Latest news with #House-passed
The Hill
3 hours ago
- Business
- The Hill
Republicans race toward crucial vote on Trump megabill despite uncertainties
Senate Republicans are racing into a crucial weekend in their effort to pass President Trump's mammoth tax and spending bill despite not knowing whether they have the votes to advance it or what some aspects of the final package will look like. GOP leaders are eyeing an initial procedural vote Saturday afternoon to kick off floor consideration of Trump's 'big, beautiful bill.' If it clears a simple majority threshold, the chamber would debate the bill before moving to a 'vote-a-rama,' during which unlimited amendments can be brought to the floor, before a final vote. Senate Republican leaders took a big step forward when they unveiled most of the final version of bill text shortly before midnight on Friday, reflecting changes required by the Senate parliamentarian and negotiations among various groups. But whether they'll be able to clear that simple majority is a major question, leaving leadership hustling to court the holdouts. 'We will find out tomorrow,' Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said with a laugh on Friday when asked if he has the votes. Republicans can lose no more than three members, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has long said he is opposed to the bill as long as the $5 trillion debt ceiling hike is included. Beyond that, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) loudly proclaimed on Friday that he is a 'no' on proceeding to the bill over the Senate's planned rollback of an existing federal cap on provider taxes, a deeper cut to Medicaid than the freeze in the House-passed measure that Tillis prefers. Without changes, he insisted he would vote against it, saying it would be 'devastating' to the Tar Heel State as it could lose more than $30 billion as a result. Tillis is up for reelection next year and has warned about the political consequences of keeping that portion of the bill as is. 'I'm looking at this through a policy and political lens. I think this would be extraordinarily difficult politically for my Republican leadership in the legislature to manage,' he said leaving the Capitol on Friday. 'That's what's driving my 'no' vote.' Leadership is still working him hard, though. Tillis was engaged in multiple conversations with GOP leaders on the floor during a vote on Friday. Hours later, GOP leaders inserted a delay in implementing the provider tax from fiscal 2027 until fiscal 2028 with an eye toward winning over the North Carolina Republican and others concerned about Medicaid cuts. Not all Republicans are convinced Tillis will follow through, with many remembering his last minute flip to support Pete Hegseth's nomination to lead the Pentagon earlier this year. 'He sure sounds like he says he would [vote 'no'],' one Senate GOP member said. 'There's a little bit of a pattern here.' But Tillis's vote isn't Thune's only problem. There's a trio of conservative members — Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) — who have bemoaned the lack of spending cuts in the massive package. The three have indicated they may vote as a bloc. Johnson told reporters on Friday night that he was still a holdout pending text, which arrived hours later. A pair of key moderates, Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), had also indicated they are in a similar spot absent text. Murkowski on Friday also indicated she wasn't happy with the provisions regarding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Asked briefly about the party's SNAP proposals on Friday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told The Hill, 'We're still in trouble on SNAP.' 'The implementation is still next to impossible for us,' she said. Leadership has made a concerted effort to court Murkowski in the final hours, though, as they plan to add additional grants tied to SNAP to the final language, with the aim of helping Alaska specifically. 'We've made some adjustments based on input we've gotten from them in the last few days,' Thune told Politico about SNAP language alterations, referring to Murkowski and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska). Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) also remains a wild card over concerns about Medicaid provisions and their impact on rural hospitals, concerns Murkowski and Collins have also raised. GOP Leaders included a fund in the final version to bolster them of at least $25 billion in an effort to win over some of the moderates, though Hawley, Collins and others were hoping that number would be higher. 'More money for the rural [hospital] fund is good. But I don't know yet,' Hawley said, rattling off the questions he is still unsure of. 'How much money [for the fund]? What's the delay [for the provider tax]? What are the final provisions?' Already the timing for the vote is beginning to slip. Thune on Friday afternoon told lawmakers to expect a noon vote, though he warned the timeline was 'aspirational.' Republicans are now expected to meet over lunch on Saturday before the chamber reconvenes at 2 p.m. EDT, with the hope of wrapping up the 'Byrd Bath' with the parliamentarian beforehand. Meetings with the parliamentarian were ongoing on Friday night to nail down clearance on key items, including on Medicaid. But lawmakers did see progress on some key items Friday, including on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap that has proven to be an arduous battle between the Senate GOP and House members from high-tax states. According to multiple Senate GOP members, the $40,000 deduction cap House members agreed to with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is set to stick, though it will only last for five years. The cap would then drop to $10,000 for the following five years. 'I think we're very, very close,' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters after the Senate GOP's luncheon. Bessent and Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), the upper chamber's informal liaison to the House, has huddled and talked with key SALT members multiple times this week in search of a deal. Even after the Senate begins consideration of the bill, timing could be fluid. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has threatened to drag out proceedings by having the entire bill, which runs more than 1,000 pages, be read aloud on the floor by the Senate clerk. Johnson pulled a similar move in 2021 by having the clerk read the entire American Rescue Plan, an endeavor that lasted six hours. Mullin predicted that could take more than twice as much time — potentially delaying what will be a high-stakes weekend for Trump and leadership. Democrats are also expected to propose dozens of amendments designed to force Republicans into tough votes. 'It's clear we're not [going to have] unanimity on some of this. That's why God made votes. That's why God made amendments,' said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.). 'I think everybody recognizes that it's time for us to vote.' Alexander Bolton contributed.
