WEBVTT - Rep. Malliotakis Talks SALT Debate

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.

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<v Speaker 2>To our next guest who is joining us now live

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<v Speaker 2>from Capitol Hill, Republican Congressman Nicole Mallytakis of New York,

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<v Speaker 2>who Zach just mentioned, is with us now here on

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<v Speaker 2>Bloomberg TV and Radio. Congressman, welcome back to Balance of Power.

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<v Speaker 2>You've obviously made it back safely to Washington from mar

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<v Speaker 2>A Lago. I know you told Zach and have expressed

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<v Speaker 2>that really this is about getting to two hundred and

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<v Speaker 2>eighteen and whatever number it is on SALT that can

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<v Speaker 2>get the requisite votes. But is there a floor and

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<v Speaker 2>a ceiling, some kind of parameter around what that number

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<v Speaker 2>actually realistically could look like you could share with us.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah. Look, I think your reporter got it just right.

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<v Speaker 3>The low end, it would be doubling it from ten

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<v Speaker 3>to twenty. On the high end, it would be one

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<v Speaker 3>hundred thousand for individual I quite frankly think that is

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<v Speaker 3>a little too high, in particular if we're looking at

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<v Speaker 3>target and middle class families, I think it could be

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<v Speaker 3>really more between the twenty and the sixty range. And

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<v Speaker 3>this is just me knowing all the information I know

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<v Speaker 3>as a member of Ways and Means and looking at

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<v Speaker 3>the big piece, big picture, the big puzzle, knowing all

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<v Speaker 3>the other pieces that need to fit into this equation.

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<v Speaker 3>I think the idea here is to get some type

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<v Speaker 3>of relief from the federal level for our constituents in

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<v Speaker 3>New York, New Jersey, California, because their mayors and governors,

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<v Speaker 3>quite frankly, are abusing them. They keep increasing their taxes.

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<v Speaker 3>The property tax levy in New York City goes up

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<v Speaker 3>year after year after year. It's the only municipality in

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<v Speaker 3>the state that does not have a two percent cap,

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<v Speaker 3>and that's unfortunate. This problem could obviously be resolved by

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<v Speaker 3>our mayor and governor if they were just to freeze

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<v Speaker 3>property taxes or lower the personal income tax rate, as

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<v Speaker 3>President Trump did in TCJA in twenty seventeen. But you

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<v Speaker 3>have to remember there's the other pieces. You have the

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<v Speaker 3>standard deduction that was doubled. You had the child tax

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<v Speaker 3>credit that was doubled. You had the Alternative Minimum tax

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<v Speaker 3>which went away completely for the middle class, which was

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<v Speaker 3>really crushing them and it actually prevented them from ben

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<v Speaker 3>fitting from salt. So we can't have the AMT come

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<v Speaker 3>back as part of this. I've made that very clear

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<v Speaker 3>and so we're working with all these different pieces, not

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<v Speaker 3>to mention the corporate stuff and the R and D

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<v Speaker 3>tax credit and bonus appreciation, so many other pieces that

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<v Speaker 3>are going to be part of this package.

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<v Speaker 1>Fascinating, Congresswoman that you're also exploring some more creative ideas here.

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<v Speaker 1>The reporting that we're reading coming out of the mar

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<v Speaker 1>A Lago conference quotes you to suggests maybe we increase

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<v Speaker 1>the deduction. If your state freezes or lowers the tax rate,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe the deduction goes even higher. Now, this is getting interesting,

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<v Speaker 1>and I wonder what the reaction that you got was

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<v Speaker 1>from your fellow lawmakers, from the President elect, and maybe

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<v Speaker 1>even from Democrats who you've floated this to.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, I think my colleagues actually really like that idea,

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<v Speaker 3>because part of the problem is we want to give relief.

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<v Speaker 3>But if we give taxpayers money back with one hand,

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<v Speaker 3>and the governor and mayor come along and just raise

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<v Speaker 3>taxes and take it with the other, that's a problem

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<v Speaker 3>and the taxpayer ends up losing at the end of

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<v Speaker 3>the day. And so how do we incentivize, how do

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<v Speaker 3>we change behavior, How do we hold the mayors and

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<v Speaker 3>the governors that are treating taxpayers like ATMs accountable, and

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<v Speaker 3>so we have to see if this can legally be done.

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<v Speaker 3>That's the big question. Can we let's say double this

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<v Speaker 3>deduction and then say maybe it goes up, it triples

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<v Speaker 3>or quadruples if your state takes action to freeze put

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<v Speaker 3>a cap on property taxes and freeze income taxes or

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<v Speaker 3>reduce them. You know, these are ideas that we're tossing around.

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<v Speaker 3>I've also said, maybe we want to limit the property

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<v Speaker 3>tax portion of this deduction for primary residences, right so

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<v Speaker 3>that could actually target the people that truly need it.

