NEWARK, N.J. - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee that sets federal tax policy, today issued this statement after Republican leaders made the contents of their final tax legislation public:

“This evening, House and Senate Republicans released the final version of their partisan tax plan, which unfortunately continues to put corporate America ahead of middle-class families.

“I have always believed that our tax code needs simplification for small businesses and middle class families, which is why I am on the Senate Finance Committee, and why I accepted the appointment to the Conference Committee. But Republicans made it crystal clear from day one that they weren’t serious about a real effort to reform the code so that it works better. This entire process was rigged. The fact is they never had any intention of working in a bipartisan manner to reform our tax system and instead wrote a plan that brazenly benefits corporate special interests at the expense of New Jersey families.

“Next week Republicans are poised to pass their partisan tax bill that takes billions of dollars from hardworking families in New Jersey by gutting the state and local tax deduction my constituents rely on to deduct a combined $34 billion every year. Meanwhile, our children get stuck with the trillions in debt and these so-called deficit hawks an excuse to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

“New Jerseyans can’t afford to subsidize the rest of the country more than they already do, and this highway robbery threatens to drive down home values and decimate the ability of our state to invest in public schools, infrastructure, law enforcement, and other vital economic priorities.”

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