Washington, D.C. — Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata is highlighting Medicaid preservation for American Samoa in the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which is the name of a budget reconciliation act in Congress, developed by the House Ways and Means Committee, and passed this week by the House. Overall, the bill will renew the 2017 tax cuts, preventing an automatic tax increase for federal taxpayers at the end of this fiscal year when it would expire, if no action was taken.

Importantly for American Samoa, the bill preserves the federal matching rate for Medicaid, FMAP, which was improved in fiscal year 2020 to 83 percent federal and 17 territory match as a standard rate. While a new work requirement was added to Medicaid in the states, the territories are exempt from that.

Highlights of the bill for U.S. taxpayers include an increase in the child tax credit from $2,000 to $2,500 per child, saving household money for families. In other key changes in the bill, there would be no taxes on tips, no taxes on overtime for workers paid hourly, no taxes on auto-loan interest for American-made cars, and tax relief for seniors through an increase in the amount they can deduct.

“Our Medicaid is our main priority for this bill, and I’m happy to say those most important policies were preserved for us,” said Congresswoman Amata. “This is a major bill for U.S. taxpayers designed to spur economic growth nationally and keep more money in the pockets of families, seniors, and small businesses. Getting the U.S. economy surging is a necessary step in generating the federal revenue that we depend on for necessary services, as well as securing the future and fiscal health of the country.”

(Editor’s Note: The bill now goes to the US Senate, where the bill is said to face an uphill battle.)