The House-passed budget reconciliation bill to advance President Trump’s tax and spending agenda, cuts Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) spending, but may have limited if any, impacts on American Samoa. KHJ News Washington DC correspondent Matt Kaye reports…
American Samoa receives a food stamp block grant and a fixed 83-percent Medicaid federal match.
But the territory is insulated from some $1 trillion in savings to the two main national safety net programs.
Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata says that bill preserves the territory’s federal matching rate for Medicaid, or FMAP, improved in 2020.
And American Samoa will benefit like the states from an increase in the child tax credit from $2,000 to $2,500 per child, and no taxes on tips or overtime for hourly workers, or auto-loan interest for American-made cars.
Plus, there’s tax relief for seniors with an increase in the amount they can deduct.
House Republicans shifted more of the benefit and administrative cost of SNAP to the states to encourage them to reduce high payment error rates.
And the GOP in the sweeping budget-cutting reconciliation bill increased SNAP work requirements and for the first time ever, added them to Medicaid.
But federal law does not require the territories to meet SNAP work requirements, or those for people receiving SNAP and Medicaid.
The Senate is expected to make changes before sending the bill sought by President Trump to extend and expand his 2017 tax cuts and fund defense and immigration security back to the House.
