Latest / Conversations: Special Guests with Preston Scott / Is It Really A "Big, Beautiful Bill?"

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Is It Really A "Big, Beautiful Bill?" · Conversations: Special Guests with Preston Scott

• 0:03
  Speaker 1: If I pass the hour. It is the second hour
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  Speaker 1: Wednesday here on the Morning Show with Preston's Sky. Good
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: morning in Preston. He is Jose And it is May
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  Speaker 1: twenty eighth, show fifty three eighty eight of this radio program.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: And I told you we were going to dig into
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  Speaker 1: the big beautiful bill as it has been described, be
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: to the third Power. And we are joined by Kent Strang,
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  Speaker 1: Managing director of Americans for Prosperity. Keent, how are you
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: this morning?
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: I'm doing great. Thank you for having me. Good morning.
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  Speaker 1: How would you describe this bill? It is yet another
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  Speaker 1: reconciliation bill. Obviously we still it still has to go
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  Speaker 1: through the Senate. But what are the pluses and if
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: any minuses of this bill?
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  Speaker 2: Oh wow, that's a big, big question. I think the
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  Speaker 2: major plus is that a bill like this prevents the
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: largest tact pike in American history. If Congress fails to
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  Speaker 2: extend the twenty seventeen Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which
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  Speaker 2: most of your listeners probably know, is the Trump tax
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: cuts that will usher in. That would usher in the
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  Speaker 2: largest tax pike in American history. And what this bill
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  Speaker 2: does and the good parts of this bill are that
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  Speaker 2: it codifies and makes permanent the tax rates in twenty seventeen.
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  Speaker 2: So the Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts lowered rates across
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  Speaker 2: nearly all income levels. And what this bill does is
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  Speaker 2: it makes those rates permanent and so they can't end
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  Speaker 2: anytime soon like they did or like they're like they're
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  Speaker 2: up against right now. And it maintains the corporate rate
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  Speaker 2: at twenty one percent, and so it provides an incredible
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  Speaker 2: amount of certainty for small businesses, provides certainty for families.
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  Speaker 2: It keeps taxes low, and it prevents again the largest
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  Speaker 2: tax bike in American history, which would be disastrous not
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  Speaker 2: only for the American economy, but for Republican lawmakers who
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  Speaker 2: would have to, you know, wear that as an albatross
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  Speaker 2: around their neck.
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  Speaker 1: What are what are the most notable things that maybe
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  Speaker 1: concern you if any.
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  Speaker 2: Sure, Well, let's remember this is a big, gigantic bill
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  Speaker 2: from Congress. And as a statiscal conservative, right there, there's
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  Speaker 2: always things that you know, multi hundred page bills that
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  Speaker 2: you don't love. And so there are some things that
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  Speaker 2: make the tax coda a little bit more complicated, and
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  Speaker 2: we already have an incredibly complicated tax code. We see
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  Speaker 2: an increase in some of the salt deductions. And for
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  Speaker 2: the listeners who may not know what that is, this
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  Speaker 2: is where you can write off your state and local taxes.
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  Speaker 2: And it went from having a cap of ten thousand
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  Speaker 2: dollars and it looks like they're going to move that
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  Speaker 2: up to thirty or forty kind of depending on what
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  Speaker 2: happens with the Senate. And what this kind of creates
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  Speaker 2: is where let's say red states or fiscally responsible states
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  Speaker 2: bail out poorly run blue states like New York and
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  Speaker 2: New Jersey and California where they have incredible high state
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  Speaker 2: and local taxes and incredibly high property taxes. And so
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  Speaker 2: that cap is not it's not amazing policy, but is
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  Speaker 2: it enough to want to think this bill? No Congress
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  Speaker 2: should move forward on a bill like this. And there's
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  Speaker 2: some things that there's some certainly things that they could
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  Speaker 2: fix that are not perfect, that are not great, but overall,
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  Speaker 2: this is a this is a good bill for the
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  Speaker 2: American people, and we should see Congress pass it and
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: get at the President Trump's desk. And then it has
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  Speaker 2: other it has other elements that just Republicans campaigned on.
