Page 29 - 1221147

Groton Daily Independent
Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017 ~ Vol. 25 - No. 165 ~ 29 of 44
The White House said Wednesday that Trump will actively promote the bill. Aides argued that media cov- erage has not accurately portrayed the bene ts and that people will come around as they feel the payoff. Trump himself complained in a tweet that “defeated Dems” and the media were out to “demean” the
tax package but “the results will speak for themselves, starting very soon.”
Democrats, who unanimously opposed the tax plan in Congress, were furious about the new policy yet
upbeat about the potential political fallout in next year’s elections. They need to ip 24 House seats and just two Senate seats to take control of each chamber.
Asked if the tax bill will help Republicans hold the House, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi leaned into a microphone and said, “Let. Them. Think. That.”
The bill goes far beyond taxes.
While it does not repeal the law known as “Obamacare,” the legislation nalized by the House on Wednes- day attacks a central tenet of the health care system by eliminating the requirement that all Americans have health insurance. The Congressional Budget Of ce says elimination of the “individual mandate” will boost health care costs by about 10 percent for those with coverage and leave 13 million additional Americans without health insurance in 10 years.
Millions of people will still remain covered under the law’s Medicaid expansion and health care exchanges, but Trump cast the package as a shadow repeal.
“We have essentially repealed Obamacare,” the president declared.
On taxes, the rst modest effects will be felt in February paychecks.
People living in high-tax states like New York and California may ultimately pay more. Among those who
bene t, the wealthy will make out far better than the working-class voters who fueled Trump’s victory last year.
Trump said Wednesday the bill will spur economic growth as corporations, ush with cash, increase wages and hire more workers. Democrats questioned, even mocked that prediction.
Re ecting the political risks, some of the nation’s most vulnerable House Republicans voted against the bill.
Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., one of 12 GOP House members to vote no, said the tax plan would hurt many people in high-tax states. The bill imposes a $10,000 cap on taxpayers who deduct their state, local and property taxes. Currently, there is no limit on how much in state and local taxes you can deduct.
All but one of the GOP no votes came from like-minded Republicans facing re-election in 11 months in moderate districts across New Jersey, New York and California.
The road to a Democratic House majority, if there is one, runs through these districts.
All the salesmanship in the world won’t change the reality that the tax overhaul overwhelmingly favors the rich, Democratic critics said.
“People think it’s unfair. They want tax reform, they don’t want tax cuts for the wealthy,” said Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia. “And I think people will realize they’ve been sold a pig in a poke.”
___
Peoples reported from New York. Associated Press writers Ken Thomas, Stephen Ohlemacher and An- drew Taylor contributed from Washington.
___
This story has been corrected to show the bill will cap, not eliminate, the deduction for state and local taxes at $10,000.
Expert: New route may have distracted engineer before crash By PHUONG LE, Associated Press
SEATTLE (AP) — Experts say it’s possible the engineer on an Amtrak train that derailed as it hurtled into a curve at more than twice the speed limit was distracted for an extended period of time before the train plunged off an overpass and onto a busy interstate, a key factor in the investigation.
Authorities on Wednesday reopened two southbound lanes of Interstate 5 - the Paci c Northwest’s main north-south arterial - that had been closed since Monday’s accident as federal investigators focused