By Gavin Michaelson
Winona Daily News, Minn.
(TNS)
U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) says Social Security tax reductions for seniors in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act would have extended long beyond 2028 were it not for Senate Democrats.
Van Orden met with seniors Wednesday at Hunter’s Last Chance Bar and Grill in West Salem to promote tax deductions included in the Working Family Tax Cuts.
“These folks built our nation, and I don’t want our seniors wringing their hands at night, worrying about paying the bills because they have to pay taxes on something that I don’t think they should be paying taxes on to begin with,” Van Orden said. “There are a lot of folks that were in this meeting today that are going to benefit greatly from that.”
Van Orden said the law ensures 88% of seniors will pay no tax on their Social Security income through 2028.
Under the bill, Social Security taxes for single taxpayers over 65 with income over $75,000 and joint filers with income over $150,000 will phase out at a 6% rate. Those at or below the income levels could be eligible for the full $6,000 deduction per taxpayer.
While many of the seniors in attendance praised the bill’s efforts to help seniors keep their Social Security income in their pocketbooks, some were concerned about the bill’s short lifespan.
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Van Orden said the actions taken by Senate Democrats were symptomatic of a “broken” system in Congress.
“The reason that this is expiring in 2028 is because we had to get the Democrats to vote for a tax break,” Van Orden said. “The Democrats in the Senate would not vote for this bill if there wasn’t a sunset for the tax break for seniors, which I think is repulsive. … If the Republicans had our way, and if the Senate could get their act together, this would go on in perpetuity. It would have been a permanent tax break.”
During the meeting, he told a constituent to “thank Tammy Baldwin,” and other Senate Democrats.
“Wisconsin Republicans, who all voted for the Big, Ugly Bill, have to answer why they cut food assistance for hungry Wisconsinites, took families’ health care away, and gutted funding for rural hospitals,” said a representative from U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s office.
According to Baldwin, the reason for the short lifespan of the tax deductions is Senate Republicans passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act through the reconciliation process to avoid the Senate filibuster rule and pass the bill with a simple majority.
Her office reiterated that Baldwin and Senate Democrats took no part in drafting this bill and “bear absolutely no responsibility” for the impacts of the legislation.
Baldwin’s office also cited Van Orden and other Wisconsin congressional Republicans in voting for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cut Medicaid by $1 trillion, cut SNAP by $186 billion, and raised health care insurance costs for many.
During the meeting, Van Orden touted other tax cuts signed into law, such as no tax on tips, no tax on overtime and an exclusion on the death tax.
“Our hard-working men and women that get up and work with their hands every day and they’re working overtime, I think they shouldn’t be paying taxes on that,” Van Orden said. “The folks that are working here in this pub, I don’t think they should be paying taxes on their tips either.”
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© 2026 Winona Daily News, Minn.. Visit www.winonadailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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