More than three dozen House Republicans are warning Senate GOP leaders against approving additional deficit increases or using “budget gimmicks” to count additional savings in the “one big, beautiful bill” of President Trump’s tax cut and spending priorities.
“As the Senate considers changes, we remain unequivocal in our position that any additional tax cuts must be matched dollar-for-dollar by real, enforceable spending reductions,” the 37 members, led by Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.), said in a Tuesday letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), adding that the principle is the “cornerstone” of the budget resolution framework passed by the House and is the “minimum standard for our support.”
The letter further asserted that the members would consider “genuine savings only” as established by that House resolution.
“Offsets must come from permanent reforms that make the budget more sustainable, not timing shifts or other budget gimmicks,” the letter said.
Among the signatories are House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), House Republican Conference Vice Chair Blake Moore (Utah), and many members of the House Freedom Caucus, including its chair, Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.).
The Senate is currently considering and expected to make changes to the House-passed megabill that includes extension of tax cuts that Trump signed into law in 2017; boosts to border, deportation, and defense funding; and new restrictions on Medicaid and food assistance programs that are projected to result in millions of individuals losing their health insurance.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the proposed tax cuts in the plan would decrease revenues by more than $3.6 trillion over a decade, while measures to cut federal spending including reforms to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program would reduce outlays by $1.2 trillion over the same period, resulting in a net deficit increase of $2.4 trillion.
Several matters under consideration in the Senate would add to the deficit impact of the bill.
Some GOP senators are unhappy with provisions to terminate clean energy tax breaks, while others are objecting to the around $800 billion in cuts to Medicaid through provisions like increased work requirements and $267 billion in cuts to food assistance through provisions like making states share the cost of the program for the first time.
“A reconciliation bill that relaxes fiscal discipline reflected in the House-passed bill would invite higher borrowing costs and undermine the economic growth that Americans need to maximize opportunity,” the 37 House GOP members said in the letter. “We urge Senate leadership to keep the reconciliation measure compatible with the House framework while seizing every opportunity to deepen savings.”
