WASHINGTON – House Republicans defended a bill that would enact sweeping tax cuts, raise the debt ceiling, and add restrictions to benefit programs during a heated marathon day of committee hearings on Capitol Hill.
Three separate panels reviewed the legislation that would become part of a massive package to implement President Donald Trump’s agenda on May 13, including the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee; the committee with oversight of Medicaid, the Energy and Commerce Committee; and the committee that manages food assistance programs, the House Agriculture Committee.
Democrats repeatedly slammed the package as a giveaway to the wealthy at the expense of benefit programs like Medicaid and food stamps.
The hearings are expected to go well into the night. The Medicaid hearing is expected to break records, going past the 27 consecutive hours lawmakers debated a repeal of the Affordable Care Act in 2017.
The proposals that lawmakers considered will become the biggest portions of the most important piece of legislation passed during Trump’s second term.
Dozens of arrests
As the House Energy and Commerce hearing on Medicaid kicked off, protesters began chanting: “No cuts to Medicaid!”
They were escorted out of the hearing room and 26 people were arrested for “crowding, obstructing, and incommoding,” according to U.S. Capitol Police. A raucous crowd of protesters also chanted and shouted outside the hearing room.
“People feel very strongly because they know they’re losing their healthcare,” said Rep. Frank Pallone, D-New Jersey, the top Democrat on the committee.
While Republicans did not pursue the drastic cuts they had considered before releasing the legislation, an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the Medicaid changes would result in 7.6 million fewer people with health insurance over the next 10 years. That would save around $625 billion in federal spending, which Republican lawmakers are hoping will balance out lost revenue from tax cuts.
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Each side alleges ‘lies’
Tensions ran high at the Energy and Commerce hearing over the proposed Medicaid changes.
Republican members argued that they are trying to eliminate waste and fraud from the system in order to protect it for those who really need it. Among the changes would be work requirements for adults enrolled under the 2010 Medicaid expansion and more frequent eligibility checks.
“Medicaid was created to provide health care for Americans who otherwise could not support themselves, but Democrats expanded the program far beyond this core mission,” said Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Kentucky, the committee chairman.
Democrats highlighted the stories of people on Medicaid who could lose coverage under the proposal. They argued that Republicans had produced a bill that would cut coverage, even though they have in the past claimed such cuts would not happen.
“For months, Republicans told the American people that their budget would not cut Medicaid,” said Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-California. “That is not true. And today they continue to say it. Don’t believe it.”
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Republicans said Democrats were the ones lying during the hearing by highlighting the stories of children and people with disabilities, which Republicans argued would not be impacted by the proposed changes.
“I have a young daughter and if she was on Medicaid and we were at risk of taking that away from her, I would share that fear,” said Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas. “The problem with this narrative is that there’s no reason to have that fear . . . I am sorry that so many people on the left and in the media have lied to you about what’s in this bill.”
Do billionaires benefit?
The House Ways and Means Committee debated House Republicans’ broad tax plan.
The proposal would make the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent, increase the standard deduction, increase the child tax credit, temporarily create a tax deduction for tips and overtime through 2028, and implement an additional $4,000 tax deduction for seniors, among other proposals.
Democrats lampooned the proposal as a giveaway to the wealthiest Americans, repeatedly invoking the name of Trump ally Elon Musk, the world’s richest man.
“So here we are, one big beautiful tax cut for billionaires. The Republican pathology with tax cuts for wealthy people continues,” said Rep. Richard Neal, D-Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the committee.
Democrats are referencing the 2017 tax cuts, which would be extended under the plan and which disproportionately benefitted wealthy Americans while cutting taxes for all income brackets.
Republicans highlighted the provisions in the bill that would help working class Americans. Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Oklahoma, highlighted that likelihood that billionaires would not significantly benefit from the tax breaks on tipped income, overtime and the child tax credit.
“While we’re talking specifically here about the tax rate staying permanent, all these other provisions that we put in there that President Trump has talked about taking that they’re wanting to demagogue – these other ones do (direct) hundreds of billions of dollars to the lower end of the income scale that they don’t want to allude to,” he said.
Cuts to food stamps ahead
The House Agriculture Committee is met to debate proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP or food stamps, which provides food assistance to around 42 million Americans.
The Republican plan would implement new work requirements for people ages 55 to 64, require states to provide more funding for the program for the first time, cap reimbursement to states for administrative costs, limit SNAP eligibility to citizens and lawful permanent residents, and prevent future presidential administrations from increasing benefits without Congressional approval.
Like with the changes to Medicaid, House Republicans argued that the proposal not only provides savings that can be used for Trump’s tax cuts but also implements necessary reforms.
“Our reconciliation instructions provide the opportunity to restore integrity to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, to make sure that this essential program works for the most vulnerable and functions as Congress intended,” said Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pennsylvania, chairman of the committee.
The proposals could force people off of the program as states may restrict their programs without the continued federal funding.
Democrats on the panel argued that the cuts would force low-income people to go hungry in order to benefit the wealthy through tax breaks. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minnesota, the committee’s ranking member, said the average SNAP benefit is around $6 per day.
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“You don’t build a life on SNAP. You build a bridge to the next paycheck, the next opportunity, that next moment of stability,” Craig said. “SNAP doesn’t enable dependence, it enables resilience. And here’s the deeper truth: Access to food is not a privilege.”
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the committee’s plan would cut $300 billion over the next decade – exceeding the $230 billion they were instructed to eliminate.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Four takeaways from marathon hearings on GOP Medicaid, tax proposals
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