Senate GOP rethinks tax cuts, Medicaid overhaul in Trump's megabill

Yahoo

6 hours ago

Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo on Monday unveiled a long list of changes to how the GOP's 'big, beautiful bill' would execute a major tax revamp and Medicaid cuts — two of the thorniest policy fights in the sweeping legislation.
The release comes after closed-door negotiations between Crapo and his colleagues over how far to go in revising the draft of the tax, immigration, energy and defense megabill approved late last month by the House.
And the changes could potentially delay the legislation lawmakers are now trying to rush to President Donald Trump's desk by their July 4 recess. Absent a setback, Senate GOP leaders are hoping to pass the bill next weekend.
'I look forward to continued coordination with our colleagues in the House and the Administration to deliver President Trump's bold economic agenda for the American people as quickly as possible,' Crapo said in a statement.
Crapo is a proposing changes to a number of touchy areas, including phasing out green energy tax subsidies more slowly than many conservatives would like. At the same time, he wants to cut more from Medicaid than some centrists want.
Trump's priorities were not left untouched either. Crapo would scale back plans to create new tax breaks for tips and overtime sought by the president, though the Idaho Republican would beef up a plan to cut taxes for seniors. Under his plan, the deduction for tips would be limited to $25,000 while overtime would be capped at $12,500 for individuals.
And he holds the cap on the state and local tax deduction to the current $10,000, far less than the House's $40,000, though the Senate number is widely considered a placeholder while lawmakers continue to negotiate.
Elsewhere in the bill, Crapo would ratchet back plans to dun universities by hiking a 1.4 percent tax on university endowment earnings. Under his plan, it would max out at 8 percent, compared to the 21 percent the House has proposed.
He also wants a smaller increase in the Child Tax Credit than what his House colleagues have proposed, increasing it to $2,200 per child rather than $2,500.
Crapo would create a more generous $2,000 deduction for couples who give to charity but don't itemize their deductions. They'd get $300 under the House plan. But he'd also create a new limit on charitable breaks for people who do itemize.
And Crapo would make a trio of popular breaks for companies permanent, but he omits a House plan to beef up a break for owners of unincorporated businesses.
A cost estimate of the plan was not immediately available, and it was not clear whether Crapo's plan sticks to the overall $4 trillion tax-cutting budget House Republicans set for themselves. If Senate Republicans exceed it, that could also be a big problem for deficit hawks across the Capitol, who have been adamant that lawmakers can spend no more than $4 trillion unless they simultaneously come up with at least $1.5 trillion in spending reductions.
Senate Democrats were quick to condemn the plan, though they will be unable to stop the legislation under the procedure Republicans plan to use to pass it.
'This is caviar over kids, and Mar-a-Lago over the middle class,' said Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Finance panel. 'Senate Democrats are going to fight this with everything we've got.'
Though Crapo consulted with colleagues behind closed doors, many of the individual provisions are still likely to cause considerable consternation with fellow Republicans. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said Monday that he didn't like the sound of what Crapo had in mind for Medicaid.
'It sounds like to me we are going to keep the Biden Green New Deal subsidies, and we're going to pay for that by defunding rural hospitals,' Hawley told reporters.
"That's going to be a hard sell in Missouri.'
Crapo added a number of other provisions, including a substantial rewrite of the rules governing multinational corporations. He'd also delay the onset of a so-called revenge tax aimed at countries that impose levies deemed discriminatory towards the U.S.
He also deleted other proposals by the House, including plans for a sizable expansion of Health Savings Accounts and a bid to raise taxes on private foundations.
Lisa Kashinsky and Jordain Carney contributed to this report.