- Rep. Blake Moore defends the Republican spending bill against criticism of aiding wealthy.
- Moore highlights expanded child tax credit and corporate tax rates for business stability.
- He disputes projections on Medicaid cuts and deficit impact, calling criticism "overblown."
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Rep. Blake Moore argued the recent Republican spending bill will provide businesses with better predictability and pushed back on claims that the bill helps wealthy people at the expense of working class Americans during an appearance at the University of Utah Monday.
Moore, who serves on the Budget Committee and is a member of House GOP leadership, defended new and expanded work requirements for Medicaid and food stamps established by the spending bill and said criticism that the bill will kick millions off of government-funded health insurance is "overblown."
"That this ... bill is just tax breaks for the billionaires off the backs of the working class, and it's fundamentally false — but it is a good line to be able to spew — but it's just not right," Moore told a crowd of students at the forum, hosted by the Salt Lake City-based Sutherland Institute.
The congressman said lawmakers benefited average Americans by permanently expanding the child tax credit through the bill, and argued that by enshrining corporate tax rates set during President Donald Trump's first term, lawmakers have made a more stable environment for businesses large and small.
He acknowledged the politics of Democrats involved in criticizing the omnibus spending bill, but said the "vast majority" of benefits, such as the child tax credits and changes to the standard deduction, are capped based on income level.
"The vast majority of the provisions of this tax bill go to benefit the middle and lower income areas," Moore said.
Changes to Medicaid, food stamps
Congressional Republicans have received criticism for work requirements and other cuts to Medicaid and supplemental nutrition programs that are estimated to result in nearly 12 million Americans losing health care over the next 10 years. Those numbers come from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which also predicts the bill will add $3.4 trillion to the national debt during the same time frame.
Many worry that the new requirements will result in people who should be eligible for Medicaid losing coverage because of the red tape involved in proving they meet the new work or volunteer requirements. But Moore said the delayed implementation of those changes will give the government time to communicate the changes and help people navigate the new requirements.
While he acknowledged that some may slip through the cracks, he thinks the requirements ensure that there's a "culture of work" within the social programs and is optimistic that the outcomes won't be catastrophic.
"I'm hopeful that this bears out that ... all of the criticism, everything about this space is overblown," he said.
Moore also took issue with the projections, calling some of them "faulty" and saying: "I don't think those numbers are going to even be close to that."
He also disagreed with how the Congressional Budget Office calculated the deficit impact of the bill, saying their projections rely on a lower estimated economic growth rate compared with estimates from Republicans. The Congressional Budget Office based its numbers on average growth of 1.8% each year, while the GOP used a 2.6% percent rate.
Moore said the economy has averaged a 2.5% growth rate over the previous decade, and has previously said the bill is deficit neutral if that rate continues. He said criticism of Republicans for adding to the deficit is "totally fair," but he said he doesn't think the Congressional Budget Office estimates are accurate.
Asked if Congress may try to roll back the changes to Medicaid or food stamps, Moore told reporters he thinks the public will come around to them.
"I think they're really sound policy that we did," he said. "If there's any issues with them, it will be on implementation, and I think we can fix that without dealing with, like, a major piece of legislation. So, I think you go through the midterms, people will recognize, 'Oh, there's not this like end of the world type of thing happening here, and we're going to be OK.'"
