Sen. Ron Johnson said on Monday that he doesn’t support the House-drafted GOP megabill — the latest reminder of the headaches awaiting the legislation across the Capitol.
“What we’re doing is, we’re looking at all the programs going, ‘We can’t touch that, touch that, can’t touch that,’” Johnson said of the House’s effort.
Johnson has repeatedly warned he would oppose the bill emerging from the House if it doesn’t go far enough to reduce the deficit.
The House GOP bill, which faces a crucial stretch of committee work before a full vote on the floor next week, aims to reduce spending by at least $1.5 trillion.
Johnson, in a separate Wall Street Journal op-ed published Monday, predicted that “much of that minuscule decrease will be backloaded to the end of the 10 years for which Congress is now budgeting, increasing the probability those savings will never be realized.”
Senate Republicans have pointed to that $1.5 trillion House target as their “aspirational” goal.
But some, including Johnson, want to go significantly higher and return to “pre-pandemic” spending levels — or a reduction of roughly $6.5 trillion.
Senate Finance Committee Republicans walked through the top lines of the House tax proposal during a closed-door meeting on Monday night, with Johnson indicating afterward that he was unmoved.
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