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U.S. NEWS Tuesday 24 OcTOber 2017

States will urge Trump pans retirement limit to pay for GOP tax cuts
judge to return By MARCY GORDON And in response to whether and Republican leaders being at least partly pre-

health subsidies Associated Press Trump’s tweet changes in calls for steep tax cuts for served, some Republican
that Trump cut WASHINGTON (AP) — Presi- any way what the panel corporations and poten- lawmakers were consid-
dent Donald Trump shot was planning to do, Brady tially individuals, a doubling ering limiting the amount
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — down a possible approach replied only, “no.” of the standard deduction workers could save in 401(k)
The top lawyers for 19 states for raising revenue to fi- Republicans are scram- used by most Americans, retirement accounts.
will urge a federal judge nance tax cuts in politically bling to find new revenue shrinking the number of “It was a trial balloon and
Monday to force President must-do legislation for the sources to pay for antici- tax brackets from seven to it crashed,” said Brian Riedl,
Donald Trump’s adminis- a senior fellow at the con-
tration to pay health care servative Manhattan Insti-
subsidies that he abruptly tute. “They’re struggling to
cut off earlier this month. find legitimate offsets” for
State attorneys general, tax cuts.
led by California Demo- “Everyone has been prom-
crat Xavier Becerra, argue ised they are going to be
the monthly payments better off with tax reform
are required under former and that’s really hard to
President Barack Obama’s do in a fiscally responsible
health care law and stop- way,” Riedl said.
ping them will harm con- Employees’ earnings from
sumers. defined-contribution retire-
The Trump administra- ment plans such as 401(k)
tion announced earlier s aren’t taxed until retire-
this month that it will cut ment; pay-ins by both em-
off cost-sharing reduction ployers and employees
payments, which aim to re- also receive tax-preferred
duce out-of-pocket costs status. That cost the gov-
for lower-income people. ernment $82.7 billion in lost
Trump has said Obama’s revenue in the recent bud-
law is imploding and has get year ending Sept. 30,
criticized the subsidies as 2016 — a potentially juicy
insurance company bail- President Donald Trump speaks during a joint statement with Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien target for Republican tax-
outs. The White House says Loong in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, Oct. 23, 2017, in Washington. cutters.
the government cannot le- (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) With 55 million U.S. work-
gally continue paying the Republicans, promising pated tax cuts exceeding three or four, and the re- ers holding some $5 trillion
subsidies because there Monday the popular 401(k) $1 trillion. A proposal to peal of inheritance taxes in their 401(k) accounts,
is no formal authorization retirement program will be eliminate the widely-used on multimillion-dollar es- the plans have become
from Congress. untouched. federal deduction for state tates. The child tax credit a touchstone of retire-
However, the administra- Still, the head of the House’s and local taxes has run would be increased and ment security for the mid-
tion had been making the tax-writing committee in- into heavy opposition from the tax system would be dle class. “This has always
monthly payments even as dicated that changes to GOP House members from simplified; most Americans been a great and popular
Trump threatened to cut the 401(k) structure may still high-tax states, threaten- would be able to file their middle class tax break that
them off to force Demo- be on the table as Repub- ing the enactment of tax income taxes on a post- works, and it stays!” Trump
crats to negotiate over licans push an ambitious legislation that Republicans card, according to the tweeted. “There will be NO
health care. A bipartisan timetable to get tax legis- deem essential to retaining plan. change to your 401(k).”
effort in Congress to restore lation written. Asked about their majority in next year’s Crucial details of the plan Appearing with Ivanka
the payments has run into the issue, Ways and Means elections. have yet to be worked out, Trump in Pennsylvania, U.S.
opposition. Committee Chair Rep. Kev- Trump pledged in a tweet notably what income lev- Treasurer Jovita Carranza
The payments reimburse in Brady said: “I don’t want there will be “no change” els would fit with each tax echoed the president, tell-
insurers for the costs of to get ahead of the com- to tax incentives for the bracket. ing the audience the re-
lowering copays and de- mittee. That will all be part 401(k) retirement programs. With the possibility of the tirement plans “will not be
ductibles, which they are of the tax reform bill.” The plan crafted by Trump state and local deduction touched.”q
required to do for low-
income customers who Dunford: Families, Americans deserve answers on Niger
buy coverage through the
health care marketplaces Continued from Front killed in the fighting were to his family as he tele- can chairman of the Armed
created by Obama’s law. transported out of the bat- phoned to extend condo- Services Committee, even
The states argue that the When they sought the next tle scene, but one — Sgt. lences. In an extraordinary threatened a subpoena to
Trump administration vio- day to return, they encoun- La David Johnson — wasn’t White House briefing, John accelerate the flow of in-
lated a law requiring gov- tered about 50 enemy recovered until Oct. 6. Kelly, the former Marine formation from the adminis-
ernment agencies to obey fighters traveling by ve- Independent of the mili- general who is Trump’s tration. Dunford defended
existing statutes and follow hicle, carrying small arms tary’s investigation, the chief of staff, shot back the broader American mis-
orderly and transparent and rocket-propelled gre- Johnson’s ordeal has be- at Trump’s critics, and the sion in Niger. He said U.S.
procedures. nade launchers. come a major political dis- president continued the forces have been in the
“He’s threatening access Within an hour of taking fire, pute in the United States af- criticism over the weekend. country intermittently for
for millions of Americans the team requested sup- ter President Donald Trump Members of Congress are more than two decades.
to decent, quality health port. Within another hour, a credited himself with doing demanding answers al- Currently, some 800 U.S. ser-
care, and it’s time for him remote plane flew above. more to honor the dead most three weeks after the vice members are support-
to stop playing this game, Later, French jets arrived and console families than ambush in a remote corner ing a French-led mission to
because for too many and ferried wounded any of his predecessors. of Niger, where few Ameri- defeat the Islamic State, al-
people, it’s not a game,” Americans to safety. The Then, Johnson’s aunt said cans travel. Last week, Sen. Qaida and Boko Haram in
Becerra said last week.q bodies of three American Trump showed “disrespect” John McCain, the Republi- West Africa.q