WASHINGTON – Three major House committees will discuss key parts of the sweeping package for President Donald Trump's agenda.
The Tax Writing Methods and Means Committee and the Energy and Commercial Committee, which oversees Medicaid, began a markup meeting Tuesday afternoon, with lawmakers saying the session could move late into the evening on Wednesday.
The third panel, the Agriculture Committee, is expected to begin marking its own section on Tuesday night.
The committee's trio is expected to vote to approve Trump's vast tax cuts, energy and border security package sections and send it to the home budget committee.
Republicans on these panels must reach consensus on some of the worst issues across the bill, including how much Medicaid will be cut, what should be done about state and local tax (salt) deductions, and whether to reduce Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
R-La. Mike Johnson, speaker of the group, could only pay three GOP asylum in the final bill, given the party's narrow House majority and unanimous democratic opposition expectations. Johnson and other Republicans say it's essential to extend the expired Trump tax cuts to prevent a major year-end tax cut. They said the Medicaid regulations concern waste reduction.
Overall, the law is projected to save $715 billion by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and 8.6 million less in healthcare coverage. It sparked tensions between politically vulnerable Republicans. Republicans oppose profit cuts and say they want to make a more positive and structural change in long-term Medicaid spending.
Democrats are focusing on Medicaid cuts and changes to the Energy and Commerce Committee bill. This includes stricter work requirements and more stringent eligibility screenings to access program benefits.
“At this point it looks like a $715 billion cut to Medicaid, which devastates children, families, the elderly and everyday Americans with disabilities,” minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, Dn.Y., told MSNBC on Monday. “Hospitals could be closed. Nursing homes could be closed. And the reality is that for this House Republican bill, if it was passed and turned into law, people would die.
This week's committee vote marks a major milestone in the marathon process known as settlement. It's a fast track budget process that allows Republicans who control the Senate to cut off Democrats and push the bill with a simple majority rather than facing the usual 60 vote threshold.
The vote gives a lot of momentum to Trump's package, but Republicans still deal with a number of pitfalls that could derail the entire bill.
The tax law announced on Monday was R-Mo. Chairman Jason Smith extended Trump's tax cuts in 2017, including various corporate tax cuts.
The bill raised the salt cap to $30,000 from the current $10,000 cap imposed by Republicans in the 2017 Trump Tax Act. But some Republicans in the Blue State with a high tax rate have rejected that salt policy and threatened to vote for the bill unless numbers are raised.
“As written now, I have zero chance of supporting this bill,” said Rep. Mike Lawler, RN.Y., a potential candidate for governor. “As I have said repeatedly without the unfair cap correction for salt, I will not vote for the bill.
The Methods and Means Plan also incorporates promises from other Trump campaigns by 2028, including hints and abolishing federal taxes on overtime, as well as tax cuts for interest on car loans.
Additionally, the plan calls for a temporary increase in the child tax credit to $2,500 between 2028 and 2028. We will also establish a new savings account for newborns, the MAGA Account.