Chuck Grassley Signals Opposition to Bill Because It ‘Makes the President Look Good’

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Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) indicated he may oppose a bipartisan tax bill because he said it would make President Joe Biden “look good” in an election year.

The $78 billion package includes an enhanced child tax credit for low-income families and the extension of some tax benefits for businesses that were enacted in 2017. Additionally, the legislation contains funding for people affected by natural and manmade disasters.

“Passing a tax bill that makes the president look good — mailing out checks before the election — means he could be re-elected, and then we won’t extend the 2017 tax cuts,” Grassley told reporters on Wednesday, according to NBC News.

NBC News noted that Grassley’s claim that checks would be mailed out is false. In a statement last week, the House Ways and Means Committee said the legislation is crafted so that Biden would be unable “to send politically timed refund checks.”

Checks were mailed under a previous iteration of the child tax credit passed in 2021. That program slashed the country’s child poverty rate by 30% that year The credit expired in 2022 and was not renewed because Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) was concerned people receiving checks would use the money on drugs. As the Democrats controlled the Senate 50-50 at the time, Manchin’s opposition torpedoed renewal. In 2022, the child poverty rate more than doubled.

“There’s disagreement by some people on whether or not the bill upsets strategy for 2025 — extending the 2017 tax bill,” Grassley said on Wednesday. “And all these things are questions that are unanswered. And until something is through the House, I don’t think we’re going to pay too much attention to it.”

The House is slated to vote on the package on Wednesday night. If it passes, it will head to the Senate.

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