Maine independent U.S. Sen. Angus King is criticizing the procedure majority Republicans are using to pass a tax cut bill, a process he says will end up costing seniors.
The measure would allow a simple majority to pass the legislation, blocking any attempt at a filibuster.
“We still don’t know what the plan is," King said Wednesday in a speech on the Senate floor. "We have an outline, we have principles, we have bullet points, we have lists - but we don’t have a plan. Therefore, it is difficult to analyze.”
King says he supports many of the goals of a tax cut bill to stimulate the economy, but says simply cutting taxes without offsets to pay for it just shifts the burden to the next generation by increasing the deficit.
He says it’s clear from what Republicans have revealed about their plan that seniors will be hard hit with cuts to Medicare and Medicaid.
“We are voting on something today to clear the path for a major tax cut," he said. "We don’t know what it is, but it appears that it will impact seniors disproportionately.”
