President Biden says “the devil is in the details” of his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. Turns out, there are a lot of details.
Mr. Biden and his team spent last week touting the benefits of the legislation. They will now have to fix some of the unintended consequences, which include looming Medicare cuts, a child credit that the IRS says it will struggle to implement on schedule, and language limiting states’ ability to cut taxes that has already triggered at least one lawsuit.
“I can’t give you a specific explanation as to how it got put in other than that kind of thing happens — always — when massive legislation like this is being crammed down without going through the committee,” Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, told The Washington Times.
Mr. Crapo was referring to language Senate Democrats added to the bill that bars states from using the $350 billion in state and local aid to offset revenue losses that result from tax cuts.
The Treasury Department said the language doesn’t infringe on states’ ability to cut taxes in general.
That wasn’t good enough for Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. He sued, saying the language is an unconstitutional attack on states’ rights.
Other Republican attorneys general have threatened similar action.
