Latest news with #budgetbill
CBS News
5 hours ago
- Business
- CBS News
Budget bill would add trillions to U.S. debt and increase inequality, Nobel laureate economists say
Trump "one, big beautiful bill" holdout Sen. Rand Paul says "the math doesn't really add up" Six Nobel laureate economists said a massive budget bill passed by House lawmakers last month and backed by President Trump would weaken key safety-net programs while greatly lifting the federal debt. The tax and spending package, which Republicans have dubbed the "one big beautiful bill," would hurt millions of Americans by slashing Medicaid and food stamps, the economists wrote in a June 2 letter on behalf of the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank. "Even with the safety net cuts, the House bill leads to public debt rising by over $3 trillion in coming years (and over $5 trillion over the next decade if provisions are made permanent rather than phasing out)," the economists state. "The higher debt and deficits will put noticeable upward pressure on both inflation and interest rates in coming years." The authors of the letter are Daron Acemoglu, Peter Diamond and Simon Johnson of MIT; Oliver Hart of Harvard University; Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University; and Paul Krugman of City University of New York. Including interest, the House bill would boost the nation's debt by $3.1 trillion, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, an advocacy group focused on fiscal policy. The nation's rising deficit — the gap between annual government spending and revenue — and growing federal debt have sounded alarms on Wall Street, roiling financial markets and raising questions about the country's long-term financial stability. The Trump administration describes the budget package as a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" to cut government spending and drive economic growth. Senate hurdles The Senate is expected to take up the bill this week, and its fate is uncertain amid strong opposition from Democrats and concerns by some Republicans. "One of the things this 'big and beautiful bill' is, is, it's a vehicle for increasing spending for the military and for the border," Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, said Sunday on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan." Paul is among a small group of Senate Republicans who have expressed opposition to the bill. "It's about $320 billion in new spending. To put that in perspective, that's more than all the DOGE cuts that we have found so far," he added, referring to reductions in government spending advanced by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. "So, the increase in spending put into this bill exceeds the DOGE cuts." Raising inequality? The six economists who penned the letter criticizing the Republican bill also said that large tax cuts under the legislation, combined with the hits to Medicaid and food stamps, would increase inequality. "The combination of cuts to key safety net programs like Medicaid and SNAP and tax cuts disproportionately benefiting higher-income households means that the House budget constitutes an extremely large upward redistribution of income," they said. Mr. Trump has said the proposed tax cuts, which would extend reductions passed under his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, would boost workers and incentivize investment in domestic manufacturing. The White House Council of Economic Advisers claims that the Trump administration's policies, which include steep import tariffs on major U.S. trading partners, will supercharge growth and shrink the deficit. contributed to this report.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's tax bill has a long way to go in the Senate as Republicans mull major changes
Republican leaders spent months carefully crafting the 1,038-page megabill advancing President Donald Trump's agenda, engaging in grueling negotiations and backroom dealings to unite competing GOP factions just enough to squeeze the package through the House. Now, several of those provisions that ensured its passage could be on the chopping block. The Senate is set to begin consideration of Trump's 'big beautiful bill' as Republican leaders scramble to finalize the massive budget framework before the Fourth of July. But Republican senators — including Utah Sens. Mike Lee and John Curtis — are unsure about some of the contents, warning some provisions go too far while others don't go far enough to reduce the nation's deficit. 'There are solid victories in the bill,' Lee said in a statement to the Deseret News. 'But in its current form, the (Big Beautiful Bill Act) won't pass the Senate. It simply doesn't do enough to address the government's spending crisis. But we can make it better.' One of the most controversial provisions tucked into the budget resolution is language repealing clean energy tax credits that were passed in the Inflation Reduction Act under the Biden administration with only Democratic support. That language was demanded by a group of fiscal conservatives in the House who threatened to vote against the full package if it was not included. However, some Republicans have been wary to fully repeal the green energy tax incentives, arguing it could raise utility costs for all Americans. Curtis is among those pushing to preserve some of those clean energy policies, particularly those dealing with nuclear energy, net-zero emissions, battery storage and more. The first-term senator has long centered his climate policies on clean energy solutions, suggesting earlier this week he will push for those changes as the Senate considers the bill. 