[Ohio-talk] Ta Bill news

[mzavoli at roadrunner.com]

Greetings Friends,

The New York news, an NFB list for New York State, reports an update on the tax cuts involving rehab programs to train and employ the blind.

"We had a recent scare with regards to the Federal Tax Bill, H.R. 1 (115), 
the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, (TCJZ).  We feared the proposed legislation would 
eliminate funding for Vocational Rehabilitation programs, Medicare and 
Medicaid and, as a result, endanger the jobs of hundreds of New Yorker's. 
This turned out not to be the case as a waiver for the PAYGO program was 
included in the final senate legislation.  Below is a statement regarding 
the same: 
 
Republican leaders are seeking to downplay the possibility that the GOP tax 
bill would trigger massive spending cuts under an obscure Senate rule known 
as PAYGO. 
 
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan released 
a joint statement this afternoon assuring that Congress wouldn't actually 
allow the across-the-board cuts to take place. 
 
"This will not happen," McConnell and Ryan wrote, arguing that lawmakers 
have "readily available methods to waive this law, which has never been 
enforced since its enactment." 
 
If the tax bill, H.R. 1 (115), is signed into law, both chambers would need 
to agree to waive the decades-old Pay-As-You-Go rule to prevent the 
triggering of $150 billion per year in cuts to a slew of federal programs, 
including Medicare and student loans. 
 
GOP leaders have long been confident that they can strike a quick deal with 
Democrats to waive the federally mandated slashing. 
 
"There is no reason to believe that Congress would not act again to prevent 
a sequester, and we will work to ensure these spending cuts are prevented," 
McConnell and Ryan wrote today. But at least eight Democrats would need to support that vote in the Senate. 
And minority party lawmakers aren't making any promises they'll agree to 
bail out Republicans amid the frantic push to clear the tax bill. 
 
A PAYGO waiver is likely to be included in a government funding bill this 
month, according to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who said she received a 
personal assurance from McConnell this week that the cuts would be stifled. 
 
So, V.R. services are safe, for now, with respect to the federal tax cut. 
We'll keep you up to date with future developments." 
 
 
 
Milena Zavoli