East Idaho Times

U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, speaking on the Senate floor, has discussed the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Resolution aimed at making the 2017 Trump Tax Cuts permanent. Crapo emphasized the Republicans' focus on preventing a large tax increase on American families and businesses, delivering additional middle-class tax relief, and achieving deficit reduction through spending reforms.

"The problem that we have in America is not that our taxes are too low, but that our spending is too high," Crapo stated, highlighting the Republican commitment to what he referred to as President Trump's "big, beautiful bill" for the American people.

Crapo detailed the resolution's promise to secure America’s borders, enhance national defense, and unleash energy potential. It targets a $2 trillion spending reduction and aims to cement the Trump Tax Cuts, asserting it would save American families from financing what he described as Washington’s spending problem.

He argued that making the tax cuts permanent will prevent a $4 trillion tax hike and provide economic stability. Crapo claimed that the Trump Tax Cuts "lowered tax rates for the overwhelming majority of Americans" and contended this led to economic growth and wage increases.

"Extending this current, proven tax policy—and building on it—is the best way to restore economic prosperity and opportunity for working families," Crapo remarked, dismissing claims that the benefits favored only the wealthy.

Crapo criticized the congressional scoring process that treats tax policy differently than spending policy and emphasized using a current policy baseline for tax policy to "level the playing field" and avoid a tax-and-spend budgeting approach.

As Republicans focus on making the Trump Tax Cuts permanent, Crapo pointed out, "this would not increase the debt relative to GDP; it would simply prevent a tax increase." He called for addressing the deficit through spending reforms rather than tax hikes.

The debate over the budget resolution is expected to continue, with Crapo expressing confidence in Republican unity to deliver on the agenda.