House GOP grinding ahead with Trump’s big tax cuts bill, but new report says it will add to deficit

By LISA MASCARO KEVIN FREKING LEAH ASKARINAM and JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press WASHINGTON AP House Republicans are pushing to vote on their multi-trillion-dollar tax breaks package as soon as Wednesday grinding out last-minute deal-making to shore up wavering GOP help and deliver on President Donald Trump s top legislative priority Trump himself had instructed the Republican majority to quit arguing and get it done his own political influence on the line But GOP leaders worked late into the night to convince skeptical Republicans who have problems on several fronts including worries that it will pile onto the nation s trillion debt A fresh analysis from the Congressional Budget Office explained the tax provisions would increase the federal deficit by trillion over the decade while the changes to Medicaid food stamps and other services would tally trillion in reduced spending The lowest-income households in the U S would see their support drop while the highest ones would see a boost the CBO noted Republicans hunkered down at the Capitol through the night for one last committee hearing processing changes to the package Democrats at once motioned to adjourn but the vote failed on party lines President Trump s one big beautiful bill is going to require one big beautiful vote mentioned Speaker Mike Johnson R-La We are going to get this done President Donald Trump right is joined by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson R-La as he arrives for a meeting with the House Republican Conference at the Capitol Tuesday May in Washington AP Photo Rod Lamkey Jr It s a make-or-break moment for the president and his party in Congress who have invested much of their political capital during the crucial first limited months of Trump s return to the White House on this package If the House Republicans fall in line with the president overcoming unified Democratic objections the package would next go to the Senate The package comes at a daunting time as the U S financial market faces uncertainty Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries commented Republicans are trying to promptly jam this unpopular act through the House because they know that the longer they wait the more will come to light about this cruel and unconscionable bill At its core the sprawling -plus-page bill is centered on extending the tax breaks approved during Trump s first term in while adding new ones he campaigned on during the presidential campaign To make up for specific of the lost revenue the Republicans are focused on spending cuts to federal safety net programs and a massive rollback of green ability tax breaks from the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act Additionally the package tacks on billion in new spending with about billion going to the Pentagon including for the president s new Golden Dome defense shield and the rest for Trump s mass deportation and perimeter precaution agenda The package title carries Trump s own words the One Big Beautiful Bill Act As Trump promised voters on the tax front the package proposes there would be no taxes on tips for certain workers including those in particular arrangement industries automobile loan interest or particular overtime pay There would also be an increase to the standard income tax deduction to for joint filers and a boost to the child tax credit to There would be an enhanced deduction of for seniors of certain income levels to help defray taxes on Social Safety income Related Articles Editorial Normalizing illegal immigration helps no one Justice Dept reviewing former New York Gov Cuomo over pandemic testimony AP source says Venezuela frees US Air Force veteran considered wrongfully detained his family says Hegseth orders new review of Afghanistan withdrawal and suicide bombing at Kabul airport Biden s office says his last known prostate cancer screening was in To cut spending the package would impose new work requirements for multiple people who receive healthcare care through Medicaid with able-bodied adults without dependents needing to fulfill hours a month on a job or in other group engagements Similarly those who receive food stamps through the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Project known as SNAP would also face new work requirements Older Americans up to age rather than who are able-bodied and without dependents would need to work or engage in the society programs for hours a month Additionally selected parents of children older than years old would need to fulfill the work requirements under current law the requirement comes after children are Republicans declared they want to root out waste fraud and abuse in the federal programs The Congressional Budget Office has estimated million fewer people would have physical condition insurance with the various changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act It also stated million fewer people each month would have SNAP benefits Republicans have been racing to finish up the package by Memorial Day a deadline imposed by Johnson as he tries to overcome objections within his own ranks Conservatives are insisting on quicker steeper cuts to federal programs to offset the costs of the trillions of dollars in lost tax revenue GOP leaders have sped up the start date of the Medicaid work requirements from to At the same time more moderate and centrist lawmakers are wary of the changes to Medicaid that could product in lost soundness care for their constituents Others are worried the phaseout of the renewable vitality tax breaks will impede businesses using them to invest in green vitality projects in a great number of states Plus a core group of lawmakers from New York California and other high-tax states want a bigger state and local tax deduction called SALT for their voters back home As it stands the bill would triple what s presently a cap on the state and local tax deduction increasing it to for joint filers with incomes up to a year They have proposed a deduction of for single filers and for joint filers Trump has been pushing hard for Republicans to unite behind the bill which has been uniquely shaped in his image and he stated after meeting with House lawmakers privately Tuesday at the Capitol that anyone who doesn t help the bill would be a fool But it s not at all clear that Trump who was brought in to seal the deal changed minds One of the conservative Republicans Rep Thomas Massie of Kentucky stated afterward he s still a no vote We re still a long avenues away commented Rep Andy Harris R-Md chair of the House Freedom Caucus The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget a nonpartisan fiscal watchdog group estimates that the House bill is shaping up to add roughly trillion to the debt over the next decade