{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://higgins.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/higgins-announces-house-passage-of-legislation-lifting-cap-on-state-and", "Higgins Announces House Passage of Legislation Lifting Cap on State and Local Tax (SALT) Deduction", "2019-12-19", "2019", "2019-12", "Democrat", "House", "NY", "Brian Higgins", "H001038", "higgins.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26) announced House passage of H.R.5377, the Restoring Tax Fairness for States and Localities Act, which reverses the cap placed on State and Local Tax (SALT) deductions that was implemented by the GOP tax bill passed in 2017. The legislation increases the SALT deduction for married couples from $10,000 to $20,000 in 2019 and repeals it entirely in 2020 and 2021 for nearly all taxpayers. H.R. 5377 includes an increase in the Educator Expense Deduction, used by teachers to offset out-of-pocket classroom expenses, and establishes a new deduction for first responders' uniforms and training fees, to further support protect public servants. In addition, the bill is fully paid-for and would require no additional federal resources.\n\nEarlier this month the House Ways and Means Committee, which Congressman Higgins is a member of, marked up the bill and reported it favorably to the full House. Higgins was an original cosponsor of H.R. 5377 and worked on the Ways and Means Committee's SALT Working Group throughout the year.\n\nBefore its repeal, more than 80,000 Western New Yorkers in New York's 26th district claimed the State and Local Tax deduction, and those claims averaged $12,208.\n\nDuring debate on the House floor, Congressman Higgins delivered a speech in support of the bill, in which he said: There are many issues with the Republican tax scheme, but the $10,000 state and local tax deduction cap is one of the most egregious. The SALT deduction has been a fixture of the United States Tax Code since the introduction of a federal income tax in 1913, to acknowledge state and local taxes are paid for services that the federal government does not provide.\nTo see Congressman Higgins' full remarks, click above or go to: https://youtu.be/DMxCPFCM0sQ\nBefore the cap was implemented, New York claimed the highest average SALT deductions in the US, but still paid an estimated $41 billion more to Washington than it received.\n\nDuring last week's committee markup, Congressman Higgins noted that limiting SALT deductions discourages homeownership and hurts hardworking families' ability to build a stable life. He also spoke adamantly against the proposal when it was offered as part of the GOP tax cut in the Ways and Means Committee in 2017.\n\nThe legislation passed by a vote of 218-206, and now awaits consideration in the Senate.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://higgins.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/higgins-announces-house-passage-of-legislation-lifting-cap-on-state-and"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4249661471694708, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}