“Tensions are flaring between House Republicans as lawmakers from New York have threatened to oppose a major upcoming tax bill unless it raises the current $10,000 cap on the State and Local Tax Deduction, a pricey proposition that many in the party oppose,” Semafor reports.
House and Senate Headed to Fight Over Budget
The House and Senate are on a collision course over the budget after Republican and Democratic appropriators in the upper chamber agreed to add $13.7 billion on top of next year’s spending caps from the debt ceiling negotiations, Punchbowl News reports.
House Republicans are pushing to spend less than maximum allowed by the caps.
House GOP Looks to Cancel Infrastructure Spending
Washington Post: “A series of GOP bills to finance the federal government in 2024 would wipe out billions of dollars meant to repair the nation’s aging infrastructure, potentially undercutting a 2021 law that was one of Washington’s rare recent bipartisan achievements. The proposed cuts could hamstring some of the most urgently needed public-works projects across the country, from improving rail safety to reducing lead contamination at schools.”
“Some of the cuts would be particularly steep: Amtrak, for example, could lose nearly two-thirds of its annual federal funding next fiscal year if House Republicans prevail. That includes more than $1 billion in cuts targeting the highly trafficked and rapidly aging Northeast Corridor, which runs between Boston and Washington, prompting Amtrak’s chief to sound early alarms about service disruptions.”
GOP Centrists Threaten Hardline Tactics on Tax Bill
“A group of House Republican centrists is taking a page from their hardliner colleagues, demanding critical changes to their party’s signature tax plan — and threatening to hold the bill up until they get it,” Politico reports.
“A small band of Republicans from New York, New Jersey and California is effectively blocking the House GOP’s tax plan from reaching the floor anytime soon as they seek relief for taxpayers back home who’ve been hit with heftier bills due to a Trump-era tax law that limited a key deduction.”
IRS Collected $38 Million from 175 Tax Delinquents
“The IRS is showcasing its new capability to aggressively audit high-income tax dodgers as it makes the case for sustained funding and tries to avert budget cuts sought by Republicans who want to gut the agency,” the AP reports.
“IRS leaders said they collected $38 million in delinquent taxes from more than 175 high-income taxpayers in the past few months.”
Tax-Prep Companies Shared Data with Tech Giants
“Some of the nation’s largest tax-prep companies have spent years sharing Americans’ sensitive financial data with tech titans including Meta and Google in a potential violation of federal law — data that in some cases was misused for targeted advertising,” CNN reports.
A Collision Course Over Government Funding
“A brewing battle over how to fund the federal government is poised to escalate this week when Congress returns from a two-week recess,” NBC News reports.
“The House Republican majority is on a collision course with the Senate as appropriators in both chambers advance conflicting versions of a sweeping package, which must become law by Sept. 30 to prevent a government shutdown.”
“Unlike the House, Senate leaders have moved on a bipartisan path and key senators say they intend to reassert themselves after taking a back seat in the recent debt ceiling negotiations.”
Washington Post: Congress returns with lots to do but little time to do it.
Congress Dives Back Into Fights on Spending Cuts
Wall Street Journal: “Top of mind on Capitol Hill as lawmakers return from recess this week are the annual spending bills to keep the government open, which must be enacted by the time the new fiscal year starts on Oct. 1.”
“Other priorities include legislation authorizing military programs, updating agriculture and food-aid policy and keeping the country’s airports running, all of which must also be enacted by the new fiscal year, although Congress can also agree to temporarily extend current programs.”
State Revenues Are Now Weakening
“Fueled by surging revenues, states have been slashing taxes for individuals and businesses for the past three years,” CNN reports.
“But the party is expected to come to an end in the coming fiscal year, which started on Saturday in 46 states. Revenue is projected to decline by 0.7% in fiscal 2024, based on forecasts used in governors’ budgets, after an estimated 0.3% dip this fiscal year, according to a recently released National Association of State Budget Officers survey.”
“This reversal comes after double-digit percentage increases for the prior two fiscal years. It reflects the impact of slower economic growth, a weaker stock market and a slew of recent tax cuts.”
