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Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) issued the following remarks this morning during the Ways and Means Committee’s portion of House floor debate on H.R. 1. Beyer’s remarks as delivered follow below, and video is available here:

Mr. Speaker, our dearly departed friend and colleague Gerry Connolly used to say that “our job is to comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable.” This bill does the opposite.

My Republican friends say this act is about “helping the working families in America,” but nothing could be further from the truth.

This monstrous bill strips health care from 14 million Americans.

It cuts $300 billion in food and nutrition from working Americans.

While giving a temporary head fake to those working on overtime and those working for tips, it actually raises taxes on the poorest 20 percent of Americans – exactly the folks my Republican friends pretend it helps.

The overwhelming benefits of H.R. 1 flow to the wealthiest Americans, the largest transfer of wealth from working Americans to rich in the history of our country.

Mr. Speaker, Gerry Connolly was a devout Catholic who studied to be a priest. He and I agreed that the essence of this bill sent the opposite message of the New Testament, which is to give our lives to help the poor.