“The National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) is committed to working on behalf of the low and middle income families hurt by the tax bills making their way through Congress. The House bill cuts taxes for high income Americans in several ways that preserve the bias in the tax code favoring the richest taxpayers (some of whom avoid taxes altogether). The bill fails to address the inequities already entrenched in our tax code that pull money out of the federal budget to the benefit of wealthy Americans and corporations. Sadly, tax deductions and credits (referred to as tax expenditures) mean billions in revenue that will not find a way into lower income pockets or needed federal social programs.

“Additionally, tucked inside the House tax bill is the elimination of the Johnson Amendment, a law that protects religious intuitions and nonprofits from electioneering. Decimating the wall separating religion and state will have serious consequences, not the least of which are billions of dollars of political-spending being routed through houses of worship.

“As for the Senate, having failed in its efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) outright, has put forward — and the Senate Finance Committee has voted on, a tax bill that includes language to repeal the individual mandate, the provision that requires the uninsured to pay a modest tax if they do not obtain health insurance. Repeal of the mandate is only one of many steps contemplated by the Trump Administration to undermine the ACA and thus rob individuals of critical health care. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated 13 million people would eventually be left without health coverage if the repeal is successful. To add insult to injury, both the House-passed and Senate tax bills include anti-abortion language that may have far-reaching consequences for women’s health.

“We need tax policy that reduces income and wealth disparity, not exacerbates it. NCJW will continue to work for a tax bill that helps, not hurts, working families.”