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Divisions for House GOP Over Trump Bill05/15 06:17
Cheers broke out early Wednesday as Republicans on the House Ways and Means
Committee signed off on the GOP tax breaks bill after a grueling
round-the-clock session that pushed President Donald Trump's package past
overwhelming Democratic opposition. But there's still more work to do.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Cheers broke out early Wednesday as Republicans on the
House Ways and Means Committee signed off on the GOP tax breaks bill after a
grueling round-the-clock session that pushed President Donald Trump's package
past overwhelming Democratic opposition.
But there's still more work to do.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also worked past midnight trying to
resolve issues with Trump's plan. Opposition is mounting from various corners
of the GOP majority as he tries to muscle the party's signature package to
passage without any votes from Democrats.
On the one hand, the conservative leader of the Freedom Caucus derides the
new Medicaid work requirements as a "joke" that do not go far enough at
cost-cutting. Meanwhile, a handful of GOP lawmakers from New York and other
high-tax states are refusing to support the measure unless changes are made to
give deeper state and local tax deductions, called SALT, for their constituents
back home.
"To say we have a gulf is an understatement," said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a
leader of the conservative wing.
Roy said there is "a significant number of us who could not bless this
product" in its current form.
Nevertheless, momentum is building toward an end-of-the-week inflection
point to stitch together the sprawling package Friday at the Budget Committee.
That means combining hundreds of pages of bill text covering $5 trillion in tax
breaks and at least $1.5 trillion in spending reductions on Medicaid, food
stamps and green energy programs to deliver Trump's second-term legislative
priority.
Democrats decry the package as a give-away to the wealthy at the expense of
safety net programs that millions of Americans rely on. But Johnson insists the
Republican majority is on track to pass the package by Memorial Day, May 26,
sending it to the Senate where Republicans are crafting their own version. With
his slim majority, he can only afford a few defections from his ranks.
"We're still on target," Johnson said at the Capitol. "The American people
are counting on us."
Democrats also stayed up all night forcing marathon public hearings. One at
the House Energy and Commerce Committee was still going more than 26 hours
later before finishing Wednesday afternoon.
Later Wednesday evening, the House Agriculture Committee handling the food
aid cuts wrapped up its work too, but only after the Republican chairman
abruptly shut down debate on dozens of remaining amendments from Democrats.
All told, Democrats proposed hundreds of amendments trying to change the
package, with dozens of votes that largely failed.
"It is a cruel, mean, rotten bill," said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., as the
Agriculture panel debated changes to the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance
Program, known as SNAP.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said at least 7.6 million fewer
people would have health insurance with reductions to Medicaid, and likely more
with additional changes to the Affordable Care Act.
The CBO also gave lawmakers a preliminary analysis showing that 3 million
fewer people each month would participate in the SNAP food program under the
changes proposed.
More than 70 million Americans rely on Medicaid for health care, and about
40 million use SNAP.
The Republicans are targeting Medicaid and SNAP for a combined $1 trillion
in cuts as a way to offset the costs of the tax package, but also to achieve
GOP goals of reining in the social safety net programs.
Most of the cost-savings would come from imposing stiffer work requirements
for those receiving the health care and food assistance, meaning fewer people
would qualify for the aid. The legislation would raise from 54 to 64 the age of
able-bodied adults without dependents who would have to work to qualify for
SNAP. It also would also require some parents to work to qualify for the
benefits once their children are older than 7, instead of 18. Under current
law, those recipients must work or participate in a work program for 80 hours a
month.
The chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Brett Guthrie,
R-Ky., insists the changes would "strengthen and sustain" Medicaid for the
future, and are the kind of "common sense" policies Trump promised voters.
But Democrats told repeated stories of their constituents struggling to
access health care. Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., revealed his own diagnosis with
Type 2 diabetes at the House Ways and Means Committee hearing and the sticker
shock of health costs.
One of the most difficult issues for Johnson has been the more localized
debate over state and local taxes as he works to come up with a compromise for
New York, California and New Jersey lawmakers. They have rejected an offer to
triple the deduction cap, now at $10,000, to $30,000 for married couples.
The speaker met with lawmakers Tuesday and talks continued into Wednesday.
Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., said it was cordial, but there was no deal. "More
sizzle than steak in that meeting," he said late Tuesday.
"The reality is you need 218 votes to pass a bill and the way this bill is
currently constructed, it will not have that because it does not adequately the
issue of SALT," said Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y.
The lawmakers believe they have leverage in the talks because without a
deal, the $10,000 limit established under the 2017 tax bill expires at the end
of the year and reverts to no cap at all.
But as Johnson and the lawmakers edge closer to a SALT deal, the
conservatives are balking that their priorities must also be met.
Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., said he's a no for now, but would be working to
improve the bill so that he could support it.
The conservatives argue that the tax breaks without deeper spending cuts
will pile onto the deficit, and they worry that the Medicaid reductions do not
go far enough in rolling back federal funds to expand the Affordable Care Act.
They also want the work requirements, which don't take effect until Jan. 1,
2029, after Trump has left office, to start sooner.
"Basically Republicans are enforcing Obamacare, which is a surreal situation
to me," Burlison said.
Republicans are racing to extend Trump's tax breaks, which are set to expire
later this year, while adding the new ones he campaigned on in 2024, including
no taxes on tips, Social Security benefits and others.
A new analysis from the Joint Committee on Taxation shows that most tax
filers would see a lower tax rates under the proposal, except those at the
lowest rates, who earn less than $15,000 a year. Their average tax rate would
go up.
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