Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer took to the Senate floor Thursday to sharply criticize Republican efforts to extend tax cuts for the wealthy, warning that the move would explode the national deficit and endanger critical social programs.
Schumer accused Senate Republicans of employing a “budgetary hocus pocus” strategy—specifically, using a “current policy baseline” to mask the real cost of their proposed tax breaks for billionaires. The maneuver, he argued, would conceal the long-term fiscal damage while threatening programs like Medicaid.
“It sounds as if Senate Republicans will soon go to the Parliamentarian to push their so-called ‘current policy baseline’ gimmick, to hide the true cost of their billionaire tax giveaways,” Schumer said, adding that even Republican Congressman Chip Roy has dismissed the tactic as “fairy dust.”
According to Schumer, the strategy would add $37 trillion to the national deficit over the next 30 years. He warned that the resulting fiscal imbalance would not only drive up interest rates but also damage America’s global economic standing.
“Republicans can try use whatever baseline, whatever fake math they want. But the American people and markets can see right through it,” Schumer said.
The Majority Leader framed the Republican tax agenda as a choice between favoring the ultra-rich and protecting healthcare access for millions of Americans. He pledged to continue fighting against what he described as an irresponsible and harmful fiscal policy.
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