The Shadow
The U.S. House of Representatives voted and passed Senate Amendment to H.R. 1, the budget reconciliation bill. This reconciliation package goes to President Trump to be signed into law. Following passage of the bill, U.S. Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement:
“Today, I voted in favor of H.R. 1, the budget reconciliation bill. As with every bill, I weighed the pros and the cons. The positives of the bill clearly outweigh the negatives.
“A tax structure that encourages continued growth in the economy is extremely important. This bill contains a number of continuations of pro-small business policies. It helps protect family-owned farms and family-run businesses.
“In addition, it adds no tax on tips for most of our service-industry employees, including wait staff and hospitality workers. It also exempts wages for overtime work for hourly workers.
“Another significant impact is the increased money to help protect our nation’ s borders.
“The unleashing of American energy potential contained in this bill is significant and will lead to increases in production. Because of this American energy costs are expected to stabilize and even be lower in the coming decade.
“On Medicaid, we strengthened the program for the traditional Medicaid population. That population includes pregnant women, the disabled, the elderly, and the young.
“Opponents criticize the community engagement or “work requirement” provisions for able-bodied Medicaid-expansion recipients. I consider this a strength of the bill. While commonly called “work requirements,” the community engagement provision for able-bodied Medicaid-expansion recipients does not require a recipient to work per se but would require them to contribute to our communities. This engagement only requires an average of 18.5 hours a week. Eligibility can be achieved by participating in educational or substance abuse recovery programs, holding a traditional job, or volunteering for community service. I believe it is only fair to expect those able-bodied Medicaid-expansion recipients to contribute to their communities.
“Accordingly, I supported the bill.”
