President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" passes in the U.S. House, Texans in Congress react
In Washington, Congressional Republicans, including all from Texas, passed what President Trump has called the "big, beautiful bill." It makes permanent the tax cuts approved during the President's first term.
The measure also adds to the president's campaign promises of no tax on tips and no tax on overtime pay. While it does not include his proposal for no tax on social security, House Republicans did provide an additional $4,000 to the standard deduction for seniors. But these three provisions are temporary, not permanent.
The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.
In an interview for Eye On Politics, U.S. Rep. Keith Self, R-McKinney, said, "The tax cut extension is absolutely mandatory, as I've called it. That is the crown jewel of this whole bill because if we had not extended those tax cuts. Families would have seen a $1,500 increase in their tax bills. So that was the absolutely mandatory element of this entire bill, this entire reconciliation bill."
The measure also cuts Medicaid spending and imposes work requirements.
"We want to reserve and strengthen Medicaid for those people who are supposed to be on it: pregnant women, children, seniors, disabled. You're looking at a 25% growth in Medicaid over 10 years. Medicaid was never intended to service the working, aged adults who are not working, who are playing their video games, cashing their government checks. These are illegal immigrants who should not be getting Medicaid in the first place," said Self.
But Texas Democrats who serve in Congress criticized the cuts by Republicans during a virtual news conference last week.
Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, said, "It's what I call bureaucratic red tape meant to disqualify people."
"Their cuts are permanent, but also the harm that's done will be permanent too," Rep. Al Green, D-Houston, said. "We're going to have to find a way to stop them now, or we'll have a long time trying to pull ourselves back."
Congressman Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, said, "These cuts are going to be devastating to San Antonians, to Texans and to people across the country. To start with, you have 14 million people who could lose healthcare coverage."
As CBS News Texas first reported, the measure also contains $12 billion to reimburse states, like Texas, for their efforts to secure the border during the Biden administration, which saw record numbers of people who entered the U.S. illegally. Gov. Abbott requested more than $11 billion in reimbursements back in January.
"Texas taxpayers paid for what should have been done by the federal government," Self said.
When asked if he believes the state will receive all the money requested, Self said, "I suspect it'll be real close. I don't know the other states' charges, but I will tell you they are very minor compared to Texas."
