Republicans Demand Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Not Add a Penny to the Deficit — Unless It’s for Their States

As President Trump’s “one big beautiful bill” slowly takes shape, Republicans are demanding specific bailouts for their home states while dreaming of a deficit-neutral piece of legislation. The current framework predicts a deficit increase of about $6 trillion. The bill is quickly turning into a grab bag of sorts, with lawmakers taking advantage of Republicans’ three-vote majority in the House to twist the speaker’s arm. Blue state moderates in critical swing states are similarly twisting Speaker Johnson’s arm to get a tax break for their voters — the overwhelming majority of whom are wealthier homeowners. The current State and Local Tax deduction cap is a mere $10,000 for both individuals and married couples. They say that it should increase well beyond $25,000, at the very least, which could reduce revenues by more than $100 billion over the next decade. A Long Island lawmaker, Congressman Nick LaLota, told reporters on Tuesday that he and his blue state colleagues will withhold their votes on the “big beautiful bill” unless the SALT cap deduction is increased. While he refused to disclose an exact number that he and his colleagues want to see in the final tax bill, he says Republicans need to step up to help give relief to voters in states that usually vote overwhelmingly for Democrats. Mr. LaLota says he and four other Republicans have established a “floor” for the deduction that they need to see from the speaker. “Those five of us who are the most SALT-y are most resolved to withhold our votes until we get an accommodation from our party,” he said. Mr. LaLota conceded that there are other suburban lawmakers who are on the “periphery” who may also “raise their voice,” further complicating the negotiations. “We’re the ones who are willing to vote no,” Mr. LaLota said. “What we recognize [is] strength in the numbers.”Congressman Chip Roy — a debt hawk himself who led the charge to win guarantees from Senator Thune that spending would be cut — has also released his own demands for his home state of Texas. Mr. Roy says that the federal government must reimburse his constituents for the money they spent on border security measures between 2022 and 2025, when there was a historic spike in border crossings. “Ensuring that the state of Texas, as well as any other deserving state, is paid back for its efforts to secure the border in the absence of the Biden administration for four years must be a top priority,” Mr. Roy writes. He says the price tag for that bit of funding is $11.1 billion. As Republicans push for their pet issues, conservatives are demanding that the bill remain deficit-neutral, which will be nearly impossible given the extension of Mr. Trump’s 2017 tax cuts. On Wednesday, dozens of House conservatives sent a letter to Mr. Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise to say that there must be at least $2 trillion in budget cuts in order to win their votes — a nearly impossible lift, given the party’s narrow majority in the House. “Under the House’s framework, the reconciliation bill must not add to the deficit,” the lawmakers write. “The House budget resolution assumes that enacting President Trump’s agenda, including extending the 2017 tax cuts, will generate $2.5 trillion in additional revenue through economic growth. This means that all additional tax cuts or increases in spending above this level must be offset.”The letter was signed largely by members of the Freedom Caucus, many of whom already folded on issues like the March continuing resolution and the April passage of Mr. Johnson’s budget framework. Mr. Roy himself signed the bill. “A $2 trillion reduction in spending may sound substantial. However, it equals only 2.3 percent of projected federal outlays over the next decade and only reduces the rate of growth in spending,” they write. Those deficit hawks who wrote to Mr. Johnson on Wednesday conceded that, even with their “substantial” cuts, America is on track to have a $50 trillion national debt 10 years from now. The “one big beautiful bill” process is already falling behind schedule, and it’s becoming clearer that Mr. Johnson and House Republican leadership will miss their July 4 deadline to get the legislation to Mr. Trump’s desk.

Republicans Demand Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Not Add a Penny to the Deficit — Unless It’s for Their States

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