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.