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  Speaker 2: And so you'll you may remember, no tax on tip,
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  Speaker 2: no tax on overtime, if those provisions are in this
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  Speaker 2: bill on a temporary basis, and so a lot of
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  Speaker 2: the promises that President Trump and Republicans made on the
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  Speaker 2: campaign stump in October and November of last year find
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  Speaker 2: their way into this bill, and the Republicans should be
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  Speaker 2: proud of delivering on their promises.
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  Speaker 1: When you say on a temporary basis, explain.
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  Speaker 2: So like the twenty seventeen tax cutting jobs ACKed, where
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  Speaker 2: a lot of the provisions were temporary, those are elements
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  Speaker 2: that are currently temporary. So no tax on tip, no
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  Speaker 2: tax on overtime, those will have a sunset period and
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  Speaker 2: let to come and renew that. And so that's what
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  Speaker 2: this bill does on the tax brackets, is they made
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  Speaker 2: those permanent. And so right now the provisions for no
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  Speaker 2: tax on tip and no tax on overtime are currently
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  Speaker 2: in the bill as it currently stands. Is it will
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  Speaker 2: have a sunset date and it's not quite permanent, and
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  Speaker 2: another Congress can come back and make it permanent. Well,
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  Speaker 2: the Senate could say, we want to make that permanent,
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  Speaker 2: here's the way to pay for it, and we're going
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  Speaker 2: to do it.
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  Speaker 1: What would you say to people like me who I
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  Speaker 1: hear what you're saying about the tax cuts, making them
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  Speaker 1: permanent and the disaster that would await not dealing with that,
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  Speaker 1: But also how long are we going to keep kicking
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  Speaker 1: cans down the road? We keep having reconciliation bills, for example,
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  Speaker 1: instead of getting a bu we keep adding to the deficit.
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  Speaker 1: I understand, Mike Johnson. I just listened to a SoundBite
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  Speaker 1: we played two minutes of it where he talked about how, hey,
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  Speaker 1: this is the biggest spending cut. Yeah, but we're still
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  Speaker 1: spending more than we're taking in, and every single voter
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  Speaker 1: can't do that. Government's the only one that can do that.
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  Speaker 1: We run out of credit. They just keep taking money
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  Speaker 1: and spending more than they're taking in. How many times
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  Speaker 1: are we going to kick this down the road before
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  Speaker 1: we deal with it?
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  Speaker 2: Oh? I agree with you, and I feel for you.
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  Speaker 2: I'm a fiscal conservative myself, and Americans to prosperity pride
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  Speaker 2: ourselves on, you know, limited government, lower taxes, and that's
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  Speaker 2: what we're about. And I think that it's an excellent point.
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  Speaker 2: And while I commenced Speaker Johnson for putting in one
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  Speaker 2: point six trillion dollars in cuts, it's a start, and
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  Speaker 2: the way that I would frame this is that this
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  Speaker 2: is this is a starting point. And I think that
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  Speaker 2: when we kick over to the Senate, they especially as
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  Speaker 2: you hear from members like Senator Paul Senator Ron Johnson
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  Speaker 2: of Wisconsin, they are clearly worried about this as well,
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  Speaker 2: and they want to make additional cuts. And I think
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  Speaker 2: it's important for them to continue to find those cuts.
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  Speaker 2: But at the same time, we have to remember that
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  Speaker 2: there are incredibly small majorities in the House and with
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  Speaker 2: some New York, California, New Jersey members, and we can't
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  Speaker 2: but so much that like it's just unpassable, right, And
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  Speaker 2: so what I would encourage Congress to do is continue
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  Speaker 2: to find the cuts on the Senate side that can
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  Speaker 2: pass the bill, but also we need to take additional steps,
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  Speaker 2: as you've said, to rain in the wasteful spending that
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  Speaker 2: we have in Washington. It is absolutely a problem, it
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  Speaker 2: is unsustainable. I think one way that Congress could do
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  Speaker 2: that is we could look at the DOGE cuts through
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  Speaker 2: a recisions package or multiple recisions package. Let's package up
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  Speaker 2: all the waste and say, like USAID or in some
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  Speaker 2: of the strength running on Treadmill's kind of spending that
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  Speaker 2: we have in this country, rate package it up, get
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  Speaker 2: it to Congress, and end it. They could even do
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  Speaker 2: another reconcile. I know, no, probably don't love reconciliation packages.
