Despite running for Senate on a platform to cut taxes for the middle class, Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, is being called out for his vote to pass the "Inflation Reduction Act."
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office scored the bill President Joe Biden signed into law Tuesday, projecting at least $20 billion of the $124 billion in new revenue expected by a beefed-up IRS budget will be coming from more audits on low- and middle-income Americans.
"Tim Ryan's only campaign proposal is a middle-class tax cut," GOP Sen-nominee J.D. Vance tweeted Monday. "He voted to do the opposite when Pelosi told him to."
Vance, endorsed by former President Donald Trump, is running against Ryan to fill the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and took particular note that myriad analyses noted the act will raise taxes on middle-class Americans, if not all Americans, and Ryan voted for it.
"Well, of course he did," Vance tweeted Tuesday. "Because @TimRyan isn't in this game to improve Ohio. He does what Biden and Pelosi tell him to do because he's angling for a promotion."
Ryan's campaign website hails him as "a relentless advocate for Ohio's working families," adding "Ohioans are working harder than ever, but they're falling further behind."
Despite campaigning for middle-class tax cuts and seeking to help manufacturers in campaign ads, Ryan has not introduced a single piece of legislation for a working-class tax cut:
- "We've got to pass a real tax cut for workers to put more money in your pockets," Ryan said in an April campaign ad.
- "That's why I'll take on China to bring jobs back to Ohio and fight for a tax cut that puts more money into your pocket," he said in a May ad.
- "I'll work with either party to cut costs and pass a working class tax cut," he said in a June ad.
The nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) concluded the Biden spending law will raise taxes on Americans making as little as $20,000 per year.
Ryan had been seeking to run as the tax-cut Senate candidate in Ohio.
There are myriad analyses suggesting Ryan's vote for the "Inflation Reduction Act" already broke his Senate campaign promises, despite calling for middle-class tax cuts since February, including on multiple Fox News appearances.
Among the analyses the law will:
- Raise taxes by approximately $17 billion on low- and middle-income American households – JCT.
- Raise taxes by approximately $115 billion on American manufacturers – JCT.
- "25% of the cost of Democrats' tax hikes would be paid for by workers in slashed wages" – JCT.
- Raise taxes on small businesses by approximately $52 billion and levy $124 billion in taxes on American pension funds, according to the Republican Study Committee.
The Republican National Committee billed the act as "The Bidenflation Scam."
"With the stroke of a pen, Joe Biden will guarantee congressional Democrats' careers will come to an end," the RNC wrote in a statement Tuesday. "Biden and Democrats raised taxes on hardworking Americans and gave $80 billion to the IRS to hire 87,000 new IRS agents. Americans will never forget that Biden and Democrats raised taxes during a recession."