Jacky Rosen Introduces Bill To Eliminate Federal Taxes On Tips, Passes Senate Unanimously

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During remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday, Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced a bill to eliminate federal taxes on tips.

Transcript

00:00Madam President, the senator from Nevada. Thank you, Madam President. We're not in a quorum call?

00:07We are not. Thank you. Madam President, hardworking families in Nevada and all across this country are

00:15struggling to make ends meet because of rising costs on everything from groceries to housing,

00:21all of which has been made worse by Donald Trump's tariffs that are driving prices even higher.

00:26Nevadans, our families, we're being squeezed, and they need real relief. They need us to work

00:32together to lower costs for them. That's why I introduced the No Tax on Tips Act alongside

00:39Senator Ted Cruz from Texas, which would eliminate federal income taxes on tipped wages. For so many

00:48service and hospitality workers, tips aren't extra. It's part of their income that they use to make

00:54ends meet. Tips are how Nevadans pay their rent, cover their groceries, take care of their families,

01:00their kids. And Nevada has more tipped workers per capita than any other state. So this bill would

01:07mean immediate financial relief for countless hardworking families. No Tax on Tips was one of

01:14President Trump's key promises to the American people, which he unveiled in my state of Nevada.

01:19Florida. And I am not afraid to embrace a good idea wherever it comes from. So I agreed we need to

01:28get this done. It's not a time for politics. It's a time for progress for hardworking Americans. This

01:34bipartisan bill is a good idea that has supports from Democrats and Republicans. So we should pass it

01:41as soon as possible without any poison pills. The problem is that the House Republicans have included

01:48a version of the No Tax on Tips Act in their bigger budget bill, a bill that cuts Medicaid, SNAP, and other

01:54programs families rely on to give more tax breaks for billionaires and the ultra-wealthy. So we shouldn't

02:03be forcing working families to choose between keeping their health care or keeping their tips, which is why we

02:09want this bipartisan bill to pass on its own, not part of a harmful extreme budget bill. If we're serious

02:19about providing service employees with financial relief, let's do it now. Let's do it today. Because

02:25the American people, they get sick and tired of Washington games. So let's pass this bill without

02:31playing politics, without taking away health care and food assistance from families who need it the

02:36most. Let's pass it by itself. And so that's why I'm calling on the Senate to pass the bipartisan

02:43No Tax on Tips Act right here, right now, as a standalone bill. We're going to cut taxes for real

02:50hardworking Americans, for Nevadans, for everyone, not just for billionaires. We're going to cut taxes on

02:56service workers' tips without cutting Medicaid or SNAP. And let's get this done with strong guard

03:03rails so CEOs and the ultra-wealthy don't exploit loopholes meant to help working people. And let's

03:11pass it to today. Nevadans sent me here to fight for them. And so I'm going to keep working to lower

03:19costs, to raise wages, and make sure people who power our economy, our working families, can keep more of

03:25what they earn. And through this bipartisan bill, it shows that I'm not going to allow Washington

03:32gridlock and bipartisanship to block a bill without a fight. That's why we're going to pass it today.

03:39Taking matters into my own hands, with the support of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, to pass

03:47the R-Bipartisan No Tax on Tips Act by unanimous consent. And so, notwithstanding Rule 22, I ask

03:59unanimous consent that the Committee on Finance be discharged from further consideration of S-129 and

04:05the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration. Clerk will report.

04:10S-129, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to eliminate the application of the income

04:17tax on qualified tips through a deduction allowed to all individual taxpayers and for other purposes.

04:26Is there objection to proceeding to the measure? Without objection.

04:33The Committee is discharged and the Senate will proceed.

04:36I further ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motion to

04:42reconsider be made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate.

04:47Is there objection? Without objection.

04:53Well, before I yield my time to this Senator from Texas, I just want to say,

05:00this is great news for Nevada. Our bill just passed. Our hospitality and service staff,

05:05they're working harder than ever while being squeezed by rising costs. And this bill, it's not the be-all,

05:10end-all, but it's going to offer immediate financial relief while the Senate continues to work to lower

05:16costs and find other avenues of relief for hard-working families. Madam President, I yield back. Thank you.

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