US representative Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican, whose district covers the entire Bucks and part of Montgomery, talks with reporters in 2023 (Jennifer Shutt/ States Newsroom)
After weeks of the debate, the Republicans in Congress managed to adopt a mass expenditure account containing many national priorities of President Donald Trump’s policy.
In general, the Act includes a lot of tax reductions and an augment in expenditure on defense and immigration enforcement, which are partly paid using net security programs such as Medicaid and Food. Still, the bill is prohibited To add over $ 3 trillion of country debt over the next decade.
The debate on the law threatened to divide the Republican Club, and the Hardliners from the deficit condemn their price, while others warn against the impact of limiting social services such as Medicaid and food aid. Ultimately, the final version of the act went mainly along the party lines, with three republican senators and two members of the Republican Chamber joined each Democrats in adversity for final regulations.
The only Republican of Pennsylvania, who opposed the act, was Brian Fitzpatrick (R-01), a moderate representing the suburbs of Philadelphia.
Fitzpatrick voted for the previous version of the bill, which passed the chamber, but objected to the changed version that returned from the Senate. It included even more steep medicaid cuts than already proposed.
“I voted in favor of strengthening Medicaid collateral, to a permanent extension of middle class tax reductions, in order to increase the tax relief in small companies and historical investments in our border security and our army, “said Fitzpatrick in a statement after Thursday afternoon voting. However, the change of the Senate regarding Medicaid, except for several other Senate attitudes that changed the analysis of our PA-1 community.”
Republican account defenders see it differently.
“This bill provides the promise that I have made to the inhabitants of northeastern Pennsylvania, providing the greatest tax reductions in the history of working class in America’s history, eliminating taxes from the ends and overtime and securing the southern border,” said Rob Bresnahan (R-08), who represents the northeastern Pennsylvania. “We also protect and strengthen Medicaid, destroying fraud, waste and abuse, which make the program towards falling. This provides Medicaid for seniors, disabled people and sensitive families, not for those who can do this but refuse.”
According to analysis The List of Universal by KFF, Non -Profit focusing on research on health policy, 92% of medicaid recipients under 65 years of age, attends school, or does not work due to care, illness or disability.
According to almost 12 million Americans, he may lose health insurance when the provisions of the account, the full effects, according to estimates from an impartial congress budget office.
The Social Welfare Department in Pennsylvania estimated that the previous version of the Act could lead to a loss of 310,000 Pennsylvania, and another 270,000 loss of access to plans for inexpensive government care due to the expiry of increased tax breaks. The version of the Act, which passed Thursday, caused even more steep cuts.
First of all, Medicaid cuts are implemented by implementing strict work requirements and reporting fines. Medicaid recipients will have to prove that they work or volunteer at least 80 hours a month, if they are not children, older, disabled, seriously ill, in regeneration or carers of children under 14 years of age. They will also have to certify their rights at least twice a year or risk loss of benefits.
Earlier efforts to implement similar requirements of work in Georgia and Arkansas caused Tens of thousands of people Who should have been qualified to the uninsured program.
The Act also defines up-to-date boundaries how many states can taxpayers, such as hospitals, to aid pay their medicaid programs, reducing the highest rate from 6% to 3.5% to 2032.
The Social Welfare Department claims that moving can cost $ 2.7 billion of tax revenues and federal matches of matching, when the change brings a full effect.
In some cases, the Act also reduces the federal participation in financing SNAP, changing the part of paying for the food assistance program in the States for the first time. Apart from Alaska and Hawaii, states with error indicators above 6% – which means a frequency that they do not reward or overpay recipients – they will have to finance from 5% to 15% of the program on their own.
Pensilings Error factor amounted to 10.76% in 2024, slightly below the national rate of 10.93%
Governor Josh Shapiro has repeatedly said in recent weeks that Pennsylvania has no money to compensate for lost federal funds for net security programs.
“Shame on those members of the Congress who spent the last few months, saying:” Oh, I never cut Medicaid, “said Shapiro Wilk Radio on Thursday morning. “It’s just crazy that they vote for knocking out destitute people with this aid. Why? Because they wanted to give people a huge reduction in taxes at the highest level of income.”
The cuts led to fear of financial impact on rural hospitals that rely on Medicaid dollars to stay on the surface. To balance this, the Senate put a recipe for creating a fund of $ 50 billion for them.
The biggest expenses in the account are tax reductions. This extends the tax reductions of the first Trump administration from 2017, which have expired; It is good that the promises of the Trump campaign eliminate taxes on tips and overtime remuneration; Extends tax relief for children from USD 2000 to USD 2,200; and increases the limit of deducting the salt tax, which allows people to deduct some of the local taxes paid from their federal documents, from USD 10,000 to USD 40,000.
There are also up-to-date tax reductions for companies that will allow them to write back additional expenses. However, many tax reductions for green energy projects adopted as part of the Biden administration will be eliminated.
The bill covers $ 350 billion for up-to-date expenses for national security and enforcement of immigration law, including $ 46 billion for the American-Meticus border, $ 45 billion for migrating custody and $ 30 billion for immigration and customs enforcement.
Another $ 25 billion will be allocated to the development of the Trump’s nationwide rocket defense system, called the “golden dome”, named after the “iron dome of Israel”, which was built with the aid of the USA.
Cbo estimated The version of the act that passed the house brought benefits above all the richest Americans, and at the same time cost the poorest.
Considering the cutting of net security programs, the poorest 10% of households will lose around USD 1,600 a year, while medium -sized households will gain from $ 500 to 1000, and households in 10% of income levels will gain around USD 12,000 per year.
Despite its final opposition, the Democratic Committee of the Congress Campaign has already concluded Fitzpatrick for voting on the initial version of the act. Then he handed over the chamber in voting 215-214, in which a single flip could keep him.
“Now Fitzpatrick is trying to cover his songs because he knows that his voting to develop huge Medicaid cuts in order to finance tax reductions for billionaires will end his career,” said Eli Cousin, a spokesman for DCCC in a statement by Eli Cousin.
While Fitzpatrick has been maintaining its place since 2018, its district He voted for the democratic candidate Kamala Harris In the 2024 election.
