Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) suggested that promoting economic growth, which he said the “big, beautiful bill” is trying to do, is another way to stave off the national debt.
Husted was among the Republican senators who voted to advance President Donald Trump’s tax legislation Saturday night. Husted celebrated that the bill would avoid a $4 trillion tax increase for American taxpayers. While on Fox News’s Fox & Friends on Sunday, Husted addressed critics of the bill who worry that it will only add to the federal debt rather than reduce it.
“The growth is necessary. If you really want to crash the debt, slow the economy down, and that’s what you’ll have problems with,” Husted said. “And this reforms things like Medicaid, saying that if you’re a healthy adult who doesn’t have young children and you’re receiving these generous tax benefits, well, you know what? You’re going to have to work in return for those benefits now. Illegals who are here taking Medicaid, you’re not going to get those benefits anymore. All of those things help reduce costs in the long run and help reduce the deficit.”
Future amendments are still expected before the Senate votes to pass the legislation to the House for its final stamp of approval. The Senate Finance Committee has proposed tax deductions for businesses for research and development efforts and interest costs for borrowing for capital spending projects.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk complained that the bill would stifle his electric car company’s growth. In a post to X Friday, Musk said the legislation “gives handouts to industries of the past while severely damaging industries of the future.”
SENATE ADVANCES TRUMP TAX BILL AFTER LAST-MINUTE NEGOTIATIONS WITH HOLDOUTS
This was likely a reference to the bill’s proposal to end electric vehicle tax credits. The bill also includes bigger cuts to renewable energy, such as solar and wind. Companies that continue to use Chinese-manufactured parts can also expect an extra tax.
As of Sunday morning, the bill was still being read aloud word for word by clerks on the Senate floor. After that, each party will have up to 10 hours to plead its case for the legislation’s future. Trump gave Congress the deadline of July 4 to get it passed and to his desk.