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  Speaker 2: And we'd rather have a real budget where we actually
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  Speaker 2: allocate towards the things that we value. But there are
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  Speaker 2: other ways that Congress can continue to cut the waste,
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  Speaker 2: the fraud, and the abbruse. And they have to do that,
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  Speaker 2: especially if it is going to raise the debt. They
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  Speaker 2: have to make it a priority that, Hey, in addition
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  Speaker 2: to this bill, we're going to go back. We're going
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  Speaker 2: to cut decisions. We're going to do things that make
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  Speaker 2: government more efficient for the people or cut the wasteful spending.
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  Speaker 2: But I agree with you, they must do this, and
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  Speaker 2: I hope to see the decision package start to start
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  Speaker 2: to take place alongside this bill.
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  Speaker 1: Let me let me be more pointed and put you
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  Speaker 1: on the spot here for a second. All right, okay,
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  Speaker 1: how long will Americans for Prosperity give this Congress, this
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  Speaker 1: president before saying, okay, enough, it's time to cut the debt,
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  Speaker 1: and you only do that by spending less than what
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  Speaker 1: you take in.
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  Speaker 2: I think that's an incredible question. I don't know if
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  Speaker 2: I have the answer to the timeline, and I think
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  Speaker 2: the way that we have looked at this is that
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  Speaker 2: the negative impact of our economy in the immediate of
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  Speaker 2: ushering in the largest TAXYIC in American history would be
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  Speaker 2: incredibly disastrous for our country in the immediate. But I
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  Speaker 2: agree with you that we have to take these steps,
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  Speaker 2: and with a Republican trispecta of the Republican House or
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  Speaker 2: Republican Senate and a repub Gun president, now is the
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  Speaker 2: time to do that. You don't know how long you
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: have to be able to make these things happen, and
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  Speaker 2: you know right now you're guaranteed two years and you're
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: not guaranteed anything beyond that. But I agree with you.
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  Speaker 2: America needs needs to get serious about it. Congress needs
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  Speaker 2: to get serious about it. We need to have a
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  Speaker 2: real budgeting process, which form that we do budgeting in Congress,
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  Speaker 2: so members actually are responsible for what goes in and
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: out of the budget. And so I one hundred percent
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  Speaker 2: agree with you. I don't know if I can give
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  Speaker 2: you an exact timeline.
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  Speaker 1: I don't have that Reconciliation is a way to get
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  Speaker 1: a budget done without having to get the budget. The
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  Speaker 1: actual number of votes that you might have to have
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  Speaker 1: for a budget. Is that? Is that how you understand it?
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  Speaker 1: Or have I got that wrong?
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  Speaker 2: Ken Just a complicated process, but basically it allows when
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  Speaker 2: you're doing spending, you're doing allocations where you don't have
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  Speaker 2: to have the full sixty threshold, and the Senate's past
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  Speaker 2: legislation right, you can do it through through singular votes.
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  Speaker 2: And we've seen it a lot through the twenty seventeen
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  Speaker 2: Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was done that way. All
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  Speaker 2: of the Biden agenda, the inflation the ill named Inflation
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  Speaker 2: Reduction Act, Build Back Better that was done through a
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  Speaker 2: reconciliation process. And so it's a let's say, it's an
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  Speaker 2: easier way to get something done because of the hurdles
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  Speaker 2: that it takes to get sixty votes in the Senate,
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  Speaker 2: regardless of what political party is in power.
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  Speaker 1: Inside the bill that's sitting in the Senate right now,
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  Speaker 1: that has passed the House by the thinnest of margins,
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  Speaker 1: are there, are there Social Security payments? Are those texts?
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  Speaker 2: I haven't seen that particular provision on there, but I
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  Speaker 2: think it's I'll be sure to take a look at that.
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  Speaker 2: But there's so much in this bill. My wonderful folks
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: that at Americans prosperand and Policy have like a fifteen
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  Speaker 2: page document of all this stuff in it, and I
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: haven't come across that one in particular, but I'm happy
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: to get back to you and your producers to go
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: through the Social Security I haven't seen that provision.
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: Have you noticed any discussion? You know? One of the
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  Speaker 1: things I brought up to members of Congress in the
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: House and Senate that have been on my program is
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: just this simple, I guess annoyance that older Americans are
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: forced to take money out of an IRA at the
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  Speaker 1: age of seventy and some change. I believe it is,
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  Speaker 1: they have to start taking withdraws. Why is that any
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: of Congress's business? Why they have no say in the matter.
