House Republicans push for Wednesday vote on Trump’s tax package

Republican leaders in the House are sprinting toward a Wednesday vote on President Donald Trumps tax and spending cuts package determined to seize momentum from a hardfought vote in the Senate while essentially daring members to defy their partys leader and vote against itThe American people gave us a clear mandate and after four years of Democrat failure we intend to deliver without delayiquest the top four House GOP leaders said Tuesday after the bill passed the Senate 5150 thanks to Vice President JD Vances tiebreaking voteIts a risky gambit one designed to meet Trumps demand for a July 4 finish and theres a steep climb ahead Since launching early this year Republicans have struggled mightily with the bill nearly every step of the way often succeeding by only a single vote Their House majority stands at only 220212 leaving little room for defectionsHouse Republicans from competitive districts have bristled at the Senate bills cuts to Medicaid while conservatives have lambasted the legislation as straying from their fiscal goalsIt falls to Speaker Mike Johnson and his team to convince them that the time for negotiations is overTrump pushes Republicans to do the right thingThe bill would extend and make permanent various individual and business tax breaks that Republicans passed in Trumps first term plus temporarily add new ones that Trump promised during the campaign including allowing workers to deduct tips and overtime pay and provide a new 6000 dollars deduction for most older adults In all the legislation contains about 45 trillion dollars in tax cuts over 10 yearsThe bill also provides some 350 billion dollars for defence and Trumps immigration crackdown Republicans partially pay for it all through less spending on Medicaid and food assistance The Congressional Budget Office projects that it will add about 33 trillion dollars in federal deficits over the coming decadeThe House passed its version of the bill back in May despite worries about spending cuts and the overall price tag Now they are being asked to give final passage to a version that in many respects exacerbates those concerns The Senate bills projected impact on federal deficits for example is significantly higherTrump praised the bill profusely in a social media post saying We can have all of this right now but only if the House GOP UNITES ignores its occasional GRANDSTANDERS You know who you are and does the right thing which is sending this Bill to my deskThe high price of opposing Trumps billSpeaker Johnson RLa is intent on meeting the presidents July 4 timeline Hes also betting that hesitant Republicans wont cross Trump because of the heavy political price they would have to payThey need only look to Sen Thom Tillis RNC who announced his intention to vote against the legislation over the weekend Soon the president was calling for a primary challenger to the senator and personally attacking him on social media Tillis quickly announced he would not seek a third termOthers could face a similar fate One House Republican who has staked out opposition to the bill Rep Thomas Massie of Kentucky is already being targeted by Trumps wellfunded political operationHouse Majority Leader Steve Scalise RLa said leadership was not entertaining the possibility of making changes to the bill before the final vote He said the two chambers already agree on the vast majority of whats in itIts not as easy as saying hey I just want one more change because one more change could end up being what collapses the entire thing Scalise saidDemocratic lawmakers united against the bill as harmful to the country condemned the process as rushed Rep Jim McGovern DMass said theres no real deadline for getting the bill passed by July 4thWere rushing not because the country demands it but because he wants to throw himself another party McGovern said This isnt policy Its ego managementDemocrats warn that health care food aid are being ripped awayHouse Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries described the bill in dire terms saying that cuts in Medicaid spending would result in Americans losing their lives because of their inability to access health care coverage He said Republicans are literally ripping the food out of the mouths of children veterans and seniorsHouse Democrats are going to do everything we can for the next few hours today tomorrow for the balance of this week and beyond to stop this bill from ever becoming law Jeffries saidRepublicans say they are trying to rightsize the safety net programs for the population they were initially designed to serve mainly pregnant women the disabled and children and root out what they describe as waste fraud and abuseThe package includes new 80houramonth work requirements for many adults receiving Medicaid and applies existing work requirements in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to more beneficiaries States will also pick up more of the cost for food benefits with the amount based on their payment error rates which include both underpayments and overpaymentsThe driving force behind the bill however is the tax cuts Many expire at the end of this year if Congress doesnt actPassing this bill means smaller tax bills and bigger paychecks for the American people permanently said Senate Majority Leader John Thune It will also help get our economy firing on all cylinders againThe Tax Policy Centre which provides nonpartisan analysis of tax and budget policy projected the bill would result next year in a 150 dollars tax break for the lowest quintile of Americans a 1750 dollars tax cut for the middle quintile and a 10950 dollars tax cut for the top quintile Thats compared to what theyd face if the 2017 tax cuts expiredThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the 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