Rep. Josh Brecheen helps shape key reconciliation bill amid GOP push for tax cuts and border security

A member of the staunchly conservative House Freedom Caucus, as well as the House Budget Committee, Oklahoma 2nd District Representative Josh Brecheen has emerged as an influential force in helping shape the final composition of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the reconciliation package Republicans are using to try to implement President Trump’s top legislative goals: the extension of his 2017 tax cuts, enhanced border security, and reduced spending on programs not aligned with his priorities.

Under the rules of reconciliation, Brecheen and the Budget Committee first passed the resolution containing instructions for other committees to write specific portions of the package. They then had to assemble those individual bills into a final legislative package and advance it for consideration by the full House.

That was to have taken place this past Friday, but Brecheen and three other hardline Republicans on the committee, unhappy with several aspects of the bill, joined all Democrats in voting against it. The committee reconvened late Sunday for a second vote. By this time, the conservative group had won some concessions, and the four, instead of voting ‘no’, voted ‘present’, allowing the bill to move forward, but with the understanding that leadership would continue to work with them on more changes.

Here is some of what Rep. Brecheen had to say about the situation in an interview Monday:

Q: Why is it so important to you that the timeline for phasing out wind and solar tax credits be moved up?

Brecheen: “If you look at the the last many years, 20, 30 years relative to the production tax credit — think wind and solar — there have been 10 to 13 different times since 1999 when those tax credits were supposed to expire, and they would be punted for a few years, and then Congress would always allow them to continue. And so what we were adamant about, whether it be the work requirements or the tax credits for wind and solar, it had end. And (it had to end) under President Trump's tenure in office, because he has the bully pulpit, he's the one that has given us this landing space to get rid of the ‘green new scam.’ And as previously drafted — until the work we did this weekend — those were going to be punted even until the year 2041, in terms of how long taxpayer subsidies would be subsidizing wind and solar. And so we provided a change that puts all of the interest into those programs very early, as early as we thought was reasonable, and also ensures that it happens under the Trump administration.”

Q: What do you say to criticism that the new Medicaid work requirement in the bill would result in millions of Americans losing health coverage?

Brecheen: “Relative to the history of the blind, aged, disabled, pregnant, nursing mother, disabled, elderly, what we're doing is designed to make sure that element remains the focus. And so anybody that falls in that category, the things we're talking about aren't that category, but we're talking about the able-bodied population, those that are able to work--and keep in mind, you still have 700,000 people on a disabled wait list trying to be on Medicaid. And you have able-bodied people, in terms of federal dollars, that receive nine times relative to what the state puts in. But when it comes to disabled, it's only a $1.33 for every dollar the state puts in…You also have service providers that many times receive 2.5 times higher payments for the able-bodied on Medicaid — 2.5 times higher for the able-bodied on Medicaid….as compared to Medicare rates.”

Q: Ultimately, are you optimistic you guys will get this bill passed and sent to the Senate?

Brecheen: “I'm hopeful. I think the president's team knows that some of us are just trying to make sure that we're honoring—to get to the truth of what we all want to see. And that is this One Beautiful Bill to be passed, because there's a lot of good things in it. And we want to extend the tax cuts, we want to secure the border, I'm on Homeland Security, this is something many Oklahomans know I’ve focused on for years. And also for people know how I ran when I ran for office, about not being someone who would increase the chasm of deficit spending. So we're trying to balance all of that. And so I can be a person of truth. The way I conducted running for office and the commitments I made to the 2nd Congressional District.”