As the US House of Representatives passes the final version of the GOP's bill to overhaul the tax code, Democratic lawmaker Bernie Sanders calls it a victory for the rich.
"Today marks a great day for the Koch brothers and other billionaire, Republican campaign contributors who will see huge tax breaks for themselves while driving up the deficit by almost $1.5 trillion," the former presidential candidate said in a video posted on Twitter.
The Vermont senator further suggested that the Republicans would not manage to offset the up to $1.5 trillion deficit they have created, predicting that they would end up hitting millions of middle-class households.
Therefore, Sanders called on US President Donald Trump to stick to the promises he had made about preserving the Social Security, the Medicare and the Medicaid.
"Today is also a victory for the largest and most-profitable corporations in this country like Apple, Microsoft, Pfizer, and General Electric, who, despite record-breaking profits, will now see hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks," Sanders said. "Today is also a victory for a number of members of the United States Congress who have significant investments in real estate who, with this vote, will substantially lower the taxes that they pay and will further enrich themselves.”
House Republicans just passed their disastrous tax bill. Congratulations to the Koch brothers, massive corporations and billionaire campaign contributors on looting the Treasury and working families. pic.twitter.com/gS6elMdysQ
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) December 19, 2017
The House approved the bill to overhaul the nation's tax code by a vote of 227-203 with no Democratic support and 12 opposing Republicans.
The approval would push the GOP closer to its first legislative achievement under Trump as the Senate is expected to pass the measure later Tuesday.