Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) on Thursday called the bonuses and wage increases that companies have given workers due to the Republican tax reform law "crumbs," echoing the rhetoric of his counterpart in the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.).
Schumer said on the Senate floor that Americans will be outraged when they learn big businesses are enriching themselves under the new tax overhaul while workers are effectively getting no benefits.
"When the American people learn that some of them are not getting anything, some of them are getting raises, and the rest are getting crumbs, and big corporations and wealthy individuals are getting nice, fat pieces of pie, they're going to be outraged," Schumer said. "They are already."
Schumer's comments echoed similar ones that Pelosi made that same day.
At a "Trump Tax" town hall meeting at Florida Atlantic University, Pelosi also referred to the worker bonuses and increased benefits as "crumbs."
That was not the first time that Pelosi used the term to criticize the GOP tax law. At a press conference earlier this month, the House minority leader used similar rhetoric.
"In terms of the bonus that corporate America received versus the crumbs that they are giving workers to kind of put the schmooze on is so pathetic. It's so pathetic," Pelosi said.
Since President Donald Trump signed the tax overhaul into law last month, nearly 100 companies have announced that, due to the new tax cuts, they will invest more in their workers—in the form of bonuses, higher wages, or other benefits.
Most recently, Home Depot said Thursday that it will give $200 bonuses to hourly workers and $1,000 to those who have been with the company for at least 20 years.