The following letter was sent to my House Rep in Washington, DC:
May 19, 2025
Dear Representative Huizenga,
I’m a constituent from Kalamazoo and I want to urge you to oppose the budget reconciliation bill and its harmful cuts to vital government programs. The Republican bill is harmful to the people of your district and the nation. The increase in the national debt that would result is irresponsible and cuts to programs such as Medicaid are immoral.
Congress should pass a fair and responsible budget that helps the families and communities of our great nation, not one that slashes vital benefits to fund tax cuts for the wealthy.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Rev. Kenneth Arthur
Kalamazoo, MI 49009
Response from Huizenga on June 9, 2025:
Dear Mr. Arthur,
Thank you for contacting me regarding your views on H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. I always appreciate hearing from constituents and welcome this opportunity to respond.
This transformative House-passed legislation will deliver permanent tax relief for middle class families and small business job creators. H.R. 1 prevents the largest tax increase in history while reducing taxes for Americans making $30,000 – $80,000 by 15%.
Without H.R. 1 being signed into law, the average taxpayer across Michigan’s 4thCongressional District will face a 25% tax increase, 70,420 families will have their per child tax credit cut in half, 41,850 small businesses will see their tax rate increase to a massive 43.4%, and 95% of the 452,310 taxpayers in Southwest Michigan would see their standard deduction slashed in half.
For American taxpayers and families, H.R. 1 makes lower tax rates, the doubled per child tax credit, and the doubled standard deduction permanent. It also establishes savings accounts for newborns, expands 529 savings accounts, increases the child tax credit by $500 while indexing it to inflation, and increases access to the adoption tax credit. The bill also provides an additional $4,000 federal tax deduction for middle- and low-income seniors.
For American workers, H.R.1 delivers on President Trump’s promise of no tax on tips as well as no tax on overtime. These provisions will help Michiganders in the service industries, as well as our first responders, such as police officers, firefighters, and nurses, keep more of their hard-earned money. This bill also makes auto loan interest on a new vehicle tax deductible, a provision that I championed to increase Michigan manufacturing and make buying a new car more affordable. The bill also importantly strengthens the Paid Family and Medical Leave Credit. As a result of these policies, real annual take-home pay would increase by about $4,000 – $5,000 for the average 2-child household. Overall, by making tax rates permanent for job creators, H.R. 1 would save more than 6 million jobs.
For American small businesses, H.R. 1 ?makes permanent or extends key policies like 100% business expensing, immediate R&D investment amortization, interest deductibility, the small business deduction, Opportunity Zones, and the lower effective tax rate for U.S. manufacturers.
Furthermore, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act provides full expensing for new factories and doubles immediate small business expensing. These provisions together set the stage for an additional $1.5 trillion in small business economic growth and an estimated 1 million new small business jobs each year.H.R. 1 doesn’t stop at tax relief. It allows critical investments into maintaining and enhancing border security, unleashes American energy dominance, boosts the agriculture sector, and modernizes our military. It stops illegal immigrants from accessing taxpayer-funded assistance, cracks down on those enrolled in multiple state programs, and strives to reduce the more than $500 billion in improper payments.
Importantly, it moves to protect and preserve Medicaid for those who need it the most by eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse of this vital program. To be clear, this legislation is meant to strengthen Medicaid specifically for low-income mothers, children, the elderly, and disabled individuals. The bill merely requires certain capable adults without dependents to verify they’ve worked, volunteered, participated in job-training, or furthered their education for 80 hours a month or 20 hours a week.
Between 1.6 million recipients enrolled in multiple states, reckless financing methods, and coverage for undocumented immigrants, estimates of improper Medicaid payments over the last decade range from $500 billion to $1 trillion. This is not acceptable, and if the status quo continues, those who rely Medicaid the most will have their benefits reduced because of individuals who are able to work but choose not to work. I believe that is morally wrong.
In a recent tele-town hall I hosted with residents across Southwest Michigan, I asked participants, “Do you support undocumented individuals, who are illegally present in the United States, receiving taxpayer-funded benefits?” In response, a clear majority, 53%, did not support the status quo, while only 29% responded they did, and 18% were unsure. H.R. 1 provides guardrails to protect the people who need Medicaid the most while structuring a path to success and skills training for those who need help gaining employable skills.
Overall, this legislation includes more than $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction, supercharges economic opportunity, and substantially increases take-home pay for millions of Americans while setting up Michigan and our nation for a manufacturing renaissance!
Again, I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me, and please do not hesitate to do so in the future. To stay up to date with the latest news on our work in Congress, you may sign up at huizenga.house.gov/forms/emailsignup/ to receive my e-newsletter, the Huizenga Huddle.
Sincerely,
Bill Huizenga
Member of Congress