calls for the Senate to repeal Obamacare’s individual mandate in its tax reform bill, keeping more money in the pocketbooks of millions of hardworking Americans
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today joined his colleagues in the Senate, members of the administration, and leading tax reform advocates at an event to highlight the need for tax reform and the impact it will have on American families, small businesses and the economy. At the event, Sen. Cruz also urged Congress to repeal Obamacare’s individual mandate as part of its tax reform legislation, which would keep more money in the pocketbooks of millions of hardworking Americans.
Watch Sen. Cruz’s full remarks here and the event in its entirety here. Watch Sen. Cruz answer questions regarding repealing the individual mandate here. Excerpts of Sen. Cruz’s remarks are below:
“Tax reform is absolutely critical,” Sen. Cruz said. “A major tax cut is absolutely critical. And I believe we will get it done. We will see the House come together, the Senate come together to deliver results on this. Tax reform should follow three critical goals. Number one, front and center, jobs and economic growth. This should be all about jobs, jobs, jobs. More jobs, higher wage paying jobs, more opportunity for Americans working to achieve the American dream.
“Number two is simplicity. The more simplicity, the better. There is power in bold simplicity. And number three is fairness. We should be treating the American people fairly, not picking winners and losers in Washington.
“I will say that one of the tasks going forward, as in the House and in the Senate – I think we need to do even more to provide a tax cut – not just tax reforms – but a tax cut to every American. To working men and women. I think there is a path forward that actually the president laid out last week, which is repealing the individual mandate, the IRS tax from Obamacare. The IRS tax, the individual mandate from Obamacare is profoundly unfair. Each year, the IRS fines about 6 million people because they don’t have enough money to afford health care. Roughly 80 percent of the people getting fined by the IRS make $50,000 a year or less. Roughly 40 percent make $25,000 a year or less.
“In my home state of Texas, you’ve got about a million people a year getting fined by the IRS. So here’s their situation, you’ve got a single mom, whose working, trying to make ends meet. She doesn’t have enough money to purchase health insurance because Obamacare has driven health insurance through the roof, and on top of that the IRS fines her because she doesn’t have enough money to purchase health insurance. That is profoundly unfair. We need to repeal that.
“It’s good policy, but here’s the particular silver lining for tax reform. The Congressional Budget Office scores that repeal as saving over $400 billion all of which I believe should be put directly into lowering tax rates on individuals. This draft does a good job on the corporate and business side, we need to do every bit as good a job on the individual side. Lowering rates, so that every American – so that if you’re a single mom waiting tables, you get a tax cut. If you’re a school teacher in upstate New York, you get a tax cut. If you’re a farmer in Iowa or Nebraska, you get a tax cut. If you’re a refinery worker in Southeast Texas, you get a tax cut. Every American, every family, every individual sees a real tax cut to make it easier to provide for your needs. If we do that, it’ll produce jobs, it’ll produce economic growth, and it’ll produce fairness for every American. That’s our objective, and I believe we’re going to get it done.”