Interview With Senator Mike Rounds.
CUOMO: All right. Time for CNN facts first. Republicans are trumpeting their tax plan as a sweeping middle-class tax cut that, while helping the wealthy and corporations also helps the little guy. Now, that is not true, at least in the long run. And each new study of the numbers proves it. According to a new study from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, America's poorest will lose billions of dollars in benefits under the Republicans' tax plan. A big part of that is them repealing the mandate. Remember, that's in there also. That's going to result in 13 million people losing health care coverage by 2027. Speaking of dates, everybody gets a tax cut at first. But by 2019, those making less than $30,000, worse off. By 2021, those making less than 40 grand, hurting. By 2027, when many provisions of the bill expire, all of the tax cuts will be released for anybody making less than $75,000. Meanwhile, the wealthy corporations will continue to benefit. Republicans say all of this is OK, because that which is being gifted to the upper tier will help overall growth in the economy, and that that will generate some 3 percent growth annually. And that will, of course, lift all votes. Now, this number flies in the face of other estimates of growth. The conservative-leaning tax foundation says we will not see 3 percent growth until 2027 at the earliest. The Tax Policy Center says you'd be lucky to see one-third of one percent growth, the Wharton School, of course, Donald Trump's alma mater, says the economy will grow at less than 1 percent. So those are the facts. How do they apply to the politics of the tax bill. Let's get into that with a great guest, Republican Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota. Sir, thank you for taking the opportunity. You heard what we're reporting in terms of the facts. What is your case for this bill?</s>SEN. MIKE ROUNDS (R), SOUTH DAKOTA: I've heard different facts before. I'm not quite sure the spin that you've got on them today. But I can tell you what's going to happen for a family with $73,000, four kids. They're going to get about half the tax bill immediately than what they've got today. And I really do believe that, long term, and you suggested it, and that was that about ten years from now, this is designed to where the businesses taxes continue at a reduced rate. Personal income taxes would change. But that's only if Congress decides to allow them to -- to expire. So I don't think the whole story is there in the facts that you've got. By the way, if you've noticed recently, our economy is currently growing at 3 percent. And that's what we need to not only -- not only pay back the dollars that we're -- that we're sending back out in terms of reductions for middle-income families and for businesses, but it will actually help us to pay off our debt and to -- to pay for some of our -- our expenditures that we need at the federal level. You know, if we want to continue to make payments in Medicare and in Medicaid, if we want to continue to have the greatest defense in the world, we're going to have to have the revenues coming in to do it. That means we've got to have a strong economy. We can't do it with the current tax structure that we've got.</s>CUOMO: Well, right. But there's a counter argument, right, to that, which is don't cut the taxes if you need more revenue. But I want to go back to your numbers premise. Where are you getting your numbers that a family with 73,000 will have half its tax bill? Because I have not seen that from the Joint Committee on Tax. I haven't seen it from the CBO. Where are you getting that?</s>ROUNDS: Yes. That actually comes directly from the Joint Committee on Tax. And what it's based on is an average family, 73,000 in income, a family of husband, wife, and two children. And it's based upon -- and here's the part that some folks are forgetting about. Kids are going to get double the tax credits directly taken. That's money that's taken directly off the amount of tax that you have to pay. And so if you've got two kids, you're going to get twice as much as what you do today, basically, in tax credits.