Rep. Warren Davidson votes for CHIP funding, lauds tax cuts

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — On December 21, Representative Warren Davidson (R-Troy) joined many fellow Republicans voting in favor of an amendment which temporarily continues federal funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP.

CHIP provides health coverage to eligible children, through both Medicaid and separate CHIP programs. CHIP is administered by states, according to federal requirements. The program is funded jointly by states and the federal government.

Federal funding for CHIP lapsed in September, and became a point of contention as many states reported they were on the verge of depleting their funds. An estimated 9 million children risked losing health insurance coverage without further federal funding.

Placed as an amendment to a defense bill, H.R. 1370, the House approved the legislation 231 to 188. The Senate voted 66 to 32 in favor. The bill provides $2.85 billion for the program, but this is only expected to cover the states’ costs through the first few months of 2018.

Davidson previously had voted in favor of legislation for longer-term funding for CHIP in November, which would have extended funding for five years. However, Democrats were not on board with the measure, as it cut more than $6 billion from the Prevention and Public Health Fund to offset CHIP costs.

Davidson chided Democrats in a December 18 Facebook post, saying, “#CHIP Lots of concern being expressed about reauthorization of this safety net program to cover medical costs for needy kids… The House voted for this reauthorization on 11/3/2017. I joined most Republicans in voting yes, though most Democrats voted no.” He provided a link to the November 3 roll call vote.

Last week’s stopgap measure came on the heels of the December 19 passage of H.R. 1 “The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.”

In a statement, Davidson lauded passage of the bill, which President Trump signed into law December 22.

“The pro-growth reforms in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act fix the broken elements of our existing tax code. No bill is perfect and thinking that all our problems can be accomplished in one miracle-bill is foolish,” he said. “The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act lets hardworking Ohio families keep more of their money and empowers American companies to compete and succeed globally. This bill snaps the status-quo of today and sets the stage for further reform. I look forward to President Trump signing this bill into law.”

In a December 21 interview with “The Bill Cunningham Show” on 700 WLW in Cincinnati, Davidson outlined what tax deductions Ohio families can expect to see in the new tax reform bill and confronted calls that the tax reform bill will raise the deficit.

“Here’s the thing, people are concerned about the deficit. The reality is, cash revenue, as in money into the government, has only gone up when the economy is growing,” he said. “When the economy is not growing then revenue into the government is going down no matter what tax rates have been over the years.”

“When you look at the Obama years, they were saying you know, 1.5 percent is the new normal and 2 and 3 percent are long gone.”

“Just in the expectation that we’re going to pass tax reform the economy’s growing at 4 percent. So the [Congressional Budget Office] score, which is almost always wrong and likely wrong again in this case, says this tax reform will only grow the economy by an additional .04 to .08 percent — when in reality it’s already growing at an additional 2 percent just off the expectation.”

“When the economy’s going to grow, take home pay is going to grow. Then when you get into the cuts, the cuts that are in there are going to benefit working class Americans … We’ve run scenario after scenario and people are going to get more take home pay out of this,” Davidson added.

Davidson
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Davidson-mug-PRINT-4.jpgDavidson
Says ‘take home pay is going to grow’

By Erik Martin

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The writer may be reached at 937-569-4314. Join the conversation and get updates on Facebook search Darke County Sports or Advocate 360. For more features online go to dailyadvocate.com

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