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<v Speaker 3>I think there's a lot of different ideas being floated around,

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<v Speaker 3>and as a member of the Ways and Means Committee,

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<v Speaker 3>we are obviously crunching the numbers, but we have to

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<v Speaker 3>wait until the Budgets Committee gives us the top line

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<v Speaker 3>and the reconciliation instructions to really figure out how to

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<v Speaker 3>put together this Rubik's cube. And that's you know, in

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<v Speaker 3>the meantime, would between the math and trying to figure

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<v Speaker 3>out what our options are and we'll go from there.

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<v Speaker 2>Well as we talk about the kind of structure of reconciliation. Congressman,

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<v Speaker 2>was there consensus built at mar Alago this week? Und

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<v Speaker 2>around the one bill or two idea or is this

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<v Speaker 2>still a live debate? What messaging were your you and

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<v Speaker 2>your colleagues delivering to the president elect? What was he

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<v Speaker 2>saying in return?

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<v Speaker 3>But I think the majority of our membership, certainly all

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<v Speaker 3>the members of the House Ways and Means Committee, want

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<v Speaker 3>to see one bill. And if you saw what happened

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<v Speaker 3>in the last week of session right last year, that's

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<v Speaker 3>the reason why we need one bill. It's hard to

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<v Speaker 3>build consensus when you have such a slim majority. And

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<v Speaker 3>the last time they did two reconciliation bills, it was

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<v Speaker 3>under Gingridge in nineteen ninety seven and he had a

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<v Speaker 3>much larger majority. You have to remember TCJA there were

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<v Speaker 3>thirteen no Republican votes.

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<v Speaker 1>We don't have that luxury.

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<v Speaker 3>We have one. We have a majority of one. So

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<v Speaker 3>we have to build consensus, and I think the best

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<v Speaker 3>way to do that is to put the different pieces

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<v Speaker 3>that members care about together, the border security measures, the

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<v Speaker 3>energy production measures. Those will satisfy some of the border states,

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<v Speaker 3>the energy producing states, and you have the salt states

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<v Speaker 3>get something with our salt relief. And overall we support

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<v Speaker 3>as a conference, we support tax cuts, we support border security,

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<v Speaker 3>we support American energy dominance. So let's just drill down

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<v Speaker 3>and negotiate with each other on those finer details of

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<v Speaker 3>each of these and get one bill passed so we

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<v Speaker 3>get to the two eighteen. If you kick tax to

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<v Speaker 3>the end of the year in a separate package, I

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<v Speaker 3>very much fear that it will expire and America will

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<v Speaker 3>see four trillion dollars in tax increases. We cannot afford

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<v Speaker 3>to allow that to happen. It's too risky to do

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<v Speaker 3>it later on in the year and not upfront with

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<v Speaker 3>this first package.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, congress Woman, that's as long as we've ever gone

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<v Speaker 1>in a conversation. I think before you mentioned the border,

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<v Speaker 1>So let's get to it. There is a thought out

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<v Speaker 1>there on Grover Norquist suggested it a little bit earlier

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<v Speaker 1>in the broadcast that Donald Trump's plans to issue some

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<v Speaker 1>one hundred executive orders, many of them aimed at the border,

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<v Speaker 1>will give you breathing room to actually craft a single

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<v Speaker 1>bill that would include border security and the tax issues

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<v Speaker 1>that we're talking about. Is that the way you're looking

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<v Speaker 1>at this, Let the President handle the border out of

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<v Speaker 1>the gate. We'll back him up with legislation when it's

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<v Speaker 1>done being written here and our debate concludes on the Hill.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, well, you know, the Senate has made the argument

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<v Speaker 3>that we need to do too, because we want to

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<v Speaker 3>do the border wins early on. There's a way we

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<v Speaker 3>can achieve that. First, as you say, the President can

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<v Speaker 3>issue the executive orders, and he will do that to

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<v Speaker 3>undo the policies of the Biden administration. But we've also

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<v Speaker 3>passed legislation. Just the other day, we passed a Lake

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<v Speaker 3>in Riley Act, which would require those who commit certain

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<v Speaker 3>crimes to be detained and deported. And we're working through

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<v Speaker 3>pieces of legislation that can get bipartisan support and the

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<v Speaker 3>sixty votes needed in the Senate to get that out

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<v Speaker 3>the door and put it on the president's desk for

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<v Speaker 3>when he arrives next week. So I think we can

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<v Speaker 3>score those border victories early and then really when it

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<v Speaker 3>comes to the reconciliation, it has to have a fiscal implication, right,

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<v Speaker 3>So we can't necessarily do Lake and Riley Act in reconciliation.

