Editor’s note: Deborah Weinstein, Executive Director of the Coalition on Human Needs, issued the following statement Friday in response to House passage of a second massive tax cut that mostly benefits the wealthy and will explode the deficit:

“The tax scam 2.0 passed today by the House is another measure that benefits the wealthy, campaign donors, and high-income business owners, all at the expense of working families. It will cost as much as $3 trillion over the course of a ten-year period from 2026 to 2035. Shockingly, that is a 50 percent increase over the almost $2 trillion cost of the first round of tax cuts, passed less than a year ago.

“We know where and how members of Congress who voted for this outrageous proposal will try to find the savings to pay for it. Weeks after the first tax cut was enacted, President Trump proposed $1.3 trillion in cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, SNAP/food stamps and the Affordable Care Act. And shortly after the first round of tax cuts were signed into law, House Republicans – who overwhelmingly voted for today’s bill – proposed deep cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, the ACA, SNAP, veterans’ benefits and infrastructure – all programs that help working families.  Just last week, White House Economic Adviser Lawrence Kudlow pointed to cutting entitlements to reduce the growing budget deficit.

“Instead of giving more tax cuts to people who don’t need them and should be paying their fair share, we need to focus on raising workers’ now-stagnant wages, creating good-paying jobs, and reducing economic inequality. A future Congress should repeal the 2017 tax cuts for the wealthy, should table the current tax scam 2.0, and should focus on protecting Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP, and Social Security – and other human needs investments that help strengthen America and Americans.”