{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://macarthur.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-macarthur-s-leads-letter-urging-congress-restore-medical", "Congressman MacArthurs Leads Letter Urging Congress to Restore the Medical Expense Deduction", "2017-12-13", "2017", "2017-12", "Republican", "House", "NJ", "Tom MacArthur", "M001193", "macarthur.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, Congressman MacArthur urged House and Senate Leadership to restore the medical expense deduction in the tax reform legislation on behalf of the over 140,000 seniors who live in New Jersey\u2019s Third Congressional District.\u00a0\n\u201cFor months, I've negotiated to improve this bill for my constituents and was able to successfully restore the property tax deduction\u2014but my fight is not over,\u201d said Congressman Tom MacArthur. \u201cI\u2019m urging House and Senate Leadership to restore the medical expense deduction that will benefit over 140,000 seniors in my district and other constituents with high medical bills.\u00a0 This deduction can represent a meaningful source of relief during the uncertainty and difficulty that medical conditions can bring, and should be restored.\u201d\nFull text of the letter:\nDear Speaker Ryan, Leader McConnell, Chairman Brady, and Chairman Hatch: \nAs you work to finalize and pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, we urge you to maintain the deductibility of medical expenses.\u00a0\u00a0 \nThe House version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act achieves many worthy goals, including eliminating a myriad of special interest loopholes.\u00a0 Each of us supported it.\u00a0 Both the House and the Senate retain some credits and deductions that foster critical, broad-based public policy objectives, such as supporting families, home ownership and charities.\u00a0 We urge you to maintain the Medical Expense Deduction in this same spirit, as the Senate version has already done.\nNine million American households claim the Medical Expense Deduction, and for these families, this deduction can represent a meaningful source of relief during the uncertainty and difficulty that medical conditions can bring.\u00a0 Some of the unfortunate outcomes of Obamacare have been higher medical costs, higher insurance premiums, higher deductibles, higher copays \u2013 these costs hit families hard, especially seniors.\u00a0\u00a0 On behalf of our constituents, who badly need the tax relief that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will provide, and especially on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of senior citizens who live in the districts we represent, we urge you to maintain the Medical Expense Deduction, and to send us a final version swiftly so we can deliver the relief we promised the American people.\nCongressman MacArthur was joined by Congressman David Joyce and Congressman Rod Blum in this request.", 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://macarthur.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-macarthur-s-leads-letter-urging-congress-restore-medical"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6621891409158707, "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"}