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<v Speaker 3>But we can increase border patrol, we can increase technology,

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<v Speaker 3>we can put some things in there that would help

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<v Speaker 3>with the deportation of criminals, and maybe adding judges to

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<v Speaker 3>hear these asylum cases. Faster, so I think we can

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<v Speaker 3>achieve both things here. And the bottom line is a

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<v Speaker 3>president really just wants to get it done. I don't

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<v Speaker 3>think he cares at the end of the day on

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<v Speaker 3>whether it's one or two. I think he just wants

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<v Speaker 3>to get the policies done that will get America back

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<v Speaker 3>on track. We've made the case that it should be

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<v Speaker 3>one bill, and I think he sees the merit of

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<v Speaker 3>one bill. As I said, considering what happened at the

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<v Speaker 3>end of last year where we had so much back

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<v Speaker 3>and forth within our conference, well, and part of.

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<v Speaker 2>That saga at the end of last year Congressman was

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<v Speaker 2>a question over whether the debt ceiling should be lifted

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<v Speaker 2>or abolished entirely before Trump takes office. How was that

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<v Speaker 2>interplaying in the conversations this weekend. When is that going

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<v Speaker 2>to happen, and what legislation and what could potentially be

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<v Speaker 2>the trade off is we've seen reporting that it might

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<v Speaker 2>be debt sealing in exchange for wildfire relief in California.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, you know, interestingly enough, a lot of members believe

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<v Speaker 3>that the debt limit piece of this is probably the

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<v Speaker 3>most complicated because that's where you see the most friction

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<v Speaker 3>Within our conference, there are some members who never voted

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<v Speaker 3>to increase the debt limit, and we have to understand

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<v Speaker 3>that the debt limit is money that's already been spent

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<v Speaker 3>that we're paying the bill. We don't want to prevent

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<v Speaker 3>a default. So the responsible thing to do is to

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<v Speaker 3>address that debt limit and do it before June. I

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<v Speaker 3>think we're just going to look for any vehicle where

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<v Speaker 3>we can get it. It could be with disaster aid,

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<v Speaker 3>it could be within the reconciliation, it could be within

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<v Speaker 3>the government funding mechanism, you know, the federal budget. So

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<v Speaker 3>we'll see, we'll see what vehicle where we can get it.

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<v Speaker 3>But it does need to be addressed before June. The

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<v Speaker 3>sooner we can do it, the better. Let's get it

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<v Speaker 3>out of the way, since it's the most contentious peace

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<v Speaker 3>and then get to the other real policy issues that

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<v Speaker 3>the Americans people have been waiting for. Right They want

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<v Speaker 3>to get this economy back on track. They want to

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<v Speaker 3>see the tax cuts extended and enhanced. They want to

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<v Speaker 3>see our border secure and people who are here legally

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<v Speaker 3>committing crimes deported, and they want to see us lower

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<v Speaker 3>those energy costs and produce more energy domestically.

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<v Speaker 1>Congresswoman with regard to the border. While you're with us

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<v Speaker 1>here in our remaining couple of moments, a warning from

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<v Speaker 1>Immigrations and custom Enforcement. Without emergency funding, they could be

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<v Speaker 1>forced to release tens of thousands of immigrants, including some

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<v Speaker 1>deemed to be public safety threats. We've talked a lot

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<v Speaker 1>about the number of migrants being held in hotels, for instance,

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<v Speaker 1>in places like New York City. Are you in touch

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<v Speaker 1>with ICE and with border patrol on this matter? Would

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<v Speaker 1>Congress be there to prevent the release of people dangerous

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<v Speaker 1>to Americans?

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<v Speaker 3>Well, I have not heard about this. If there's an

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<v Speaker 3>issue with the funding, because the funding is there for

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<v Speaker 3>the next uh you know, to the end of March.

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<v Speaker 3>I think what they need to do is actually find

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<v Speaker 3>a way to shift the funding so instead of housing

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<v Speaker 3>individuals uh and transporting individuals into America's cities, we're actually

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<v Speaker 3>deporting them and repatriating them. Uh. And I and if

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<v Speaker 3>there are committing crimes and they don't have legitimate asylum claims.

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<v Speaker 3>So I think that we met with Tom Hollman about this.

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, particularly New York City has been destroyed, uh,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, by havoc being waked by illegal immigrants, gang members,

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<v Speaker 3>drug traffickers, people who are bad, dangerous people. They've they've

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<v Speaker 3>committed murder, they've committed robberies, they've committed all sorts of

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<v Speaker 3>crimes in our city, and we need to get them

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<v Speaker 3>out of our city and our country. And so the

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<v Speaker 3>question really has been how does the incoming administration legally

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<v Speaker 3>Is there a way for them to shift some of

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<v Speaker 3>the funny Monday money but has actually been used to

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<v Speaker 3>provide incentives and house these individuals and give them h

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<v Speaker 3>free services to actually remove them from our country. And

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<v Speaker 3>that's I think what the incoming administration is gonna have

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<v Speaker 3>to address when they get there next week.

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<v Speaker 1>From New York's eleventh District, Nicole malli Otaka is great

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<v Speaker 1>to see you, Congresswoman. We thank you