Talk of massive tax cuts and Obamacare reform dominated the conversation in Washington last week. Here are three things you need to know about politics last week:
Trump falsely claims previous administrations didn’t call families of fallen soldiers
President Trump falsely claimed previous presidential administrations didn’t contact the families of fallen soldiers during a news conference on Oct. 16, The New York Times reports.
Trump was responding to a question about his silence on the killing of four members of the U.S. Army Special Forces, or Green Berets, in Niger when he made the claims.
“If you look at President Obama and other presidents, most of them didn’t make calls,” Trump said. “A lot of them didn’t make calls. I like to call when it’s appropriate.”
The comments drew the ire of many former Obama aides, who criticized the president on Twitter:
Trump reneged his comments later in the news conference, saying he wasn’t sure if President Obama called soldiers’ families.
“I don’t know if he did,” Trump said. “I was told he didn’t often, and a lot of presidents don’t. They write letters.”
Republican senators take the first steps toward tax reform
Senate Republicans passed a budget plan Thursday that could pave the way for reduced tax rates for individuals and corporations but add up to $1.5 trillion dollars to the United States’ deficit over the next 10 years, The New York Times reports.
Proponents of the plan say it would help Americans by reducing taxes, but detractors claim it would disproportionately benefit the wealthy and could cut up to $1 trillion from Medicaid and $470 billion from Medicare over 10 years, according to the Times report.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said if the tax cuts fail, it would be the end of the Republican Party.
“If you’re a Republican and you don’t want to simplify the tax code and cut taxes, what good are you to anybody?” Graham said.
According to The Hill, many viewed the budget — which included instructions for avoiding a Democrat filibuster of the tax plan — as a vehicle for tax reform.
"This is the biggest hoax cast upon the American people ever that this budget process even exists. The only thing about this that matters is in preparation for tax reform," said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who voted for the budget.
Bipartisan legislation seeks to fund health care subsidies cut by Trump
Bipartisan legislation to fund subsidies that Trump recently cut off was proposed by senators Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., according to a report by The New York Times.
According to that report, the subsidies, called cost-sharing reduction payments, “reimburse insurance companies for lowering deductibles, co-payments and other out-of-pocket costs for low-income customers.”
Premiums for many customers purchasing plans under the Affordable Care Act, or "Obamacare," would increase without them, and profits for insurance companies would lessen and could even cause companies to leave the market.
The bill, which would fund the subsidies for two more years, has bipartisan support, according to a Politico report.
