AFT’s Weingarten on GOP House Members’ Cruel Vote to Hurt the American People

WASHINGTON—AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement after the Republican members of the House of Representatives caved and voted yes for President Donald Trump’s tax bill:

“This cruel, callous, crippling bill will leave Americans sicker, hungrier and poorer. President Trump and congressional Republicans claimed they wanted to make life better for working families. Instead, they passed a big, ugly, obscene betrayal—a massive and unprecedented transfer of wealth from everyday people to billionaires.

“It will remove healthcare for 17 million people, slash food assistance for 22 million, shutter hundreds of hospitals, defund higher education, cut jobs, target immigrant communities and explode the national debt—and for what? To pay for tax breaks for the ultra-rich.

“And it writes a permanent school voucher scheme into the tax code that would redirect billions of dollars each year to private schools—even as our public schools, which educate 90 percent of all students, remain woefully underfunded. Despite some modifications in the Senate, this is an unprecedented and uncapped tax credit that could cost taxpayers over $50 billion a year—nearly double what the federal government spends on helping poor kids and kids with disabilities.

“Federal vouchers might make our job harder, but it doesn’t make it any less urgent. Our job remains to strengthen public schools. Public schools need to be safe, welcoming, relevant and engaging choices for our students, their parents and our communities.

“That means investing in the supports, career pathways and curriculums that inspire kids to learn. It means prioritizing well-being. It means preparing kids not just for college and career, but for their rightful role in a pluralistic, diverse, complex and interconnected world. It means nation-building.

“The 1.8 million members of the AFT, and the entire U.S. labor movement, will remember who turned their backs this week on working families, healthcare and our public schools—and who we can count on to fight for us.”