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Leaders of Boston firefighters union back Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ in video posted by the White House
“President Trump's plan on the SALT reduction will provide immediate assistance and relief to our members."
Leaders a the Boston firefighters union voiced their support for President Donald Trump’s huge tax breaks and spending cuts bill in a video posted by the White House last week.
The Senate narrowly passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” Tuesday after a tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance, and the bill will now go back to the House. Republicans who voted against the act were concerned about increasing the national deficit and cutting Medicaid health care to millions.
Boston Firefighters Local 718 President Sam Dillon and Vice President Leroy Heyward appeared in a video posted by the official White House and POTUS accounts on Instagram on Sunday. The International Association of Fire Fighters visited the capital to support the bill, according to the caption.
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“President Trump’s plan on the SALT reduction will provide immediate assistance and relief to our members, preventing them from being forced out of the communities that we live in, take pride in, and we serve in moments of crisis,” Dillon said in the video.
The SALT, or state and local tax, deduction cap refers to the current $10,000 limit on federal deduction for state and local taxes. The SALT deduction allows taxpayers who itemize to deduct property, sales, or income taxes already paid to state and local governments, according to the Tax Foundation, which said it disproportionately benefits high-income taxpayers.
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The $10,000 cap was initially passed in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The Senate’s bill would raise that cap to $40,000 through 2030, according to CNBC, before reverting back to the $10,000 cap. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget claims the bill passed by the Senate is expected to add more than $4 trillion to the national debt through Fiscal Year 2034.
In the video, Heyward also pointed to the “extra $4,000 tax break” given by President Donald Trump.
“President Trump would like to give us an extra $4,000 tax break. That is huge for a lot of our citizens, our seniors, and our firefighters,” Heyward said. “That can mean the difference of paying your mortgage, your rent, and food on the table.”
Eligible seniors over the age of 65 would qualify for the additional $4,000 tax deduction, even if they itemize their deductions, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.
Other firefighters in the video highlighted the bill’s tax breaks on social security for seniors, elimination of taxes on overtime, and tax credits for childcare and in-home services.
Dillon told the Boston Herald the union’s decision to speak out about the bill was a “non-partisan” one.
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“Local 718 spoke in support of aspects of the bill that would be beneficial to our members,” Dillon said in a statement to Boston.com. “When afforded the opportunity, we will engage with elected officials of any political party or background to advocate on behalf of firefighters and our families.”
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