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with the majority in other industries. If replacement policies are not in place, there will be a <br />cumulative $1.5 trillion loss in gross state products and a $2.6 trillion reduction in business <br />output from 2019 to 2023. States and health care providers will be particularly hard hit by the <br />funding cuts. <br />Tax Reform <br />Municipal Bond Tax Exemption <br />Another top priority for Congress is reforming the tax code, which House and Senate <br />Republicans plan to do through the FY 2018 budget resolution, which is expected to come up <br />this spring. The tax package may, in part, help to pay for an infrastructure package. President <br />Trump and Congress have proposed including significant cuts to income tax rates, keeping rates <br />low on investment, and to eliminate the estate tax. A serious concern for local jurisdictions is a <br />proposal that would eliminate the tax-exempt status on municipal bond interest, which is critical <br />for job and infrastructure creation, and has been on the table in the past and may resurface again. <br />It is estimated that eliminating the tax -exemption would generate approximately $500 billion <br />over 10 years to pay for other tax cuts. The President has previously promised to work to <br />maintain the tax-exempt status. <br />State & Local Tax Deduction <br />The President's tax plan would cap itemized deductions for higher earners, and the Republican <br />tax reform plan would entirely eliminate the state and local tax deduction. New York Governor <br />Andrew Cuomo, and other state and local leaders, have asked Donald Trump not to eliminate <br />this deduction, arguing that the cut would devastate states like New York and California. The <br />deduction is known to disproportionately benefit wealthy individuals and Democratic areas like <br />major cities. Moreover, this provision is among the most expensive for the federal government. <br />The tax reform blueprint released by House Republicans in June 2016 lowers tax rates, but <br />eliminates all itemized deductions, except those for mortgage interest and charitable giving. <br />Quantifying the impacts of doing away with this deduction will be important to advocacy efforts. <br />Transportation/Infrastructure <br />President Trump's pick to lead the Department of Transportation, Elaine Chao, was confirmed <br />by the Senate on January 31. Chao will likely be involved in helping the GOP develop an <br />infrastructure proposal. Chao is the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), <br />and served eight years as Deputy Secretary of Transportation during the George H.W. Bush <br />Administration. <br />Although Trump promised a $1 trillion infrastructure bill in his first 100 days in office, the <br />timing of a plan has been delayed by a full Republican agenda. Moreover, Republican leaders <br />have not yet decided how to pay for the investment nor what types of infrastructure will be <br />included. On the campaign trail, Trump claimed that the bill will be revenue -neutral, use public - <br />private partnerships as a pay -for, and provide tax incentives to leverage private investments, <br />which will be difficult to deliver. This would only work for money -making infrastructure <br />projects, which includes airports and toll roads, but excludes many important modes. The <br />President has also considered creating a national infrastructure bank. Democratic leaders Nancy <br />Pelosi (D-CA) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have said that an infrastructure package may be an <br />area where Democrats can work with the new Administration. <br />0 <br />