Statement of David Jordan, Executive Director of the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, on passage of the GOP tax plan

Statement of David Jordan, Executive Director of the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, on passage of the GOP tax plan

“This afternoon, the U.S. Congress completed its rush to pass tax legislation. Written in secret without proper scrutiny and with few legislators reading it, the hastily considered bill will result in $1.5 trillion in debt and more than 13 million Americans, including tens of thousands of Kansans, losing health coverage over the next decade. Kansans more than anyone understand the impact of failed “trickle down” tax policy – a similar plan nearly bankrupted our state.

It is disappointing that the entire Kansas delegation supported this irresponsible plan that that was financed at the expense of the health and economic security of working and middle-class Americans. In addition to leaving millions uninsured, the tax bill will spike premiums for millions more and cause a massive disruption in the health insurance marketplace.

Congress and the Kansas delegation chose to prioritize passing a reckless tax plan over reauthorizing the Children’s Health Insurance Program, endangering coverage for 9 million kids, including 40,000 here in Kansas. Congressional leaders have already promised cuts in programs such as Medicare and Medicaid to pay for the growing costs of the tax plan. The Alliance for a Healthy Kansas joins with committed Kansans and stands ready to protect our critical health care programs from these attacks.

Kansans should not be fooled — the path paved by this tax plan is bad for the nation and bad for our state. We cannot afford this reckless approach to governing and we will not stand still and watch the health care safety net be decimated. Kansans deserve better and we will work to hold our delegation accountable.”