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Most NY Republicans vote against House budget plan

Matt Churchill
/
Flickr

Twenty Republicans voted against a 2018 budget plan in the House of Representatives Thursday, seven of them from New York. The resolution passed the house by a 216-212 vote. 

Upstate Republican Reps. John Katko (R-Camillus), Claudia Tenney (R-New Hartford), Elise Stefanik (R-Wilsboro),  and John Faso (R-Kinderhook) all voted against the budget plan, as did downstate Reps. Peter King (R-Long Island), Daniel Donovan (R-Staten Island) and Lee Zeldin (R-Long Island). 

They joined House members from New Jersey to oppose the Republican plan, which eliminates the federal tax deduction for state and local property taxes. 

Katko, in a statement after the vote, said he could not support the resolution because "the budget before the House today contained language that explicitly endorsed the idea of eliminating the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, which would disproportionately affect New York."

Stefanik, in a ststement, said "While I am a strong advocate for comprehensive tax reform that will make our tax code fairer and simpler for families and businesses in our district, I have concerns with language in this budget resolution related to eliminating the deduction for state and local taxes. I remain committed to achieving comprehensive tax reform and will be working with my colleagues in the New York delegation to address the state and local tax deduction issue in a final tax plan."

Only two House members from New York voted in favor of the budget resolution, western New York Rep. Chris Collins (R-Lancaster) and Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning). 

In a statement, Reed said "This budget is a critical step towards making reforms to our broken and outdated tax code. We have a once in a generation opportunity to make positive changes that will mean more money for hardworking folks and spark our economy. The American people want and deserve a simpler, fairer tax structure. The time for tax reform is now, so let’s get to it."

Passage of the budget plan means Republicans can now start work on tax overhaul. Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX), chair of the House Ways and Means Committee announced after the vote that the Republican tax plan will be released next week. 

Jason has served as WRVO's news director in some capacity since August 2017. As news director, Jason produces hourly newscasts, and helps direct local news coverage and special programming. Before that, Jason hosted Morning Edition on WRVO from 2009-2019. Jason came to WRVO in January of 2008 as a producer/reporter. Before that, he spent two years as an anchor/reporter at WSYR Radio in Syracuse.