Sen. Tim Scott on Wednesday defended Republicans' plan to ax the Obamacare individual mandate as part of tax reform, saying it's "a tax on the poor and working class."
A guest on conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt's program, the South Carolina Republican pushed back on the notion that axing the mandate was another way for Republicans to dismantle Obamacare.
"Absolutely not," Scott told Hewitt.
"The fact of the matter is that the individual mandate is a tax on the poor and working class," Scott told Hewitt, adding that the mandate afflicts a higher percentage of Americans making $50,000 or less, all because they can't afford Obamacare in the first place.
Further, getting rid of the mandate would lower the deficit by nearly $350 billion over the next decade, providing offsets to help pay for the sweeping tax cuts being proposed.
Scott also predicted the Senate will pass its bill with the help of a tiebreaker vote from Vice President Mike Pence, where then three things will happen in conference with House Republicans:
"No. 1, on the state and local tax deduction we eliminated. The House keeps a $10,000 dollar property credit. That property credit will find its way into the final version, in my opinion. That's a $300 billion dollar cost, so we're going to have to be prepared to move some dials in order to accomplish that objective," Scott told Hewitt.
"No. 2, I think we'll have a little struggle … on the $500,000 versus the million dollars of (home mortgage) interest deductibility. I think we are on solid ground. The House will have to concede that point.
"And then the smaller deductions as it relates to the ability to deduct your student loans, our version has it in, the House does not. I think we come to the Senate version," Scott said.
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