A key House Democrat on Sunday admitted there is “one little portion” of the GOP’s megabill that he likes — the raising of the state and local tax deduction (SALT) cap from $10,000 to $40,000.
Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, voted against the proposed One Big Beautiful Bill Act alongside the rest of his party last week — but is acknowledging that his constituents would get a boost from its SALT change.
“That one little portion is going to be good for my constituents,” Himes told CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Republicans had capped the SALT deduction at $10,000 under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, disproportionately impacting blue states with high state and local taxes.
The new bill would raise the SALT cap to $40,000 for households making $500,000 or less in annual income, amid fierce lobbying from blue-state Republicans.
SALT Caucus reps like Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Nick LaLota (R-NY) had threatened to vote against the mammoth bill if GOP leadership didn’t adequately address the issue, something that alienated fiscal hawks.
The President Trump-pushed bill still has to pass the GOP-controlled Senate, which one of its most outspoken critics, Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, warned Sunday will be tough to do in its current form because of what it would add to the deficit.
Democrats had attempted to raise the SALT cap in 2021 and 2022 when they also controlled the country’s political trifecta — the White House, Senate and House — but ultimately abandoned the move.
Himes on Sunday generally chastised the GOP megabill, which features sweeping tax cuts, bolstered border security, beefed-up defense, energy reforms and more than $1.5 trillion in spending cuts.
“Americans want the wealthiest to be aware of Americans who pay more taxes. And to give tax relief to the middle class. Number two, they want to address the deficit, which is now spiraling out of control,” he said. “[The GOP bill would be] cutting Medicaid and nutritional assistance food stamps to tens of millions of Americans.”
The proposed One Big Beautiful Bill Act would slap work requirements on recipients of both Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The adjustments to Medicaid specifically could result in 7.7 million fewer people having insurance, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate.
Other policy tweaks, including ones to the Affordable Care Act, could bring that figure up to 8.6 million by 2034, the office said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who was a guest on “Face the Nation” before Himes, insisted that with the bill, “We have not cut Medicaid, and we have not cut SNAP.
“What we’re doing … is working on fraud, waste and abuse,” Johnson said. “If you are able to work and you refuse to do so, you are defrauding the system.
“There’s a moral component to what we’re doing. And when you make young men work, it’s good for them, it’s good for their dignity, it’s good for their self-worth, and it’s good for the community,” the speaker said.
Johnson also shrugged off deficit concerns. The megabill could add $3.1 trillion to the deficit over a 10-year period, according to an assessment from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
“No, it’s not an economic gamble. It’s a big investment,” the speaker argued. “What this bill is going to do is be jet fuel to the US economy. It is going to foster a pro-growth economy.
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