Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), a member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, released the following statement today in anticipation of the conference report on the Republican tax legislation:
“I am disappointed with Congressional Republican leadership and the Trump Administration for moving forward with a plan that would target the most vulnerable people in our communities and raise taxes on Nevada’s working families, seniors, and children. The Republican tax plan is designed to force sick and disabled people, rural families, and tribes to pay for a giveaway to the top one-percent. Furthermore, I am troubled that Republican leaders have not included Indian Country in this process. Their refusal to take the concerns of tribal members, some of our most economically vulnerable citizens, into account in crafting a tax plan is not simply reckless, it is a violation of our sacred trust obligation to tribes.
“I have always said that I support bipartisan tax reform. I would support a commonsense, bipartisan plan that includes equitable and fair inclusion of Indian tribes and provisions that work for all tribal communities. A real tax reform plan would include commonsense tax parity for tribal governments, provisions that allow tribal governments to be treated like states, and the same tax credits for adoptive parents of Indian children that ‘state court’ adoptive parents receive. I believe that Republicans should give up on this partisan bill, and instead work with Democrats and stakeholders to develop bipartisan policy, in consultation with tribes.”