U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) recently shared his thoughts on President Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill, which was signed into law over the Fourth of July weekend. According to Grassley, the 1,000-plus-page budget reconciliation legislation addressed a vast number of areas, but the biggest takeaway for him is that it prevented a $4.7 trillion tax increase on Americans over the next decade.
Grassley adds that if the bill had failed, the average Iowa household’s tax obligation would have increased by more than $2,000, standard deductions would have been cut in half, and families’ Child Tax Credit would drop from $2,000 to $1,000. There are individual sections, Grassley says, that aren’t perfect. For example, the sunset on renewable energy tax credits is concerning for him, considering that Iowa generates more than 60 percent of its electricity from wind turbines.
Democrats, including Iowa gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand, have been critical of the legislation, focusing on the over $1 trillion cut to Medicaid through 2034. Some estimates indicate that more than 10 million Americans will be removed from the government-subsidized healthcare program, and the bill’s detractors argue that it will have an outsized impact on rural hospitals that rely on Medicaid patients. Grassley says Congress considered that before the Big, Beautiful Bill’s passage.
Grassley notes that the cuts to Medicaid are targeted explicitly at eliminating waste and fraud. He says Iowans with legitimate disabilities will not be affected; however, able-bodied adults wanting to receive taxpayer-subsidized Medicaid will be required to work or volunteer for at least 80 hours per month, or be enrolled in a work training program or school. He adds the bill also provides $46.5 billion for border wall construction to address illegal immigration, updates reference prices for ag commodities due to the long-overdue Farm Bill renewal, and supports law enforcement through community-oriented policing grants. Grassley made his comments Monday during his weekly Capitol Hill Report with Iowa reporters.
