Thursday: House to finish withholding-tax repeal

The rule approved Wednesday also covers H.R. 2576, which would amend last year’s healthcare law to prevent those deemed as having middle-class incomes from being eligible for Medicaid and other health programs. Republicans say this change is needed to avoid the abuse of programs meant for lower-income Americans.

A few Democrats said they oppose this “pay for,” but the Obama administration has said it supports both bills. The healthcare-related change would alter the way of calculating modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) in a way that would make it harder for middle-income Americans to qualify for Medicaid.

The Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday that repealing the withholding-tax rule would “cost” the government $11.2 billion over 10 years. Changing the MAGI language is estimated to save the federal government $13 billion over 10 years.

The House will be done with legislative work for the week once those bills are passed, and the House is out Friday.