ITEP: Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal Must Be Accompanied by Bolder Legislation

Following is a statement by Amy Hanauer, executive director of ITEP, regarding the bipartisan deal announced today by senators and the White House. 

 “While the bipartisan infrastructure deal announced today may do some good, on its own, it is not enough, as President Biden said today during a press briefing. Congress must also enact additional legislation that makes reforms to the personal income tax and corporate income tax and includes the much broader public investments that the nation badly needs.  

 “The Senate may pass the bipartisan deal, but the House should not act on it until the Senate also passes an additional bill that includes all of these provisions, which will likely require the reconciliation process to avoid a filibuster.  Enacting the bipartisan deal without enacting such a reconciliation bill would be a disaster.  

 “The bipartisan deal on its own does nothing to address our ineffective corporate income tax that allowed 55 profitable companies to avoid paying anything last year. 

 “The bipartisan deal on its own does nothing to address the ineffective personal income tax that allows 25 billionaires to pay little or nothing on their true income, according to a recent expose from ProPublica.  

 “The bipartisan deal on its own does nothing to preserve the recent expansion of the Child Tax Credit that is projected to cut child poverty nearly in half this year but will expire if Congress does not act.  

 “Congress has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to solve these enormous problems. Unless the Senate passes a second bill through reconciliation to accomplish this, members of the House should reject the deal announced today.”    

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