Trump's Impact on Long Island: What You Need to Know

Halfway through his first year back in office, President Donald Trump has the green light from the Republican-majority Congress to move ahead on major parts of his domestic agenda. The sprawling budget bill Congress passed this week will touch Long Island in a variety of ways — from the economy to the environment, from health care access to immigration enforcement, and will be at the center of next year’s midterm elections, said Lawrence Levy, executive dean of Hofstra University’s National Center for Suburban Studies.

On Long Island, the messaging battle will take place over SALT, referring to the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions that was approved by the Republican congressional majority in 2017 and raised to $40,000 under the current bill. The outcome will depend on media skill, money raising, the economy's performance, and how much people feel the pinch of the caps compared to other economic factors, according to Levy.

WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND

The sprawling budget bill Congress passed last week will touch Long Island in a variety of ways — from the economy to the environment, from health care access to immigration enforcement. Long Island will benefit in particular from an increase in the deduction for state and local taxes, or SALT, which goes to $40,000 for households earning $500,000 or less for the next five years. Meanwhile, health care advocates say hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers could lose access to health care coverage due to changes to Medicaid eligibility requirements and Affordable Care Act enrollment requirements.

Long Island’s House delegation voted along party lines, with Reps. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) and Nick LaLota (R- Amityville) voting in favor of passage, and Reps. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) and Laura Gillen (D- Rockville Centre) voting against it. Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand also voted against.

Economics

The cornerstone of the megabill was extending the 2017 tax cuts congressional Republicans passed during Trump’s first term that were set to expire at the end of this year. The current bill makes the majority of those cuts permanent, but also adds some new temporary provisions, including increasing the cap on state and local tax deductions to $40,000 for households earning $500,000 or less for the next five years, after which it will default back to the $10,000 cap first initiated in the 2017 Trump-backed bill.

Matt Cohen, president and CEO of the Long Island Association, praised the increase in SALT and is examining the bill's overall impacts on Long Island, especially in health care, renewable energy, food security, and the national deficit.

Health care

Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers could lose access to health care coverage due to changes to Medicaid eligibility requirements and changes to Affordable Care Act enrollment requirements. New York stands to lose $120 billion in federal Medicaid funding over the next decade, with projections of major cuts to services and jobs, including potential loss of health care coverage for 1.5 million New Yorkers.

Environment

Biden-era clean energy tax credits aimed at boosting the use of solar panels, wind energy, and electric vehicles will be phased out under the bill, affecting the growth of the clean energy sector on Long Island. The loss of tax credits will impact middle to low-income homeowners who have used them to reduce energy costs.

Immigration

Immigration enforcement will receive a $100 billion surge through 2029, expanding the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The increased enforcement could influence next year’s midterm elections, but may also turn away moderate swing voters.