Congresswoman Terri Sewell voted against the so-called Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015, saying the massive tax bill would increase the federal deficit by $622 billion over the next 10 years.

“While I support a strong tax policy that provides certainty to individuals and American businesses, the permanency of many of these provisions without any offsets to fund their costs is of deep concern. This legislation includes several provisions that I strongly support like the earned income tax credit, the child tax credit, and the American opportunity tax credit. The package also provides a two-year moratorium on the medical device tax and extends the work opportunity tax credit to help employers that hire Americans who have faced significant barriers to employment.

However, I am deeply concerned that passing this tax extenders package without offsetting its cost would greatly undermine our ability to make key discretionary investments in the future, hurt job creation, and lessen opportunities that make the American dream possible for millions of families across our great nation.  The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimates that the overall provisions contained within this bill would reduce net revenues, and increase deficits by a total of $622 billion over 10 years. We know that every dollar in lost revenue must be made up somewhere else in the budget. Far too often my Republican colleagues have sought to do this by reducing spending in critically important domestic spending programs such as infrastructure, education, social security, and healthcare.

“I carefully weighed this tax extenders package against its long-term impact on Congress’ ability to help businesses create jobs and opportunities, invest in our aging infrastructure, and strengthen our national security. In the end, this bill came up short.

“The American people deserve a more balanced bill that offsets its cost, and helps both individuals and businesses equitably across the board. Unfortunately this bill was not able to meet that objective.”