WEBVTT - House Ways and Means Committee Chairman (R) Jason Smith Talks SALT

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, Radio News.

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<v Speaker 2>Chairman, thanks so much for being with us. You've said

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<v Speaker 2>you want to deliver a budget with tax cuts to

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<v Speaker 2>the president.

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<v Speaker 1>By Memorial Day.

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<v Speaker 2>Do you think right now you can realistically still hit

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<v Speaker 2>that timeframe.

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<v Speaker 1>We absolutely can deliver it to the president by July fourth.

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<v Speaker 1>That has been a goal of mine for a long time.

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<v Speaker 1>Of course, this is a very big bill. The President

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<v Speaker 1>calls it the one big beautiful bill. It will have

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<v Speaker 1>border policy, it will have defense, it will have spending cuts,

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<v Speaker 1>but also it will make sure that it allows permanency

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<v Speaker 1>of President Trump's expiring twenty seventeen tax provisions, but also

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<v Speaker 1>new provisions that he campaigned on, like no tax on tips,

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<v Speaker 1>no tax in overtime, tax relief for seniors. But we

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<v Speaker 1>can put that on the desk by July fourth. Is

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<v Speaker 1>it going to be easy? Absolutely not. We have very

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<v Speaker 1>narrow thin margins both in the House and the Senate.

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<v Speaker 1>But we're going to get it done.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, you talk about things like no tax on tips,

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<v Speaker 2>the Trump era tax cuts, taking those out of the budget.

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<v Speaker 2>Are you still confident you'll be able to get everything

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<v Speaker 2>paid for that needs to get paid for.

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<v Speaker 1>We're going to be able to be within the numbers

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<v Speaker 1>that was in the budget resolution. There's no question that

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<v Speaker 1>we can do that. It's so important because if we

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<v Speaker 1>aren't successful, every single American on average will face a

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<v Speaker 1>twenty two percent tax increase, and that's the last thing

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<v Speaker 1>they need. When they look over the last four years,

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<v Speaker 1>inflation's gone up twenty one percent. That's made it more

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<v Speaker 1>difficult for them to put food on their table, closing

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<v Speaker 1>their backs, gasoline in their cars. We cannot allow this

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<v Speaker 1>tax increase on everyday Americans.

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<v Speaker 2>So you've discussed cuts to Medicaid. Are you confident you

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<v Speaker 2>can get all Republicans on board or certainly you know

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<v Speaker 2>enough to get this done without Democrats many who have

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<v Speaker 2>said that is a red line for them.

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<v Speaker 1>The President's been very clear he does not want to

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<v Speaker 1>cut eligibility and benefits to people on Medicaid, Medicare, or

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<v Speaker 1>Social Security. He's looking at possibly work requirements. He's open

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<v Speaker 1>to making sure illegals aren't receiving benefits. That's another item

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<v Speaker 1>that he's looking at. But in regards to finding spending cuts,

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<v Speaker 1>there's numerous ways we can find spending cuts. One example

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<v Speaker 1>is to eliminate some bad tax policy there's hundreds of

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<v Speaker 1>billions of dollars within the Green New Deal tax scam

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<v Speaker 1>that was passed, and that can be used to pay

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<v Speaker 1>for all of these items like no tax on tips,

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<v Speaker 1>tax really for seniors, and no tax on overtime.

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<v Speaker 2>Has President Trump come out and said that he would

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<v Speaker 2>support expand expanding Medicaid work requirements for those up to

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<v Speaker 2>age sixty four? He's a come out and said I

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<v Speaker 2>will do this.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know for certain if that was a thing,

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<v Speaker 1>but I do know that he has showed that he's

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<v Speaker 1>open to doing some type of work requirements for able bodied,

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<v Speaker 1>healthy adults that's on Medicaid. But don't I don't recall

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<v Speaker 1>what you were referring to on No.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm just wondering in your conversations if he has said

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<v Speaker 2>to you, yes, I'm open to absolutely supporting that.

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<v Speaker 1>So he has showed that he's open to efficiencies in

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<v Speaker 1>government as long as they do not cut benefits for

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<v Speaker 1>people that's on Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security.

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<v Speaker 2>Now, could the tax bill limit the state and local

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<v Speaker 2>deduction to those earning less than four hundred thousand dollars

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<v Speaker 2>a year.

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<v Speaker 1>It's whatever Congress decides to do. I think that it's

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<v Speaker 1>very important that this tax bill is providing relief for

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<v Speaker 1>working families, small business owners, and farmers. This is the

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<v Speaker 1>priority of House Republicans, and whenever you look at every

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<v Speaker 1>tax provision, I think that's something to be mindful of.

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<v Speaker 2>How high could the deduction limit go? Twenty five thousand

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<v Speaker 2>has been suggested, but New York and California Republicans have

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<v Speaker 2>said that isn't enough.

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<v Speaker 1>So balancing all the different items within the tax code

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<v Speaker 1>is super important. We have some members who would like

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<v Speaker 1>an unlimited salt deduction. We have others that don't want

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<v Speaker 1>you to even be able to deduct one dollar for salt.

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<v Speaker 1>I have to have all the members. I can only

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<v Speaker 1>lose three to pass this bill. So it's really threading

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<v Speaker 1>a needle and balancing it to find the right number.

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<v Speaker 1>Ten thousand dollars is not satisfactory. We're going to have

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<v Speaker 1>to increase it, but we're going to find a fair balance.

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<v Speaker 1>Typically the number that we'll find will probably make everyone unhappy,

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<v Speaker 1>and so that means it's probably the right number.

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<v Speaker 2>When you talk about three, I mean that is a

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<v Speaker 2>low number. How do you get everybody on board for

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<v Speaker 2>all the different things they want for specific states. How

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<v Speaker 2>do you do that?

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<v Speaker 1>One big, beautiful bill is how we will do that,

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<v Speaker 1>because it's a balancing approach. Like I said, there's going

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<v Speaker 1>to be things that you absolutely love and there's going

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<v Speaker 1>to be some other things that you don't like nearly

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<v Speaker 1>as much. And so the overall picture of this bill,

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<v Speaker 1>the border security, the homeland security, the spending cuts, and

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<v Speaker 1>also the tax cuts for working fans only, small businesses

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<v Speaker 1>and farmers, you have to look at all of it

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<v Speaker 1>together and how that delivers real results for the people

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<v Speaker 1>who we represent.