Tag: GOP congress

As ACA enrollment nears, administration keeps cutting federal support of the law

The following article by Juliet EIlperin was posted on the Washington Post website October 5, 2017:

After failing to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, Republican leaders said it will “implode.” Health-care experts disagree, saying the ACA is stable under current law — but President Trump and congressional Republicans could change that. (Daron Taylor/The Washington Post)

For months, officials in Republican-controlled Iowa had sought federal permission to revitalize their ailing health-insurance marketplace. Then President Trump read about the request in a newspaper story and called the federal director weighing the application.

Trump’s message in late August was clear, according to individuals who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations: Tell Iowa no. Continue reading “As ACA enrollment nears, administration keeps cutting federal support of the law”

For Republican Leaders in Congress, the Headaches Keep Mounting

The following article by Jonathan Martina and Alexander Burns was posted on the New York Times website October 5, 2017:

Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, and other Republican leaders in Congress are facing pressure from all sides of their party leading up to next year’s midterm elections. Credit Pete Marovich for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Republican leaders in Congress are under attack from all sides of their own party, battered by voters from the right and left, spurned by frustrated donors and even threatened by the Trump White House for ineffective leadership and insufficient loyalty.

Since last week, Senate Republicans lost one of their own when Roy S. Moore, the firebrand former state judge, trounced Senator Luther Strange in a Senate runoff in Alabama. The retirement of Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee kicked off a potentially fratricidal fight for his seat, with the establishment’s preferred successor, Gov. Bill Haslam, declining to run on Thursday. Continue reading “For Republican Leaders in Congress, the Headaches Keep Mounting”

125,000 Minnesota Kids Still Waiting for Republican-Controlled Congress to Save Their Health Coverage

Republican-Controlled Congress has not restored funding for a critical children’s health program after missing its Sept. 30 deadline

Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) Chairman Ken Martin today called on Representatives Erik Paulsen, Jason Lewis, and Tom Emmer along with their colleagues in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to step up and take immediate action to fund a critical children’s health insurance program.

 “The health of 125,000 Minnesota kids hangs in the balance—and Republicans continue failing to take action,” DFL Chairman Martin said. “Amid their frantic efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Republicans dropped the ball on funding a program that provides health coverage to millions of children across the country. They must make up for the time they wasted, do the right thing, and take immediate action to protect Minnesota kids.” Continue reading “125,000 Minnesota Kids Still Waiting for Republican-Controlled Congress to Save Their Health Coverage”

3 Things You Need to Know About Trump’s Tax Plan

The following was posted on the TrumpAccountable.org website October 5, 2017:

The Trump Tax Plan is gaining steam and momentum even as natural disasters and the horrific events of this weekend in Las Vegas have changed the national dialogue. Here are three things you need to be watching on taxes:

Growth Projections and Deficit – In addition to the disastrous outcome of the Kansas/Brownback tax cut disaster, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget argues that there is no way that tax cuts will pay for themselves and that lowering taxes will lead to more deficit spending. “Past tax cuts in 1981 and the early 2000s have led to widening budget deficits and lower revenue, not the reverse as some claim.” Increased deficits represent a significant challenge to the U.S. economy and any tax plans advanced by the Republicans need to help reduce the deficit. Continue reading “3 Things You Need to Know About Trump’s Tax Plan”

Republicans Face Messaging Battle on Tax Overhaul

The following article by Joe Williams was posted on the Roll Call website October 4, 2017:

Health care defeat spurs heightened awareness of the upcoming messaging battle on taxes

Speaker Paul D. Ryan, Senate Finance Chairman Orrin G. Hatch and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have unveiled a framework for their tax measure and already face a messaging battle. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

The messaging battle over a pending overhaul of the U.S. tax code has begun. And while Republicans say they feel confident they will overcome the opposition this time around, a lingering defeat on health care continues to concern proponents.

The administration and congressional GOP leaders last week unveiled a framework for the still unreleased tax legislation. It immediately set off a cascade of reaction — positive and negative — as Republicans labeled it a middle-class tax break and Democrats called it a giveaway for the rich.

