WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump encouraged Republicans to unite behind his massive tax cut bill during a visit to Capitol Hill Tuesday, with Alabama’s GOP delegation backing the plan.
Trump’s meeting with lawmakers was aimed at bringing together different factions to support the legislation, including hardline fiscal conservatives who want deeper cuts and members from higher-tax blue states who want to see a larger state and local tax deduction, known as SALT.
U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville, said he thought Trump’s comments to the GOP conference Tuesday were well received by most lawmakers.
“I think very measured in his comments and made some real, practical applications…especially on the SALT issue,” Aderholt told Alabama Daily News. “I mean, obviously we wish the SALT people the best, but obviously, I think that whatever they get, it’s not gonna be good enough.”
Rep. Barry Moore, R-Enterprise, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, said raising the SALT cap, which currently sits at $10,000, would not help Alabamians. The package currently raises the SALT cap to $30,000, but Republicans from higher-tax states still want to see a larger deduction.
“For us to make exemptions for real estate in blue states so they can get a $50,000 or $60,000 tax credit because their taxes are so high, doesn’t make sense for my people who are working $50,000 to $60,000 for an entire year,” Moore told ADN.
After the meeting, Trump called it a “meeting of love” and remained confident he would get the necessary Republican support to pass the bill on the floor in a vote as early as Wednesday.
“I think we have unbelievable unity,” Trump said. “I think we’re going to get everything we want, and I think we’re going to have a great victory.”
The sweeping tax cut bill will extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, increase spending for the border, and make cuts to Medicaid and food assistance programs.
Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Birmingham, said Trump was in “rare form” Tuesday morning and Palmer thought good discussions were happening with the president about the bill.
Rep. Dale Strong, R-Huntsville, insisted that Trump and Republicans are only focused on cutting “waste, fraud, and abuse” from Medicaid.
“Whenever you see the people that are not eligible, the illegals that are participating, that’s what the president’s going to do, and I think the American people are going to see exactly what he’s planning to do, and they’re going to be excited about it,” Strong told ADN.
Aderholt reiterated the Republicans’ focus is on “waste, fraud, and abuse” in the bill and said “we’re not trying to make major cuts.”
Advocates with the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank, argue the Medicaid changes in the bill will lead to Americans losing Medicaid due to work requirements and more eligibility checks. The Congressional Budget Office estimated 8.6 million Americans could lose health care coverage over the next decade.
“It’s just making it difficult for people to use the Medicaid that they’re entitled to,” Bobby Kogan, senior director of federal budget policy at the Center for American Progress, said on a call with reporters.
Hardline conservatives are pushing to get the proposed Medicaid work requirements to start earlier than 2029, which is the original start date in the bill. Moore said he supports moving the requirements up.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates the reconciliation bill would add roughly $3.3 trillion to the debt over the next decade.
“This is a big, beautiful bill,” Moore said. “It does three things. It cuts taxes, it secures the border and it asks able-bodied people to work.”