Dear Community Member,

This week, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson barely garnered enough votes out of the Majority to pass his reconciliation tax package called the "One Big Beautiful Bill." The legislation narrowly passed out of the House of Representatives with a 215–214 vote. This tax package would make major changes to our tax code and federal budget. While it's being promoted as an economic package, it is clear that it would impose deep cuts to essential programs for working families, provide significant tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans, and add trillions to our national debt.

For more than 28 hours, my colleagues and I fought against this bill and debated this legislation on the floor of the House. Those of us opposed to this bill made the case to the American people and our fellow U.S. Representatives as to why a bipartisan approach would have been better for this type of major tax legislation. We offered over 500 amendments that would have protected health care and food assistance, while refocusing the legislation on the needs of working families. Unfortunately, the Majority party rejected every amendment.

Speaker Johnson scheduled a vote on this 1,000+ page legislation in the middle of the night. As a member of both the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Budget Committee, I was one of the few lawmakers in the Democratic caucus called upon to debate this legislation on the floor of the House of Representatives.

Press play or click HERE to watch Rep. Panetta’s remarks on the Majority’s partisan bill.

The Majority’s legislation would give nearly $3.8 trillion in tax breaks primarily to billionaires, gut an estimated $2 trillion from essential programs that serve working families, and add over $3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade. Additionally, Speaker Johnson included a series of eleventh-hour policy changes to secure enough support including the acceleration of work requirements for Medicaid, penalties for states that provide health care to undocumented immigrants, a phasing out of clean energy tax credits, and an increase to the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap to $40,000.

While I support certain provisions in the overall package like SALT relief, the modest increase to the Child Tax Credit, and certain tax reforms for seniors, independent analyses reveal a disparate economic impact for the wealthy and working families. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bottom 10% of households would lose basic services, so that the top 10% can increase their wealth. That is not a good deal for American working families.

Furthermore, it is clear that the majority is more than willing to add to our already massive national debt to pay for this tax legislation. The Administration projects unrealistic economic growth of 4.2% to 5.2% in the short run, far outpacing mainstream consensus among economists. The nonpartisan Cato Institute projects .6% growth, nowhere near enough to offset the fiscal impact of this legislation. The cost of the Majority’s partisan bill will be carried by future generations as no amount of optimistic economic projections, willful ignorance of the cost of tax cuts, or vague trade promises can change that fact. The cost of our debt is already soaring, and our country could owe $40 trillion more in interest payments alone over the next 30 years. That is unsustainable.

Preliminary analysis from the Congressional Budget office found the Majority’s bill would increase assets for the richest Americans, while reducing benefits for working families. Click HERE to read the full report.

During our marathon debate on the House Floor, I said that this would be “the largest self-inflicted wound on America's working families in our nation's history.” At a time when we should be working together to reduce costs, tackle the debt responsibly, and support the middle class, this bill does the opposite.

This legislation now heads to the Senate, where its future is uncertain. If the Senate makes changes to the bill and passes a different version, the legislation would return to the House for a final vote. That means that this is not the end of the process for this legislation. Ideally, there is still time for Speaker Johnson to course correct and work with Democrats on a bipartisan bill. The Majority’s use of the budget reconciliation process to advance partisan legislation is a choice. Should they abandon this approach and work across the aisle, there is a wide range of policy options available to address the needs of our nation.

Since the beginning of the 119th Congress, I’ve called for bipartisanship on commonsense, common ground policies to support working families who are struggling with housing, child care, and the cost-of-living. I know that progress is possible, as throughout my congressional career, including last year, Democrats and Republicans have shown that they can work together to do our jobs and pass bipartisan tax legislation that is both meaningful and impactful.

We can significantly expand affordable housing in this country, focus on tax cuts for working families, raise the revenue rate on the top tax bracket, and responsibly address our debt and deficits. There is a broad coalition ready to work on these issues if Speaker Johnson abandons this overtly partisan, political bill and reaches across the aisle. We need bipartisan solutions that bring down costs for families, strengthen our economy, and protect our nation’s fiscal future.

I’ll continue to fight for a better way forward.

Sincerely,

Jimmy Panetta
United States Representative
19th Congressional District, California