It is round two of a clash over the major tenets of the GOP agenda. Continue reading “Republicans Face Messaging Battle on Tax Overhaul”

Republicans Are Reconsidering Full Repeal of State and Local Tax Deduction

The following article by Alan Rappeport and Jim Tankersley was posted on the New York Times website October 3, 2017:

Representative Kevin Brady, Republican of Texas and chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, acknowledged that full repeal of the popular state and local tax deduction would be a “nonstarter” with many Republicans in Congress. Credit Al Drago for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Republican leaders are backing away from a proposal to fully repeal an expensive tax break used by more than 40 million tax filers to deduct state and local taxes amid pushback from fellow lawmakers whose residents rely on the popular provision.

The state and local tax deduction is estimated to cost $1.3 trillion over the next decade and its repeal is central to paying for a sweeping tax rewrite unveiled last week by Republican lawmakers and administration officials. But elimination of the provision has emerged as a flash point in the nascent debate over the plan, with Republicans in high-tax states worried about backlash from residents who could see their tax bills rise. Continue reading “Republicans Are Reconsidering Full Repeal of State and Local Tax Deduction”

With Tax Cuts on the Table, Once-Mighty Deficit Hawks Hardly Chirp

The following article by Thomas Kaplan was posted on the New York Times website September 28, 2017:

The Republican Study Committee, a group of about 150 conservatives in the House, and other deficit hawks usually malign increases to the national debt. Credit Gabriella Demczuk for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — In 2001, when surging budget surpluses fueled hopes of extinguishing the national debt, a pitched battle broke out over President George W. Bush’s proposed $1.6 trillion tax cut. Never mind that the tax cut’s 10-year tab was supposed to leave behind more than $3 trillion in surpluses — Democrats and some Republicans said that the tax cut was just too large.

Fast forward to President Trump’s Washington, where the budget deficit for this fiscal year is projected to near $700 billion and the federal debt has topped $20 trillion.

A new tax cut is emerging to rival those of the Bush years, and the deficit hawks have hardly peeped. Continue reading “With Tax Cuts on the Table, Once-Mighty Deficit Hawks Hardly Chirp”

Trump Tax Plan Benefits Wealthy, Including Trump

The following article by Binyamin Appelbaum was posted on the New York Times website September 27, 2017:

President Trump spoke about his administration’s tax reform plan in Indianapolis on Wednesday. Credit Tom Brenner/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The tax plan that the Trump administration outlined on Wednesday is a potentially huge windfall for the wealthiest Americans. It would not directly benefit the bottom third of the population. As for the middle class, the benefits appear to be modest.

The administration and its congressional allies are proposing to sharply reduce taxation of business income, primarily benefiting the small share of the population that owns the vast majority of corporate equity. President Trump said on Wednesday that the cuts would increase investment and spur growth, creating broader prosperity. But experts say the upside is limited, not least because the economy is already expanding. Continue reading “Trump Tax Plan Benefits Wealthy, Including Trump”

Dems slam GOP tax plan as deficit-buster, risk to Medicare

The following article by Niv Elis was posted on the Hill website September 27, 2017:

© Greg Nash

Democrats on Wednesday excoriated the GOP’s proposed tax framework, saying it would blow an enormous hole in the deficit — warning that popular social programs are next.

“Make no mistake: After [the] Republicans’ tax plan blows a multitrillion-dollar hole in the deficit, they will sharpen their knives for Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and vital job-creating investments for middle-class families across America,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Republicans, who typically tout themselves as fiscally conservative, are arguing that economic growth will make the tax plan deficit neutral or even add revenues. They say that the use of so-called dynamic scoring, a method that takes into account broader impacts on the economy, would show that.  Continue reading “Dems slam GOP tax plan as deficit-buster, risk to Medicare”

Fact-checking President Trump’s tax speech in Indianapolis

The following article by Glenn Kessler and Michelle Ye Hee Lee was posted on the Washington Post website September 28, 2017:

President Trump announced his tax plan on Sept. 27 in Indianapolis. We fact checked his address. (Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)

President Trump’s speech on the administration’s still-somewhat-vague tax plan, delivered in Indianapolis on Sept. 27, was filled with many of his favorite, inaccurate claims. For instance, he repeatedly says he is offering the “largest tax cut in our country’s history,” a dubious claim when properly measured as a percentage of the nation’s gross domestic product.  Here’s a sampling of other inaccurate claims — and one case in which he appears to have adjusted his language because of our previous fact checks. Continue reading “Fact-checking President Trump’s tax speech in Indianapolis”