Trump to Address Taxes, Health Care in Speech to Congress
February 26 2017 - 2:32PM
Dow Jones News
By Kristina Peterson
WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump will touch on plans for
overhauling the tax code and health-care system in his address to
Congress on Tuesday night, but won't seek any changes to Social
Security or Medicare, White House officials said Sunday.
In his first address to a joint session of Congress, Mr. Trump
is expected to emphasize two of his top legislative priorities,
simplifying the tax code and dismantling the Affordable Care Act
and replacing it with something else.
But Mr. Trump won't push for curbing spending on Social Security
and Medicare, two federal safety-net programs that Republicans have
said for years must be overhauled to reduce the budget deficit.
"We are not touching those now. So don't expect to see that as
part of this budget," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on
Fox's Sunday Morning Futures.
Congressional Republicans have said they would be listening to
Mr. Trump's speech for hints about the shape of the first budget
proposal his administration will send to Capitol Hill, expected in
mid-March.
Although Mr. Trump repeatedly said on the campaign trail he
didn't want to reduce spending on Medicare or Social Security, his
new budget director, former GOP congressman Mick Mulvaney, has long
advocated for sharply lowering federal spending, including on
entitlement programs.
Given that Mr. Trump plans to boost military spending and cut
taxes, the White House budget plan could leave conservatives in a
difficult position if the Republican-led budget does little to curb
federal spending.
"You have got to pay for those things. We've got to pay for
those things, " Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio), an influential
conservative lawmaker, said Sunday on ABC. Conservatives generally
want to cut spending on entitlements to offset higher military
spending.
Tuesday night, the president is also expected to generally
outline his priorities on the Affordable Care Act, but may not wade
deeply into the thorniest questions surrounding it. Republicans
have disagreed over how to repeal and replace the 2010 health-care
law.
Mr. Trump said earlier this year that his goal was to provide
"insurance for everybody." White House deputy press secretary Sarah
Huckabee Sanders declined Sunday to guarantee that no one would
lose their current coverage under the GOP plan.
"I know that the goal is that we make sure that people don't
lose their coverage and that we have to put a high priority on
people that need it most," Ms. Sanders said Sunday on ABC.
Republicans are also split over how to overhaul Medicaid, the
federal-state insurance program for the poor, which some states
expanded under the 2010 health law.
In Tuesday's speech, Mr. Trump will likely also reiterate his
desire to increase border security, his former campaign manager,
Corey Lewandowski, said Sunday on Fox.
Mr. Trump campaigned for president promising a full border wall
and continues to talk about building a "wall" along the border with
Mexico. He is running into resistance from Republicans in Texas,
where most of the unfenced land is located.
The president is expected to send a request for funding to build
the wall to Congress in the coming weeks. Internal Department of
Homeland Security estimates put a full wall's initial cost at more
than $21 billion. After repeated assurances that Mexico would pay
the bill, Mr. Trump now says the U.S. will be reimbursed later,
something Mexican officials say will never happen.
GOP lawmakers said Congress should approve new money to tighten
border security, but it is unclear if Republicans will be
comfortable with the price tag when it arrives.
Write to Kristina Peterson at kristina.peterson@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 26, 2017 14:17 ET (19:17 GMT)
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