'My friends in the House kind of called me up to say, 'Listen, we're counting on you to fix it,'' Curtis said at an event in Tooele last week. 'So I think even many of them knew that what they sent over did need some work, and that's now our job in the Senate to put our stamp on that and have it speak for our will.' 'And I think if I have anything to say about it,' he added, 'I'll make sure that we're taking into account our energy future.' On the other hand, Lee has previously suggested he wants a comprehensive repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act, telling the Deseret News it should be overhauled 'lock, stock, and barrel.' 'There are some simple ways we can improve the bill,' Lee said. One way is to 'end Biden's politically motivated subsidies under the so-called 'Inflation Reduction Act' and end the Green New Scam once and for all.' While the two Utah senators have competing visions for the future of green energy tax credits, the pair have similar views on how to address proposals paring back government spending to reduce the deficit. Both Curtis and Lee have pushed for deeper spending cuts and reforms to certain government programs. While Republicans have vowed not to slash necessary benefits under Medicaid and other welfare programs, Curtis has repeatedly urged lawmakers to engage in conversations about reining in fraudulent spending. If not, the senator has warned, drastic cuts will be necessary in the future. Lee has also been vocal about searching for deeper spending cuts in the budget framework, arguing it does not go far enough to reduce the deficit. Those calls have been echoed by some fiscal hawks in the House, who say they are counting on the Senate to implement deeper spending cuts they couldn't secure with their slim majority. Another key deal that was made in the reconciliation package is an expansion of federal deductions for state and local taxes paid, also known as SALT. That provision was demanded by blue-state Republicans who threatened tanking the package if it wasn't included. Republican leaders offered to increase the current deduction cap to $40,000 — up from the current $10,000 limit — for individuals who make $500,000 or less a year. That cap would then increase by 1% every year over the next decade and remain permanent after that period. However, that increase may not be met with open arms in the Senate — and Lee is already hinting at its removal. 'Right now, it unfortunately contains big SALT cap increases, which are basically subsidies for high-tax blue states paid for by hardworking families in Utah and the rest of the country,' Lee said. Another provision that could find itself on the cutting room floor: a debt ceiling increase. The debt limit is the total amount of money the federal government is authorized to borrow in order to pay off existing obligations, tax refunds, interest on the national debt and other payments, according to the Treasury Department. House Republicans tucked a $4 trillion debt ceiling increase into the budget resolution to avoid a default later this summer, arguing that by doing so, they would strip Democrats of the chance to use the impending deadline as leverage to attach some of their own policies. However, some Republicans are staunchly opposed to a debt limit increase in any fashion. 'I think the problem for conservatives is they lose their high moral ground. These will be their deficits,' said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who is currently opposed to the package. 'These will be GOP spending bills, GOP deficits, and there is no change in the direction of the country.' House GOP leaders are pleading with their counterparts in the Senate not to make changes to the massive reconciliation package, warning any edits could tank the megabill before it even makes it to Trump's desk. Meanwhile, the president is telling the Senate to 'make the changes they want' — sending mixed messages as Republicans consider alterations to the budget framework advancing policies on the border, energy, national defense and tax reform. Some of the hard-to-convince lawmakers hope their stubbornness will ward off any of their Senate colleagues from making drastic changes, noting the drawn-out process in the House should deter them from doing so. 'I think after seeing how painful of a process this is and how difficult it is to get anything through this side, I think that will send a strong message in the Senate that you can't really change it,' Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., a member of the Freedom Caucus, told the Deseret News.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Trump wants to see bigger tax cuts in the budget bill
WASHINGTON, May 30 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said he wants to see bigger tax cuts in the budget bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. "I'd like to see a bigger cut in taxes," Trump told reporters. " The bill is a great bill. It's going to be jiggered around a little bit, it's going to be negotiated with the Senate."
