MADISON, Wis. – Earlier today the U.S. Supreme Court struck down most of President Trump’s costly tariffs which have sent prices for everyday items skyrocketing while Republicans in Congress, including Congressmen Derrick Van Orden and Bryan Steil voted for the tariffs and refused to stand up for working families.
“The Supreme Court shouldn’t have had to step in because Republicans in Congress voted for tariffs that are raising prices,” said Opportunity Wisconsin Program Director Meghan Roh. “For months, Congressmen Van Orden and Steil voted for and have stood by tariffs that raised prices at the grocery store and forced small businesses to increase their prices. The damage has already been done to Wisconsin families and businesses. Now it’s time for Van Orden and Steil to make clear they’ll oppose any future tariffs and harmful economic policies that raise costs for working families.”
From March through November Wisconsin businesses had already paid $3.5 billion in tariffs, forcing them to raise prices. Recent reporting from the New York Federal Reserve found that Americans are the ones stuck paying for the cost of tariffs. In fact, researchers found “nearly 90 percent of the tariffs’ economic burden fell on U.S. firms and consumers.”
Throughout this crisis, Van Orden and Steil voted for Trump’s tariffs instead of standing up for Wisconsin families and businesses. Last week both congressmen voted again to keep tariffs in place and backed a failed measure which would have prevented members of Congress from introducing legislation to roll them back. In addition to backing tariffs, they have also consistently supported policies that raise costs for working families, including voting earlier this year for the Republican Tax Law that forces massive cuts to Medicaid and SNAP just to fund tax breaks for billionaires and big corporations.