$200+ Billion in Covid Aid May Have Been Stolen
“More than $200 billion may have been stolen from two large Covid-19 relief initiatives, according to new estimates from a federal watchdog investigating federally funded programs that helped small businesses survive the worst public health crisis in more than a hundred years,” the AP reports.
“The numbers issued Tuesday by the U.S. Small Business Administration inspector general are much greater than the office’s previous projections and underscore how vulnerable the Paycheck Protection and Covid-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs were to fraudsters.”
The Next President’s $4 Trillion Problem
“Whoever is in the White House in 2025 will quickly face a series of legislative deadlines with impossible price tags: $3.6 trillion in tax cuts and $350 billion in Affordable Care Act subsidies are expiring — and that’s after the debt limit will need to be addressed again,” Axios reports.
“The deadlines could force political horse-trading of epic proportions. Alternatively, gridlock or alarm over the nation’s debt may lead to Americans seeing higher taxes and fewer benefits.”
Congress’ Typical Shutdown Punt Gets New Twist
“It’s only June, and already Congress is threatening to ruin New Year’s Eve,” Politico reports.
“With just over three months until the next shutdown deadline, the two parties are nowhere near a bipartisan deal to fund the government by the start of the new fiscal year. So top lawmakers are predicting that Congress will revert back to its worn-out habit: punting until the holiday season. It’s a classic forcing mechanism when members are particularly eager to escape the Capitol dome.”
Trump Tax Cuts on the Ballot in 2024
Politico: “Much of the GOP’s sweeping Trump-era tax breaks are set to expire in 2025, which will almost certainly push Congress to act on their future. So the 2024 campaign will determine whether Republicans can keep the cuts, Democrats can rewrite them — or, if neither party gets a clean sweep, whether a split government prompts a massive fiscal collision.”
“Both Democrats and Republicans are actively strategizing over how to handle the very real consequences of the tax cliff. First, though, one party has to try to win it all.”
McCarthy Headed for a Government Shutdown
“House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s latest pledge to cut spending—intended to again mollify hard-right members of his party—has put Congress on a collision course with a potential government shutdown later this year,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“To become House speaker in January, the California Republican promised deep spending reductions. To reach a debt-ceiling deal with the White House, he tacked to the middle, agreeing to smaller constraints than conservatives wanted. Eleven Republicans revolted this month, withholding procedural votes and bringing the House to a halt. That prompted the speaker to promise another crack at cuts, this time in the appropriations process now getting under way.”
“This latest pledge drew howls from Democrats who said he was reneging on the bipartisan spending deal. The fight is expected to come to a head this fall when the GOP-controlled House and Democratic-run Senate try to pass an annual spending package. On the line: a possible lapse in government funding that many lawmakers see as increasingly probable, and, once again, McCarthy’s job if he is forced to make concessions hard-liners don’t like.”
U.S. National Debt Tops $32 Trillion for First Time
“The gross national debt exceeded $32 trillion for the first time on Friday, underscoring the country’s unsettling fiscal trajectory as Washington gears up for another fight over government spending,” the New York Times reports.
Quote of the Day
“I’m not afraid of shutdowns. American life doesn’t halt because government offices are closed… We have to be serious about spending.”
— Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), quoted by Politico.
Big Rift Develops Between House and Senate Republicans
“The signs of a split between House and Senate Republicans are growing as Capitol Hill barrels toward yet another major fight over the federal budget later this year,” Semafor reports.
“Facing pressure from hard right lawmakers, House Republicans have begun writing budget bills for next year that on paper would spend almost $120 billion less than the amounts outlined in the debt ceiling deal Congress passed this month, setting the stage for another showdown with Democrats in the Senate and the White House that has already prompted speculation about a potential government shutdown in the fall.”
“But Republicans on the Senate appropriations committee aren’t showing any interest in going along with the House’s effort.”
Hardline Conservatives Push for Government Shutdown
“Fresh off grinding the House floor to a halt last week, hardline House conservatives are already gunning for a new fight: Forcing a government shutdown this fall if they don’t get desired spending cuts,” Punchbowl News reports.
Said Rep. Bob Good (R-VA): “We shouldn’t fear a government shutdown. If we shut it down in order to try to bring fiscal stability and fiscal solvency, that will save the country from an economic and fiscal standpoint for our kids and grandkids.”
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