House Republicans squeezed through their multitrillion-dollar tax breaks package on Capitol Hill in the early morning hours Thursday along party lines with no room to spare.
The bill extends some $4.5 trillion in tax breaks the GOP engineered during Trump's first term in 2017, while adding new ones he campaigned on during his 2024 campaign, including no taxes on tips, overtime pay, car loan interest and others.
U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, of the Hudson Valley's 17th Congressional District, was a critical vote on the legislation and only supported it after changes were made to the $10,000 deduction for state and local taxes, called SALT, raising it to $40,000 for incomes up to $500,000. The current $10,000 cap was passed by Republicans in their 2017 tax plan under President Donald Trump’s first term. The cap disproportionately hurts taxpayers in blue states like New York, where property and state income taxes are relatively high.
“There were key provisions that helped reduce the overall tax burden, but we know the cap on SALT had a negative impact on New York,” Lawler said in an interview on Inside City Hall Wednesday night.
Lawler said he and others in the SALT Caucus “negotiated in good faith with leadership, with the White House.”
“We wanna make sure this is targeted to the middle class, that we are providing real tax relief to those families who have been crushed by New York’s highest-in-the-nation tax burden under Democratic Party rule,” Lawler said.
The SALT changes were also cheered by North Country-area Rep. Elise Stefanik.
“More than 77 million Americans gave House Republicans and President Trump a mandate to cut taxes, secure our borders, restore energy independence, and deliver peace through strength. This legislation includes key provisions that will benefit hardworking New York families,” Stefanik said in a statement. “I was especially proud to work with my New York Republican colleagues to lead on delivering significant tax relief for New Yorkers by increasing the State and Local Tax cap by 300% - a win for hard working families struggling under the weight of the highest tax burden in the nation because of Gov. Kathy Hochul's failed Far Left tax and spend Democrat policies.”
Rep. Nick Langworthy, in Western New York's 23rd Congressional District, said unified Democratic opposition to the measure means they “voted to raise your taxes.”
“This bill delivers historic tax relief for working and middle class families, by stopping the expiration of the Trump tax cuts, enhances the standard deduction, boosts the Child Tax Credit, and ends taxes on tips and overtime—to name a few,” Langworthy said in a statement.
Rep. Andrew Garbarino, of Long Island, missed the vote, but previously signaled support for it.
“I am proud to have been the leading voice on Long Island during negotiations on this key reconciliation bill. I fought to lift the cap on SALT and ensure hardworking Long Island families see the benefits of this important legislation. I was moments away from the House floor, to vote 'yes,' when the vote was closed. While I am frustrated that the vote was closed before I was able to cast my vote, I am proud of the work we accomplished to deliver huge results for Long Island. I congratulate President Trump on getting this bill passed and look forward to voting 'yes' when it comes back to the House floor from the Senate," Garbarino said in a statement.
The entire Democratic caucus, who decried the changes to Medicaid and the food stamps program, largely by imposing work requirements on many of those receiving benefits, voted agains the bill. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates 8.6 million fewer people would have health care coverage and 3 million less people a month would have SNAP food stamps benefits with the proposed changes.
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, also from New York, read letters from Americans describing the way the program cuts would hurt them on the House floor, calling it “one big ugly bill.”
“Today, every single House Democrat voted to stop the largest cuts to Medicaid and food assistance in American history,” Jeffries said. “The GOP Tax Scam rips healthcare and food assistance away from millions of people in order to provide tax cuts to the wealthy, the well-off and the well-connected.”
Other Democrats called it a "big, bad bill" or a "big, broken promise."
“I voted no on the GOP’s budget reconciliation bill because no amount of MAGA spin can change the fact that it will take away food assistance from kids and seniors, strip health care from the disabled and most vulnerable, and saddle the nation with trillions of dollars of new debt. This bill is cruel and immoral, and its supporters rejected any attempts at bipartisan compromise,” freshman Democratic Rep. John Mannion, in Central New York, said in a statement. “I can’t support such broad and misguided cuts to programs including SNAP and Medicaid, and I won’t let NY-22 be fooled. These are not reforms that target waste and fraud - these are deep funding cuts with painful real-world costs to everyday Americans.”
The new Democratic congressman in the sprawling 19th District also highlighted those proposed cuts in his opposition.
“House Republicans are so hell-bent on giving big corporations and campaign donors another tax break that they blocked my amendment to lower the cost of prescription drugs for working families,” Rep. Josh Riley said in a statement. “I don’t know a single person in Upstate New York who thinks our kids should go hungry, our rural hospitals should close, or that 33,000 people in #NY19 should lose their healthcare so that billionaires and the wealthy can get another break. I voted hell no.”
The CBO said the tax provisions would increase federal deficits by $3.8 trillion over the decade, while the changes to Medicaid, food stamps and other services would tally $1 trillion in reduced spending.
The legislation now heads to the U.S. Senate, where it could undergo changes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Correction: Rep. Andrew Garbarino missed the vote but supported the legislation. An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated how he voted.
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