WASHINGTON — Congresswoman Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, said she is not afraid of her party being in the minority in the new Congress.
“[The Republican] majority in the House and the Senate is very narrow, which means that they get their way, perhaps in the long run, but we get our say,” Moore said.
She believes she can find common ground with Republicans as a member of the Ways and Means committee, where all tax legislation must originate.
“Of course, we want to provide some growth and opportunity to our businesses in America, but that has got to be balanced by providing and investing in our people,” Moore said.
During his first term, President-elect Donald Trump cut the corporate tax rate to 21% from 35%. Crucial parts of that tax overhaul will expire at the end of this year, setting the stage for negotiations on whether to continue them.
“It's our job to point out to [Republicans] that tax cuts don't pay for themselves,” Moore said. “There's no evidence that they do. They're going to have to use a base for discussing it, which provides people with the true cost of what we'll be adding to our already [$36] trillion in debt, debt that is racked up over time largely because we've had corporate tax cuts that don't trickle down.”
Trump expanded the child tax credit during his first term, and President Joe Biden increased the credit in 2021, resulting in most eligible families receiving checks up to $3,600 per child. The credit went back down to $2,000 a year later.
Moore supports restoring that expanded child tax credit even for stay-at-home parents, which some Republicans are opposed to.
“The Republicans have expanded the child tax credit under their watch, so I don't want to say that they're against expanding it. I think that we have got to get them to understand that people are not ‘gaming the system’ when they receive a supplement,” Moore said. “I think that we're going to spend a lot of time showing them—and there are all kinds of projects, experimental projects… that demonstrate how well families do and children do when they receive a small amount of money with no strings attached. We're going to use these demonstrations to try to influence our Republican colleagues to invest in our kids.”
Trump is threatening to impose tariffs on everything imported from Canada and Mexico, and additional taxes on goods from China, as a way to force the countries to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs coming into the United States. Moore said it would be “destructive” to have sweeping tariffs. Trump believes the tariffs will pay for tax cuts.
“We have a tax system in order to be able to fund the federal government, and tariffs are not going to be able to do that,” Moore said. “I think we're hoping that the administration will listen to some expertise, that they'll be rational about it and not just throw things against the wall.”
Moore said her number one goal for the new Congress is to protect certain programs, such as the supplemental nutrition assistance program, from potential Republican cuts.