Thread by @RepDonBeyer

NEW: 17 House Dems on @WaysMeansCmte are seeking clarity on the Administration's bewildering, chaotic rollout of Trump's payroll tax order.

The business community rejected the order as "unfair," so of course Trump is making federal workers participate–
1/ beyer.house.gov/news/documents…

The order itself is a bad gimmick that won't help anyone.

For businesses that participate, workers would see a temporary increase in paychecks until December and then a bigger decrease in paychecks in January to fool people into thinking Trump is helping until the election. 2/

The business community hates this (they call it "unworkable"), especially because the Treasury Department's guidance said if employees leave their employer before 2021 (for instance seasonal workers) employers are still required to somehow recoup deferred payroll taxes. 3/

Faced with the embarrassment of having nobody participate in this smoke and mirrors scheme, the Trump Administration is forcing federal employees to do it.

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said employers could choose to opt out, but that apparently didn't apply to federal agencies. 4/

But guidance and public statements issued by Administration officials have been all over the place and self-contradictory. How many employees are covered? What pay periods will it apply to? What effects will this have on Social Security's trust funds? They haven't said. 5/

We do not know if the US military will have payroll taxes deferred.

Days from now, active duty service members plus reservists, National Guard, and so on could start seeing big changes in their paychecks.

Nobody knows whether they will or not. The Administration hasn't said.
6/

Across the country, millions of workers are facing paycheck uncertainty inflicted on them by the Trump Administration to trick people into thinking the White House is providing help so that they can continue blocking stimulus negotiations. We need answers on this ASAP. 7/7