Rep. Cramer fumbles three times on the GOP tax bill

(BISMARCK, ND) – If the Republican tax bill was a football, Congressman Kevin Cramer fumbled it right on the goal line yesterday. Then he fumbled twice more for good measure.

First: Congressional reporter Matt Fuller asked Cramer about the new tax brackets that would be created in the GOP tax bill. Cramer couldn’t name them. Of course, that didn’t stop Cramer from voting for the bill just a few hours later.

“If Congressman Cramer doesn’t know the basic details of his own tax bill, how can he possibly understand how this bill will impact North Dakota taxpayers?” asked Democratic-NPL executive director Scott McNeil. “The answer is: He can’t. For Congressman Cramer, this wasn’t about helping North Dakotans get ahead—it was about political survival.”

Then: Following his vote to provide massive tax cuts for big corporations at the expense of working families, Cramer issued a statement with a widely debunked claim that “70,000 pages of convoluted tax code will be simplified to the point where most individuals will be able to fill out their taxes on a post card.”

Even Fox News doesn’t buy what Cramer is selling: “…will most Americans really be able to file their taxes on a half sheet of paper? Many professional tax preparers say no.”

Other major news sources also refute Cramer’s claim:

“The Republican tax bill does not pass the postcard test […] no taxpayer will ever see the postcard-size tax return that President Trump laid a kiss on in November as Republican leaders launched their tax overhaul effort.” –New York Times

“Their ‘postcard test’ appears to have been all but forgotten. The measure adds new layers of complexity to a tax code that is already mind-bogglingly complicated.” –USA Today

“But the code overall remains intractably complex as a sea of deductions and loopholes were preserved or tinkered with.” –Bloomberg

Finally: It turns out the new tax brackets weren’t the only things Congressman Cramer didn’t know about. Apparently, House Republicans didn’t bother to check the rules either, which is no surprise since they’re in a desperate rush to push through their sloppily crafted bill. As a result of fumbling the rules, the House will be forced to re-vote on the tax bill today.

Cramer said re-voting is like “winning the Super Bowl twice.” Last we checked, these kind of sloppy errors are more likely to occur on the junior varsity team.

“This isn’t the first time Congressman Cramer has fumbled the ball for North Dakota families, and it won’t be the last,” added McNeil. “It’s time for Cramer to take a seat on the bench.”

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