The Hill
8 hours ago
- Business
- The Hill
Senate GOP unveils text, changes for massive Trump tax bill
Senate Republicans late Friday night unveiled most of the legislative text for their mammoth tax and spending package as the GOP pushes to pass it in the coming days and have it on President Trump's desk before July 4. The bill, which checked in at 940 pages, was released shortly before the stroke of midnight and included a number of key changes in order to win the OK from both a set of key holdouts and the Senate parliamentarian, who forced the GOP to scrap a number of provisions they had hoped to use as key savings for the package. 'If you like higher taxes, open borders, a weak military and unchecked government spending, this bill is your nightmare,' Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in a statement. 'The Big Beautiful Bill contains all of President Trump's domestic economic priorities. By passing this bill now, we will make our nation more prosperous and secure,' he added. One of the key changes centered on the chamber's planned alterations to the federal cap on Medicaid provider taxes, which marked a deeper cut to the program than the freeze in the initial House-passed measure. The Senate's initial plan was to cut the provider tax from 6 percent to 3.5 percent over a five-year stretch starting in fiscal 2027. That cut was pushed back until 2028 after complaints from a number of members, including Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who said on Friday night he was a 'no' without changes. Tillis has told members throughout the week that his state is set to lose out on more than $30 billion in funding over the coming years, calling it 'devastating.' The package also included a $25 billion fund for rural hospitals amid concerns from numerous GOP moderates that they could be decimated by the provider tax changes without an uptick in funding. Some $20 billion of that spending will take place in fiscal 2028 and 2029 — the first two years of the fund. The initial plan had set that fund at $15 billion. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and others called for $100 billion for that purpose. Finally, changes to the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction cap were included. The planned $40,000 deduction cap that House members hailing from high-tax states stuck in the final bill, though it will only last for five years. The cap would then drop to $10,000 for the following five years. One thing not fully included is the Finance Committee's full updated language as it awaits final rulings from the parliamentarian before a GOP leaders move to kick off floor consideration later on Saturday.
Politico
11 hours ago
- Business
- Politico
Trump pushes Thune to crack down on wind and solar in megabill
President Donald Trump is urging Senate Majority Leader John Thune to crack down on tax credits for wind and solar energy as part of the GOP megabill, siding with House conservatives who want to phase out those credits more quickly, according to three people familiar with the negotiations. The late-stage effort has involved direct conversations between Trump and Thune over the past two days. The intervention from Trump centers around a technical provision that could determine whether hundreds of planned projects are able to qualify for the wind and solar incentives, according to the people granted anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the conversations. The president's involvement has emerged as a complicating factor as Republicans aim to start voting on the megabill as soon as Saturday. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), a close Trump ally, confirmed that Trump is directly involved in the push to further temper the Inflation Reduction Act credits. 'I talked to POTUS about it this morning and he certainly wants the renewables out ASAP,' Cramer said Friday. The approach pushed by Trump would match restrictive language in the House-passed reconciliation bill, H.R. 1, that would determine eligibility for wind and solar investment and production tax credits based on when those projects enter into service. It's a departure from Senate Finance Committee language backed by moderates allowing projects to receive credits based on when they begin construction. It's unclear whether Thune plans to include the so-called 'placed in service' standard in the final bill text. Doing so would put moderate senators who have pushed a slower schedule for sunsetting those incentives in a major bind, forcing them to choose between rejecting Trump's agenda or allowing the gutting of tax credits that could lead to canceled projects, job losses and higher electricity prices in their states. Thune's office and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday. Trump's new push follows his Truth Social post last weekend declaring, 'I HATE 'GREEN TAX CREDITS' IN THE GREAT, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL.' Renewable energy industry officials and advocates argue that a 'placed in service' requirement is difficult for energy project developers because their timelines could be derailed by permitting delays, snags in connecting projects to the grid and other factors outside their control. Such a requirement would functionally end the credits for many planned projects, they say. Reverting to more restrictive placed in service language would likely see pushback from moderate senators such as Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who said Thursday that such a move would be 'disastrous in my state.' Another moderate who has pushed back on IRA rollbacks, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), declined to say Friday night whether he had heard about a decision on placed in service language, but called the Senate Finance Committee's approach 'a more rational way of doing it.' 