WASHINGTON, DC -- After Senate Republicans went ‘nuclear’ by skirting Senate rules, trampling the Senate Parliamentarian, and violating the Congressional Budget Act with an unprecedented gimmick in order to set up their reconciliation budget bill to pass with a simple majority vote, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) issued the following statement:

“Republicans have gone to extreme lengths to hide the costs and impacts of this Big Ugly Bill.  Now they’ve ‘gone nuclear,’ blowing up the rulebook and ignoring the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to hide trillions in revenue losses caused by their tax cut plan.  It’s one thing for Republicans to give away trillions to the wealthy, but they can’t wish away the impact to the deficit no matter how they cook the books.  They’re calling it “Current Policy Baseline,” but it’s an unprecedented accounting sham.

“Responsible, targeted, smart, tax cuts for hard working Americans is something everyone should be able to get behind.  They can be done in a way that doesn’t bust the budget.  But that’s not this bill.  This bill is about helping the ultra-rich no matter the cost.”