The House Freedom Caucus, a group of Republicans who purport to care about the deficit but voted in favor of ...
Emily Singer at Daily Kos:
The House Freedom Caucus, a group of Republicans who purport to care about the deficit but voted in favor of the deficit-busting "One Big, Beautiful Bill Act,â is now retroactively demanding changes to the legislation. In an unsigned 10-page letter obtained by Punchbowl News, the group of self-described âHouse conservativesâ is demanding that the Senateâwhich is having its turn to mark up the billâmake more cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, strip out the expanded state and local tax deduction that a group of New York and California Republicans put in the bill, and take out a provision that bans regulations on artificial intelligence, among other things. "I think itâs vital for our democracy that people contact their Senators if they oppose a bill, but kind of weird to do that after *voting for* that same bill as a House member," Brendan Duke, an expert at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, wrote on X. The âHouse conservativesâ want Senate Republicans to end Medicaid provider taxes, which allow states to receive more federal dollars to cover Medicaid expenses, and to change how much the federal government pays per Medicaid recipient. The federal government pays higher percentages of Medicaid patient costs in poorer states, many of which are GOP-led. "Reform Medicaid further to end the fraud and abuse enabling expansion states to game the system to enrich themselves and subsidize the able-bodied seven times more than the most vulnerable,â the letter demands of Senate Republicans. The letter also calls for more work requirements and restrictions on people with substance abuse disorders who receive food stamps, a program that helps feed millions of Americans, 40% of whom are children.Â
The House Republicans spelled out other changes to help President Donald Trump carry out his authoritarian agenda, writing that they want the Senate to, "1) Stop activist (leftist) judges abusing authority to help President Trump deliver, 2) Kill all or most of the new car taxes, 3) increase remittances and other fines and fees on illegals, 4) Fully end any chance of subsidy going to illegal aliens, 5) Be more aggressive on healthcare freedom (a good answer to complaints about Medicaid reforms would be more options), 6) protect states ability to manage AI (currently limited)."
House Freedom Caucus demands retroactive changes to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to make the bill even more punitive before it goes to the Senate.
