House Passes Tax Bill, Gaetz and Mills Vote No

The House of Representatives passed the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 on Wednesday night with vast bipartisan support. However, it came with objection from the likes of Representatives Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Chip Roy (R-TX).

Those on the right flank believe this bill is an expansion of the welfare state.

Rep. Gaetz repudiated the bill and the compromise that came with it according to a statement he made reported by Politico.

“This is how the bipartisan agreement came together: If the Republicans were willing to give Democrats what they wanted for illegal aliens to get massive subsidies in welfare, then the Democrats were willing to give the Republicans what they wanted on a bunch of business welfare,” said Gaetz.

Rep. Roy said the legislation includes provisions that he and his constituents are “tired of.”

“I do rise in opposition to this legislation. And I do so reluctantly because I know the significant amount of work by my friend from Missouri, by those on frankly both sides of the aisle, to reach agreement,” said Rep. Roy, a member of the House Freedom Caucus. “But unfortunately, as happens in this town, this legislation comes with provisions that, frankly, the people I represent are tired of. And its provisions that would continue to expand the welfare state.”

Republicans from the Sunshine State including Representatives Bean, Bilirakis, Buchanan, Cammack, Diaz-Balart, Donalds, Dunn, Franklin, Gimenez, Rutherford, Salazar, Steube, and Webster all voted yea.

Representatives Luna, Mast, Mills, Posey, and Waltz voted no alongside Rep. Gaetz.

The architects of the bipartisan bill state that the bill is good for America.

“The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act is pro-growth, pro-jobs, pro-America,” said House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-MO), the architect of the legislation along with Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR). “It’s a strong commonsense bipartisan step forward in providing tax relief for working families and small businesses.”

It needed a two-thirds vote. It passed 357-70 with five members abstaining from voting.