The US Senator has blocked several provisions in President Donald Trump’s proposed tax and budget bill. This includes a transgender healthcare ban that prohibits federal funds from maintaining gender.
The provisions seek to block transgender people of all ages, including adults, from access to transition-related care through the ban on Medicaid, the ACA Marketplace Plan, and child health insurance programs.
But Sen. Elizabeth McDonough is tasked with providing nonpartisan advice to lawmakers on Senate rules, but has declared that the proposed transgender healthcare ban violates BYRD rules.
The Bird Rule allows the Senate to pass budget-related bills with a simple majority vote bypassing the 60-vote threshold required to overcome the filibuster. Laws that do not directly address federal spending are subject to filibusters.
McDonough also ruled that the Senate proposal to restrict the use of the state’s health care provider tax – fees collected at hospitals and nursing homes violated the Bird Rules to fund the state’s Medicaid share. Associated Press.
The state uses provider tax revenue to fund expanding benefits under the Affordable Care Act, including Medicaid base fees, supplementary payments, and compensation for more low-income people. According to PBSthe federal government matches state Medicaid spending at a tax rate of 50% to 80% without cap, so rising provider taxes will lead to increased state spending and more federal matching funds.
Republicans hoped that taxes on capping healthcare providers would significantly cut federal Medicaid spending and free up the savings of hundreds of billions. It plans to use it to make it permanent for President Trump’s first term corporate tax cuts.
Other provisions McDonough blocked for violating the Bird Rules include blocking undocumented access to healthcare for immigrants and limiting the federal court’s power to block potentially unconstitutional policies. She also rejected the proposal to abolish the EPA car emissions rules and to make it easier to access gun silencers.
Additional denial measures include a school voucher program that grants religious schools at taxpayer’s expense, and a provision that allows developers to bypass judicial environment reviews by paying fees.
Some Republicans expressed their anger at McDonough.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) tweeted that she should be fired, and Rep. Greg Stube (R-FLA.) accused her of partisan bias and questioned her that “an unelected swamp bureaucrat appointed to Harry Reid has been appointed for over a decade.”
However, McDonough has also dealt with the Democrats in the set. In 2021, she ruled that the minimum wage hike could not be included in the Covid-19 relief bill. The Liberal Democrats urged senators, including then-President Kamala Harris, to overturn her with a majority of 51 votes.
Later that year, McDonough determined that democratic provisions that allowed millions of immigrants to stay temporarily in the United States were not closely linked to the climate bill.
The Congressional ruling is not binding and Republicans could overturn McDonough, but party leaders are reluctant to take that step. Some people fear it will set a dangerous precedent, and if Democrats regain control, they can push legislation over Congressional objections.
Senate majority leader John Tune (Rs.D.) told reporters that his leadership team has a “contingency plan” to secure a “big, beautiful bill” pass for Trump. However, with some Medicaid cuts being rejected, Republicans have to find other cost-cutting strategies to offset the price that would make Trump’s corporate tax cuts permanent.
Senate Democrats estimate that the provision rejected by McDonough is a spending cut of around $250 billion, and Republicans are scrambling to find alternatives. hill. Meanwhile, Trump is putting pressure on lawmakers to pass the bill by July 4th.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, was called McDonough’s ruling, “A Big ol’ Grenade,” which could put the bill’s chances at risk. He urged his colleagues to seek alternative spending cuts, not mentioning qualifications like Medicaid, at least for now, but instead focused on other federal spending.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Krapo (R-Idaho) said hill His staff try to “work out” to get the bill back on track.
“This is a regular process,” Crapo said of the Congressional ruling. “Now we know what the guidance is, we respond to it.”
The LGBTQ group welcomed the Congressional ruling, but is wary of Republican lawmakers. They believe they are determined to push forward bans or even stricter restrictions to maintain gender, even as adults.
“The fact remains that this bill belongs to garbage,” said David Stacey, vice president of government affairs for the Human Rights Campaign. “We continue to include catastrophic cuts in healthcare programs, including Medicaid, which disproportionately harm the LGBTQ+ community, allowing already rich people to receive significant tax cuts.”
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
