Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., needs to address several key issues to gain passage of President Donald Trump’s signature tax-cut and spending legislation.
Thune has said he wants the Senate to pass the “one, big, beautiful bill” next week so there’s time for President Donald Trump to sign it by July 4. The legislation must be approved by the House once the upper chamber approves its changes.
However, Republicans remain divided on three key issues: Medicaid, the state-and-local-tax deduction (SALT) cap, and green credits, Politico reported Tuesday.
Senate Republicans on Monday proposed deeper Medicaid cuts, including new work requirements for parents of teens, as a way to offset the costs of Trump’s tax breaks.
“Medicaid moderates” are angry the Senate Finance Committee proposed lowering the provider tax, from 6% to 3.5% by 2031 for states that have expanded Medicaid offerings under Obamacare.
Some states rely on the tax to help fund their Medicaid programs.
“I don’t know why we would defund rural hospitals in order to pay for Chinese solar panels,” said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., referring to the plan to ease some of the House GOP’s deep cuts to clean-energy tax credits, Politico reported.
The proposed Senate legislation keeps in place the current $10,000 SALT deduction, drawing quick blowback from GOP lawmakers from New York and other high-tax states, who fought for a $40,000 cap in the House-passed bill.
Blue-state House Republicans are angry, with Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., declaring the Senate’s proposal “dead on arrival” in the House, Politico reported.
Thune said Monday that senators were “prepared to have discussions” to “figure out a landing spot” with SALT.
Senate Republicans also are seeking a slower phaseout of some Biden-era green energy tax breaks to allow continued develop of wind, solar, and other projects that the most conservative GOP lawmakers want to end more quickly.
However, House Freedom Caucus members, who pushed for deep cuts to the green credits in order to get behind the lower chamber’s version, are not on board with the Senate’s proposal.
“Yeah, I will not vote for this,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, posted on X.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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