Letter to the Editor: Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Will Harm Survivors of Domestic Violence

Advocates for victims of domestic violence across our state are raising their voices in opposition to the Senate’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Analysis by Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation and Analysis has shown that the proposal will explode the deficit by more than $1 trillion (even factoring in growth) and lead to more than 13 million more people without health insurance over the next 10 years. Domestic violence advocates see passage of this proposal as a major threat to the health and safety of survivors and their children. Advocates are also concerned that this proposal will result in future cuts to critical domestic violence prevention funding streams like the Victims of Crime ACT (VOCA) as well as social safety net programs like Medicare and Medicaid which victims of violence rely on every day.

Bills like this one are in fact moral documents of what we view as our priorities for our society. This tax bill poses a threat of major cuts to programs that are absolutely vital to the work our advocates do to protect and empower victims in Door County. By providing huge tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy on the backs of middle and low income citizens and kicking 13 million people off their health insurance over the next ten years, proponents of this proposal are showing us exactly where their priorities lie. This bill represents a huge step backwards for the safety of domestic violence survivors and we are requesting that citizens contact our elected officials to oppose it on behalf of the most vulnerable Americans and all those domestic violence victims who are already struggling just to get by.

Steve Vickman, Executive Director HELP of Door County

Sturgeon Bay, Wis.