Senator Thom Tillis 5/16/2025

Friends, 

 

President Trump’s domestic agenda will come down to one term you’ll be hearing a lot about over the next few months: Reconciliation.

What is reconciliation? It’s basically a budget process that allows the party in control of Congress to pass major spending and budget legislation with only a simple majority vote. Both parties have used it, including Republicans during President Trump’s first term, to pass the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act, the largest tax cut in history.

However, the big downside of using reconciliation is that major provisions usually have to expire. In this case, the massive tax cuts provided to the middle class in Trump’s first term will expire at the end of the year. Unless Congress works with President Trump to extend them, the majority of taxpayers will get hit with higher taxes starting next January.

The bad news is that Republicans have narrow majorities in both the House and Senate, and many disagreements have already popped up as the bill is being written. The good news is that President Trump is demonstrating strong and pragmatic leadership during this process, which paves a clear path forward.

Here is a run-down of some of the hot issues.

1) Tax Cuts. First and foremost, we cannot allow the Trump tax cuts to expire. Here’s how hard the middle class would get hit if we allow the tax cuts to expire:

• A married couple with two kids making a combined $80,000 a year would pay more than double in taxes, a tax hike of nearly $1,700.

• A single parent with two kids making $40,000 a year would go from getting a tax credit to facing a tax hike of $1,500, costing them nearly three months’ worth of groceries.

2) Protecting Medicaid. Medicaid is a lifeline for seniors on fixed incomes, low-income families, pregnant women, and individuals with disabilities. Like President Trump, I’m committed to protecting and strengthening Medicaid by cracking down on waste, fraud, and abuse. Sadly, while some in Washington spread fear, President Trump is standing up to make sure our most vulnerable neighbors come first – not illegal immigrants or able-bodied adults who refuse to work.

3) SALT. You’re going to hear a lot about State and Local Tax (SALT) deductions that many taxpayers in tax-heavy blue states utilize. Lawmakers from those states want to raise the amount they can deduct. Unfortunately, it’s basically a way for wealthy blue states to be subsidized by making hardworking American taxpayers in other states like North Carolina foot the bill. Of course, the easy solution is for states like New York and California to learn from states like North Carolina by keeping their taxes low. Nonetheless, this has become a major sticking point that will need to be addressed to get a tax cut bill over the finish line.

It can’t be overstated how crucial it is for Congress to get a big, beautiful bill passed. President Trump is taking a pragmatic, results-focused approach, and all Republicans need to be willing to find common ground to get the job done. I will be doing my part to get a good result for North Carolina taxpayers. Failing to extend the Trump Tax Cuts is not an option. 

 

Sincerely,