Newhouse Statement on Passage of H.R. 1

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-04) released the following statement upon final House passage of the Senate-amended H.R. 1. The legislation, which passed 218-214 now goes to President Trump's desk to be signed into law. 

"At the start of this Congress, we made a commitment to reduce government spending, keep taxes low for hard working Americans, and make reforms to federal assistance programs to ensure their long-term sustainability. This is by no means a perfect bill, but it delivers on our commitment while benefiting farmers, families, and small business owners across central Washington. 

H.R.1 prevents the largest tax hike in American history, increases the Child Tax Credit, and unleashes American energy production to lower costs and reduce inflation. It makes the largest-ever investment in border security and makes our nation safer by strengthening our military. I was able to secure continued investment in our current and future nuclear energy fleet, which is vital to the Tri-Cities and the surrounding region. 

We include major portions of the Farm Bill to deliver critical assistance for our farmers and ranchers, including my long-time priority of doubling the Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development Program to open new markets for our ag exports. I worked with House Leadership not once, but twice, to successfully prevent the sale of our public lands in this bill. 

We are protecting Medicaid and SNAP for those who truly need it by requiring part-time work requirements for able bodied adults without dependents and establishing a $50 billion fund for our rural hospitals. By reducing improper payments to deceased individuals and defunct providers, we are ensuring there are more funds for the low-income individuals, families, and seniors who rely on the program. I am committed to keeping our rural hospitals open, and I will utilize my position on the House Appropriations Committee to do just that. 

Working families, small businesses, rural hospitals, and farmers across Central Washington have been at the top of my mind throughout this process. For weeks since we first passed H.R. 1, I have heard from my constituents about the legislation’s benefits and downsides, and I have truly given serious thought to the legislation. This was a hard, thoroughly considered vote that I believe will benefit the people of my district." 

The following are provisions in H.R. 1 that Rep. Newhouse worked to secure.  

Market Access for Farmers and Ranchers 

• Doubles funding for the Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development Program to give Central Washington producers the upper hand in global markets.

Nuclear Energy Tax Credits Preservation 

• Protects the small nuclear reactor project in Richland.
• Allows advanced nuclear projects to utilize the Production Tax Credit (45Y) and Investment Tax Credits (48E) once they have commenced construction.
• Maintains the Nuclear Power Production Tax Credit (45U) through 2031 for existing nuclear reactors. 

Protections for Rural Hospitals 

• Commitments that funds from the Rural Health Transformation program will support rural hospitals in Washington state. 

H.R. 1 delivers an economy that is pro-growth, pro-worker, pro-family, and pro-business:  

• Makes the 2017 tax cuts permanent, preventing the largest tax hike in American history on the middle class.
• Removes taxes on tips, overtime pay, and Social Security for seniors.
• Makes permanent the 20 percent Small Business Tax Deduction, delivering $250 million in GDP growth and 5,000 jobs to Washington's Fourth District annually.

H.R. 1 makes historic investments into the agriculture industry:  

• Increases the coverage level and affordability of certain crop insurance policies used by specialty crop producers.
• Provides more affordable crop insurance for beginning farmers and ranchers for the first ten years of farming.
• Expands access to standing disaster programs and conservation programs.
• Improves the livestock programs to be more responsive to drought and predation and expands producer eligibility for the tree assistance program.

H.R. 1 makes the largest investment into border security in American history: 

• Funds over 700 miles of border wall at the southwest border.
• Funds 3,000 new Border Patrol agents and 5,000 new Customs and Border Protection officers.
• Invests in cutting-edge technology to combat the flow of fentanyl across the border.

H.R. 1 makes common-sense reforms to Medicaid to ensure the program's long-term sustainability: 

• Work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents to work, volunteer, or pursue further education 80 hours per month to receive benefits.
• Prevents illegal immigrants from receiving taxpayer-funded benefits.
• Ensures the program will continue to efficiently serve eligible participants who truly need it.
• Establishes the Rural Health Transformation Program at $50 billion to states and to covered facilities including a wide array of small, rural, and Medicare-dependent hospitals, rural health clinics, community mental health centers, opioid treatment programs, and more.

H.R. 1 reforms the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to support recipients and end abuse of the program: 

• Saves taxpayers nearly $200 billion through reforms to SNAP that ensure the program works the way Congress intended by reinforcing work, rooting out waste, and instituting long-overdue accountability incentives to control costs.
• Implements modest state cost-share for SNAP to ensure states manage program resources responsibly.
• Incentivizes correcting error rates in SNAP payments by allowing states with an error rate below six percent to be exempt from paying the cost-share for benefits.

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