'There are lawsuits, regulatory hurdles and other things that would make it virtually impossible to get [projects] in service' even if they are essentially complete and would otherwise qualify, Tillis said. Some Senate conservatives have backed the change, which they said will help keep Republicans' campaign promise to end the Inflation Reduction Act subsidies. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said earlier this week 'there is a strong commitment to end the Green New Deal subsidies by the end of President Trump's term' — an objective, he said, 'that we're working hard to accomplish.' The effort has been supported by outside conservative voices in recent days, including Alex Epstein, a vocal opponent of wind and solar subsidies who has met with Senate Republicans in recent weeks. Epstein said Friday night that Trump is 'aware that the Senate had watered down in some significant way what the House did.' But he said moving to a placed in service standard is not a done deal and he is 'not letting up myself until I see a law with this in it.' Leading Trump officials like Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who also chairs the National Energy Dominance Council, and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, have also repeatedly criticized wind and solar energy, arguing those intermittent resources are unreliable and overly reliant on tax subsidies. In a post to X Friday night, Burgum wrote that Trump 'promised to reverse the Biden administration's disastrous energy policies, and the One Big Beautiful Bill delivers on this promise by ending the Green New Scam and investing in reliable, affordable baseload power!'
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Key SALT Republicans reject latest offer from Senate GOP, White House
A trio of key moderate House Republicans say they are rejecting the latest offer from Senate Republicans and the White House on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap, heightening the cross-chamber standoff over one of the thorniest issues in the GOP's 'big, beautiful bill.' Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) — who has been one of the most vocal members of the SALT Caucus — told The Hill that the Trump administration, on behalf of Senate Republicans, presented the group with a SALT proposal that was valued at $200 billion, far less than the $344 billion value in the House-passed bill. The Hill first reported on the offer. 'It's such a terrible offer that is nowhere near the realm of possibility,' LaLota said. 'If you all were buying a car and you were presented a number by a salesman like it was presented by those folks today you would never go back to the lot ever again. You'd be so humiliated, disgusted and you would never go back again. I'm close to that point. They need to get real in what they will present us or this bill ain't ever gonna happen.' Shortly after, Rep. Young Kim (R-Calif.), a co-chair of the SALT Caucus, and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), another key member of the group, also rejected the latest offer. 'We rejected that,' Lawler told reporters. 'We're continuing to dialogue with them and we'll see where it goes.' The House-passed measure included a $40,000 deduction cap — quadruple the number in current law — for individuals making $500,000 or less. Senate Republicans, however, reverted the proposal back to $10,000 in their version of the legislation, sparking a fierce fight between the two camps. In recent days, however, talks have zeroed in on keeping the $40,000 deduction cap in place but changing the income threshold and inflation index. SALT Caucus members would not disclose the contours of the latest offer, but he said it included a lower income cap and lower indexing for inflation. LaLota said the latest offer is 58 percent of the value of the SALT provision in the House bill. The rejection of the latest offer by the three SALT Caucus lawmakers deals a blow to ongoing negotiations over the deduction cap, which has emerged as one of the most difficult hangups in the party's sprawling tax cuts and spending package. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), who has been the lead negotiator for Senate Republicans on SALT, brushed off LaLota's rebuff of the most-recent offer, exuding confidence that the two groups will reach consensus. 'We're still looking for a spot. We're gonna be good,' Mullin said. 'We'll make it work, we'll get to [a] landing spot.' Time, however, is running out. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is pushing to put the legislation on the floor for an initial vote on Friday, which would kick off the consideration process as Republicans race to meet their self-imposed July 4 deadline. After the Senate clears the bill, the House has to give it a final stamp of approval. Aside from SALT, Senate Republicans are still grappling with a handful of disagreements, including Medicaid cuts and the rollback of green-energy tax credits. The Senate Parliamentarian delivered GOP lawmakers a significant setback Thursday morning when she shot down key Medicaid provisions in the bill, including a proposal to cap states' use of health care provider taxes to collect more federal Medicaid funding — a provision championed by conservatives that would have generated billions of dollars in savings to pay for President Trump's tax cuts. Asked if he thinks the Senate will still be able to vote on the bill this weekend, despite the lingering hangups, Mullin responded: 'Yes.' Al Weaver and Alex Bolton contributed. Updated at 4:21 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
