BOSTON, MA - Today, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA-5) appeared on CNBC's Squawk Box to condemn Republicans' proposed billionaire tax cuts and discuss Democrats' fight to ensure that America's tax system works for everyday Americans. Below are excerpts from her interview:

On the consequences of Republicans' extreme tax plan:

"What we heard strongly in this 2024 election is that hardworking families in this country are finding it hard to make ends meet. So, we are going to meet Republicans whenever they are serious about driving down costs for families, whether that's housing or construction or child care. But if they are going back to a tax code that only has rewards for the very, very wealthiest, that isn't something that we are going to look at.

"What they are proposing for offsets - Frankly, they are jaw-dropping. We have had Republicans say that they will balance these tax cuts for the billionaire class by cutting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid. By doing away with the mortgage interest deduction. All of these things hit the middle class, and we are going to push for a tax code that celebrates success, celebrates innovation, but that is fair to taxpayers so that we don't have a teacher paying more than a billionaire."

On the importance of a tax system that prioritizes working families:

"Let's look at the Child Tax Credit. What a success it is. And it not only helped us - in a few months, when it was at its peak under Democrats - halve child poverty in this country. We know that that money is directly spent.

"That money is spent in our small businesses. It is spent on consumer purchases. It is great for making sure that we are injecting money into the economy while we are helping parents."

On ensuring large corporations pay their fair share:

"Let's look at where we put corporate rates, for one example. We have a proposal from the president to drop it down to 15%. We don't know what their exact tax proposal is going to be, and we are looking for ways that we will protect and cut taxes, if we can, for those people in the middle class.

"But we know in 2018, it was the first time that the middle class was at a higher rate than the billionaire class. That is unsustainable. We are going to look across the rates in this country - the rates that are expiring - and say: what can we do to make this more fair for people? That is how we build wealth and a robust economy.

"And so when we are looking at the offsets and the games that are being played with changing the baseline, we have to be very real. We have to look at what this did to our national debt in 2017."

To view the complete interview, click HERE.

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