Above: Gottheimer joins with fellow SALT Caucus members, AFT, and IAFF to call for SALT cap relief to cut taxes for teachers and first responders.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Representatives Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), Joyce Beatty (OH-3), Tom Suozzi (NY-3), and Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11), joined with President of the American Federation of Teachers Randi Weingarten and General President of the International Association of Fire Fighters Edward Kelly to call for restoration of the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction in the final reconciliation package — to cut taxes for teachers, firefighters, first responders, and middle-class families.

Last month, the House passed critical legislation to restore the SALT deduction, and the bill now sits with the Senate.

“We are here today to fight for tax cuts for the hard-working families we represent, like the firefighters, teachers, and first responders who support communities across the country and in Northern New Jersey. By reinstating the State and Local Tax deduction, we will be putting money right back into the pockets of hard-working Jersey families and families around the country,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), SALT Caucus Co-Chair. “Now, I am again asking our Senate colleagues to keep moving forward, to include restoring SALT as part of their legislation.”

“In 2017, when Republicans were trying and failing to repeal the Affordable Care Act, they also silently raised taxes for hardworking middle class families,” said Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (OH-3), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). “By imposing a $10,000 SALT cap, small-minded politicians kneecapped middle income families in the places where they were already struggling. It’s time to correct their mistake and reinstate the SALT deduction.”

“New York State has one of the highest levels of union membership in the United States. The SALT cap caused union families to see a tax increase,” said Congressman Tom Suozzi (NY-3), SALT Caucus Co-Chair. “More Importantly, the cap has accelerated a race to the bottom where wealthy taxpayers flee our state for lower tax jurisdictions that not only have low union membership, but are openly hostile to unions. We must address this and ensure the Senate passed version of the Build Back Better Agenda includes a SALT fix that we in the House can support.”

“It’s wonderful to be here with such a great group of colleagues and friends to talk about this critical deduction,” said Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11), SALT Caucus Vice Chair. “When we’re standing here today and we see our teachers here, when we see our firefighters here, we’re talking about the backbone of the organizations that got us through COVID. These are people that we really couldn’t have made it through the darkest days of the pandemic without. And to see that they’re getting kneecapped by the SALT cap is really devastating. Not only are our middle class families paying the price, but our communities are paying the price – and they’re paying for it with the services we all rely on. That’s why we are calling on the Senate to ensure the SALT deduction is addressed in the final version of this bill.”

“We’re fighting for the revival of SALT because working families need it. The first tax code in the USA had state & local tax deductions in 1913. Why? Because they knew then what we should know now: We have a federal system, services are developed by the states,” said Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers, today. “Let’s deliver for the middle class. This is a way of putting the incentive system back in place to invest in localities, in sewer systems, in fire systems, and in schools.”

“In 2018, the previous Administration signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which neither cut taxes nor created jobs. Despite the name of this law, it put enormous, unnecessary strain on cities and towns all across America, and it’s made it even harder for us as firefighters to do our jobs protecting the citizens. That financial strain has made funding levels unsafe. This critical funding is needed to ensure that firefighters and paramedics and teachers and police officers have the staffing, training, and equipment we need, not only to educate our kids, not only to police our streets, not only to fight the fires…but also to take care of the most vulnerable amongst us, our elderly, our children,” said Edward Kelly, General President of the International Association of Fire Fighters, today. “I call upon our members in the Senate to support this initiative, to support your firefighters, to support your teachers, support the children and the elderly and the people who make this world, our world, that we all took an oath to serve, better.”

Watch the press conference here.

###