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  Speaker 1: It's my private money, it's not my Social Security money.
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  Speaker 1: Why should Congress have a say on when I take
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  Speaker 1: money out of my IRA? A?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't think that they probably should, right, I
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  Speaker 2: think that's probably one of those things when they created
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  Speaker 2: the tax code, they put in these arbitrary deadlines and
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: arbitrary rules. But I agree with you, I think that
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  Speaker 2: and especially as Americans continue to get older and older
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  Speaker 2: and you want to save that nest egg for a
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: longer period of time and create growth in it. You
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: ought to be able to do that. It's it's your investment,
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  Speaker 2: it's your savings. I agree with you on that. I
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  Speaker 2: just looked up the no Social Security and basically it
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: says that dude to what's called the bird vouts of
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: the Bird rule, that the security taxes probably can cannot
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  Speaker 2: be changed, but they can increase the standard deduction for seniors,
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  Speaker 2: which which would do that. But that's I just found
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  Speaker 2: the answer for you on this security. But yeah, I
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: think the Congress it shouldn't be in the business that's
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: telling you when you can and can't move your investments.
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  Speaker 1: Well, the reality is more and more people are working
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: longer and longer in their life, and it defeats the
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  Speaker 1: whole purpose if you're starting to have to take money
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  Speaker 1: out and you lose the opportunity to compound that interest.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely right. We live in a time where people are
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: living longer and longer, and it's you know, we've just
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: dealt with four years of massive inflation from the Biden administration.
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: It costs the average American family eleven thousand, four hundred
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: dollars more just to maintain their lives. And so, yeah,
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: I've come across people traveling the country retirees or retiree
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: age saying, oh, I was going to retire in X year,
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: and now I can't because I need to work two
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: more years, because I can't afford my gas and my
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: groceries and the things just to make life. And so
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: those couple of years in the market can make a
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: huge difference for folks who are getting ready to enter
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: that phase of life. And yeah, I don't think Congress
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: should be telling you when you can't and can't take
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: investments out. I think there're certainly that's right. But when yeah, not.
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  Speaker 1: There, I I'm I'm well and where we started, and
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: that's with the debt and the deficit. And and I've
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: long lamented can't the lack of ability that Republicans have
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: to message. They don't know how to communicate very well, uh,
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: to the American people. And and regardless of whether someone
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: lives in a blue state they elect blue lawmakers or not,
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: everyone understands that when they get turned down for a
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: credit increase or a loan application, it's because they don't
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: have enough income. And and I've long wondered why we're
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: not seeing better messaging to stop Congress from spending money
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: they don't have by pointing out that that we just
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: we need, we need government to operate the way our
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: households operate. Do you ever see a time when groups
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: like yours and others coalesce together and and do the
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: messaging that the Republicans seemingly don't know how to do.
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  Speaker 2: Sure, I think I think Republicans are getting a little
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: bit better at it. Like, let's take the medicaid discussion, right,
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: I think that the progressive left is saying, oh, you're
• 14:07
  Speaker 2: going to kick everybody off, it's this inhumane thing. And
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: I think finally Republicans are starting to find the right
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: messaging that what able bodied men without dependence should go
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: to work, and about seventy percent of Americans think that,
• 14:22
  Speaker 2: and that a work requirement for an able bodied human,
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: you know, able bodied man with no dependence is a
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: good thing, and that hey, we're not taking off single
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: mothers who rely on these programs, like these are folks
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: who are non citizens, or these are folks who do
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: not did not deserve this benefit. And so they're starting
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: to push back on that messaging. But yes, I mean,
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: we have to get serious and there are a few
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: members of Congress that are very serious about the spending
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: reductions that we need. But I agree with you. I
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: think it's we need a we need an opportunity for
• 14:54
  Speaker 2: us to talk about the out of control gunment spending.
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: I thought that would come after the Biden years where
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: they just send us into oblivion, But you're right, we
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: have America's got to get serious on the spending cuts,
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: and hopefully we see that through some decisions.
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: Packages I hope Kent, thanks for the time this morning.
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: I appreciate a little more clarity on the bill, and
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: hopefully we'll talk again soon.
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, thank you for having me. Have a great morning.
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: Thank you, sir. Kn't strang with Americans for Prosperity twenty
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: eight past the hour