WASHINGTON, April 21 – Sen. Bernie Sanders today asked Republican presidential candidates to renounce a “grossly unfair” Senate budget proposal to give the wealthiest 5,400 American families another $269 billion in tax breaks while paving the way for a tax hike on working families.

“At a time of massive wealth and income inequality, it is beyond belief that Congress would provide hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks to a handful of millionaire and billionaire families,” said Sanders (I-Vt.), the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee.

“Meanwhile, that same budget paves the way for raising taxes for low- and moderate-income families by not extending earned-income and child tax credits that today benefit 13 million Americans,” Sanders added.

Senate and House conferees yesterday began negotiations on a final budget plan for the coming year. The Senate budget includes a provision by Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) calling for the elimination of the estate tax, which now only applies to the wealthiest 0.2 percent of Americans. The House last Thursday passed a free-standing bill that would do the same thing.  The Joint Committee on Taxation has estimated that 75 percent of the benefits of repealing the estate tax would go to family members who inherit estates worth more than $20 million.

“It is beyond comprehension that anyone would propose more tax breaks for the wealthy and higher taxes on working families,” said Sanders in urging Republican White House hopefuls to ask members of the House and Senate conference committee “to renounce this grossly unfair provision.”