CBS News
4 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
In Colorado, protesters try to disrupt Gabe Evans and Lauren Boebert press conference meant to celebrate Republican budget bill
Republicans met with protesters as they hold press conference in Colorado about budget bill Republicans met with protesters as they hold press conference in Colorado about budget bill Republicans met with protesters as they hold press conference in Colorado about budget bill Hecklers in Denver on Thursday crashed a press conference hosted by Republicans Rep. Gabe Evans and Rep. Lauren Boebert and accused them of cutting health care for the poor to finance tax breaks for the rich. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Republican who represents Colorado's 4th Congressional District, speaks at a press conference addressing President Trump's budget bill outside the Colorado State Capitol in Denver on May 29, 2025. Andy Cross/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images Evans, who represents Colorado's 8th Congressional District, and Boebert, who represents Colorado's 4th Congressional District, say they have what President Trump calls the One Big Beautiful Bill Act all wrong. "It's about cutting wasteful spending, the waste, the fraud, the abuse," says Boebert. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill will save $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years -- most of those savings from changes to Medicaid. While Democrats say the changes will hurt the most vulnerable, Republicans say they will help the vulnerable by keeping Medicaid sustainable long-term. Protesters tried to disrupt a press conference addressing President Trump's budget bill at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver on May 29, 2025. Andy Cross/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images Evans say the people who will lose Medicaid coverage under the bill should have never had it in the first place. "With these reforms, we protect the program for the people who need it most by disenrolling illegal immigrants, by disenrolling people who are ineligible for the program," Evans said. The bill requires twice yearly eligibility checks, cuts funding to states like Colorado that cover undocumented immigrants, and requires those without disabilities or dependents to work, volunteer or go to school part-time. Gov. Jared Polis and Democratic legislators say between 140,000 and 230,000 Coloradans could lose coverage because of the bill. Rep. Jason Crow says the uninsured will end up in emergency rooms, driving up uncompensated care and increasing health care premiums for everyone. "You can't take a trillion dollars out of the U.S. health care system without that sending shockwaves through the entire system," said Crow, a Democrat who represents Colorado's 6th Congressional District. The bill also makes changes to the tax code. It doubles the standard deduction, increases the child tax credit, eliminates the tax on tips and overtime, and lowers the tax on small businesses. "It protects working class Americans by giving tax breaks that benefit the bottom 85% of wage earners in Colorado," said Evans. Crow says higher wage earners will see the biggest break. "They're going to cut these programs that are actually going to cost us more. They're going to add over $3 trillion to the deficit and they're going to do it in the name of trickle-down economics which has never shown to work," he said. Evans says Democrats are fear mongering. "At the end of the day, the American people are sick and tired of the political screaming without any actual conversation or dialogue," Evans said. In addition to Medicaid and tax reform, the bill also increases funding for border security and cuts funding for food stamps and clean energy programs. The Congressional Budget Office says despite $1.5 trillion in savings, the measure will raise the national debt by nearly $3 trillion over the next decade. The federal government is on track to spend $85 trillion between now and 2034. The bill still needs to pass the Senate where it will almost certainly undergo changes.
CBS News
4 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Protesters rally at Colorado Republican press conference, shout over representatives
Protesters showed up at a Republican event to discuss the budget bill in downtown Denver on Thursday, shouting over the speakers. As protesters overshadowed the discussion about what is known as the "one big, beautiful bill," Colorado Representatives Gabe Evans and Lauren Boebert met with reporters outside the State Capitol to discuss the spending bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a single vote. Republican Representatives Gabe Evans and Lauren Boebert hold a press conference at the Capitol CBS They called it a win for our way of life and said any cuts to Medicaid would only impact Coloradans who shouldn't be getting the benefits. "And this one big, beautiful bill actually protects Medicaid by getting 1.4 million illegal immigrants off of the Medicaid rolls, by getting 1.2 million people who are not eligible for Medicaid benefits off of the Medicaid rolls, and preserving the program for the people who need it most," said Evans. CBS Boebert asserted, "It's about cutting wasteful spending; the waste, the fraud, the abuse, the illegal aliens who are receiving taxpayer benefits. This is going to stop with the one big, beautiful bill. Besides changing Medicaid, the bill would make income tax cuts passed during President Trump's first term permanent. It would phase out Biden Era clean energy tax credits, fund border security, and restrict food stamps. The bill is more than a thousand pages. A nonpartisan committee estimated the House spending package at nearly $4 trillion.
