Alex Padilla U.S. Senator for California

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), a member of the Senate Budget Committee, spoke on the Senate floor to propose a concurrent resolution to limit President Trump’s use of tariffs to offset $5.3 trillion in Republicans’ tax cuts for the wealthy. The resolution would simply demand basic transparency by requiring that any tariff used to offset tax cuts for the wealthy be explicitly written into the Republicans’ partisan reconciliation bill. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) objected to the resolution, which required unanimous consent to pass.

In his remarks, Padilla blasted President Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, which will raise costs across the board for millions of working-class families. He called out Trump’s comments last week that he “couldn’t care less” if tariffs raise prices for American consumers. Padilla also highlighted the staggering hypocrisy of Republicans’ cuts to critical services like Medicaid, nutrition assistance, and public education while trying to pass trillions in tax cuts for billionaires.

Full text of Senator Padilla’s resolution is available here.

Key Excerpts:

• We have finally made it to Donald Trump’s promised and self-proclaimed “Liberation Day.” But here’s what I also observe. The stock market is down since the beginning of the year. The cost of everything from groceries to housing continues to rise. Americans’ retirement funds have shrunk. And the chances of a recession is up. That sure doesn’t feel like a liberation to me.

• Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to “lower prices on day one” of his Administration. But he’s done the exact opposite. His policies and his rhetoric are raising the cost of living for hundreds of millions of Americans.

• Let’s be clear: a tariff is a tax on the American people — plain and simple. Trump’s tariffs equate to the biggest tax hike on Americans in decades.

• American companies will have to pay more to import goods. And in turn, the American people will have to pay more to buy those products. Donald Trump knows this. It’s not that he doesn’t know; it’s that he doesn’t care. And those aren’t my words — they’re his.

• If nothing else, the Republican party’s economic plan has been consistent. They want to bleed the working class to benefit the rich. And they’re gonna lie to our faces as they try to do it. That’s unacceptable.

• My resolution would simply require that they be transparent with the American people. It would require that any tariff used to offset tax cuts for the wealthy must be explicitly written into the text of the Republican reconciliation bill. If Republicans want to increase prices on hardworking Americans to give handouts to billionaires, then own it. You should not be allowed to hide behind President Trump as you do it.

• Be transparent. Be honest. Put these price increases into the bill. Tell the American people what you really stand for. Because when Americans ask why their grocery bills and their energy bills and all their other bills go up, they deserve to know why — and they deserve to know who caused it. And then we’ll see who’s really on the side of the working class.

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