19 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Senate Republicans are hiding shameful downgrades to veterans' SNAP benefits
Congress is hurtling toward a budget deal that will have devastating consequences for millions of low-income people across the country. Many Americans, and perhaps even some policymakers, have no idea how destructive it really is. Both the House and Senate budget reconciliation bills are filled with harmful provisions that would decimate the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. In addition to hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to 'SNAP,' as it is known, Senate Republicans quietly chose to remove protections that help some of the nation's most vulnerable people access this program. At a moment when hunger remains stubbornly high and food banks are stretched worryingly thin, these policies would slash our most effective anti-hunger program. While headlines may focus on topline numbers or political theatrics, here's what's really at stake: access to food for millions of Americans struggling to feed themselves and their families. And by dropping language from the House-passed bill, Senate Republicans have actually made this even worse by singling out veterans, homeless people and former foster youth for even harsher treatment, all of whom, thanks to the Republicans, would be at greater risk of being driven even further into poverty and hunger.. In the past, both parties compromised and Congress created an exemption to SNAP's harsh work requirements for these three groups, with Republicans conceding that these folks, at least, should not be punished with hunger simply because they're unable to meet the arbitrary work benchmarks and the draconian reporting mechanics. In fact, when challenged on the possibility of veterans losing SNAP benefits during last month's committee markup, House Agriculture Chairman Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) stated clearly that 'Our veterans are exempt from the SNAP work requirement, which is the law … and we're not changing it.' But Senate Republicans are now trying to quietly repeal even these small, commonsense exemptions. They didn't debate it in committee. They didn't announce it in a press conference. They didn't defend it on the Senate floor. They just dropped it from their bill and hoped no one would notice. Well, we noticed. We're outraged. And we believe that the American public deserves to know what Republicans are trying to get away with. When you hear 'work requirements,' you should know that means 'paperwork requirements.' And let's be clear about what these so-called 'work requirements' actually do. They don't help people find jobs or create employment opportunities. They just cut people off from food. That's not policy. That's cruelty by design. And it happens to be short-sighted, too: Kicking people off SNAP doesn't reduce poverty — it exacerbates it. At best, some people will be able to find emergency food providers who are already overwhelmed. Food insecurity doesn't stay contained to individuals; it reverberates through communities, schools, and local economies. In a properly functioning Congress, we would have had real hearings with expert voices on how the structural changes in these bills would impact millions of Americans nationwide so that elected officials could truly understand the ramifications of their actions. Instead, these pieces of legislation were negotiated under the cover of darkness, and there has been no serious public debate about the consequences of these SNAP cuts. No honest reckoning with the fact that this bill would be taking food away from the mouths of those who sacrificed in uniform for this country, from those without a roof over their heads, from those who've braved the foster care system. Every part of that contradicts the values that America was founded upon — and that Republicans claim to hold. For them, it might just be politics as usual — but they would do well to remember that there are real lives on the line. If policymakers vote for this bill, they should at least understand what it would mean. A vote for this bill tells your constituents that you accept the growing number of hungry people in this country. That you don't care that over 47 million people in America are going hungry — in fact, that you are comfortable making it worse. That you endorse deep cuts to SNAP, a program that has been proven to help our economy during recessions. And that you are okay with local charities, already at capacity, being forced to turn hungry people away, all so that the billionaires who play golf at Mar-a-Lago can pay less in taxes. SNAP has always been one of the most effective, targeted and efficient programs we have. It deserves strengthening, not sabotage. Republicans must do better — they must vote no on this piece of legislation that redefines the word 'cruelty.' Abby J. Leibman is president and CEO of MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger. Sen. Tammy Duckworth is a Democrat from Illinois. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) is the top Democrat on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee.
