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House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz
The House budget chief would not say Tuesday whether the branch is weighing tax increases to offset federal funding cuts that seem to be gaining oxygen in Washington D.C.
"As every year, we take everything into consideration, but I don't want to get ahead of myself," House Ways and Means Chair Aaron Michlewitz told the News Service when asked if he is considering any tax increases in the state budget cycle that will unfold over the next four months. "And until we get, you know, further along in building this budget, I don't want to make any declarations at this moment."
Gov. Maura Healey unveiled her $62 billion fiscal 2026 state budget plan on Jan. 22, and the federal debate over cutting spending has picked up in recent weeks. The governor's budget includes more than $16 billion in federal revenue, mostly tied to the Medicaid program that insures about 2 million people here.
U.S. House Republicans this week are poised to vote on a budget resolution that includes a potential $880 billion cut to Medicaid, which Healey and state congressional delegation members warned would devastate the state's health care landscape and jeopardize insurance coverage for residents.
Michlewitz, asked about threats to federal funding and whether he's considering tax increases to fill any budget holes, said only the House will "hopefully be taking up the conversation around the budget shortly."
"We gotta go through the hearings. We want to hear from the governor," Michlewitz said. "We want to hear from all the parties involved."
Healey did not propose any broad-based tax increases in her budget but in the face of modest tax revenue growth she did include several proposals aimed at solidifying and bumping up the state's tax base.
Hearings on Healey's five-week-old budget have yet to be scheduled.
In Washington Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark joined with fellow Democrats Tuesday to rally against House Republicans' budget resolution.
"They are pushing a budget that stacks the deck against working families," Clark said, according to remarks shared by her office. "A budget that takes health care away from seniors, from veterans. Takes food away from hungry kids. And gives trillions to the wealthiest, most powerful people on earth."
President Donald Trump endorsed the budget last week. House Republicans say they're aiming to rein in "unsustainable" Medicaid spending and redirect services to the "most vulnerable Americans."
Since the start of the new session, House Speaker Ron Mariano has warned Massachusetts lacks the resources to cover all federal programs that could be cut under the Trump administration. Asked Tuesday which federal programs Mariano considers essential and that the state would possibly step up to fund, particularly amid Medicaid uncertainty, the Quincy Democrat said, "We don't know what our choices are."
"We don't know what the federal government's going to do, so it's a little hard for us to evaluate every program that's in the federal budget until we know what's going to affect us the most," Mariano told the News Service. "So it's a wait-and-see game for us right now."
Michlewitz would not say whether lawmakers might consider drawing from the state's nearly $9 billion rainy day fund or turn to other resources.
"These are hypotheticals related to like, how much are we talking? What are the options that we have?" Michlewitz said. "I think we'll evaluate those as they come. But again, as we go through every budget session, everything's on the table for conversation. And we'll just take a look at what our options are and try to make prudent decisions that will provide us a balanced budget, and again, provide the services that are necessary for our constituents."
In a social media post, Clark reflected on a constituent whose husband has dementia and relies on Medicaid coverage.
"She said to me, 'Our world will fall apart if the Republicans' budget is approved,'" Clark said on X. "This same fear is being felt in every district across the country."
Clark's office warned the pending U.S. House budget plan would cause 1.6 million Massachusetts residents to lose health care coverage, and that 312,000 Bay Staters who access coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace would see their health care costs double.
Mariano said Michlewitz is developing the budget with "one hand tied behind his back" due to the daily changes from Washington.
"Some of them are real. Some last 24 hours, some don't even make it 24 hours," Mariano said. "So I mean, what are we supposed to do? We can't craft an imaginary budget. So we just have to be patient."
Michlewitz said he's working on a budget that "stays disciplined to what we've been working on in the past." Echoing Mariano's comments, Michlewitz said lawmakers are trying to "not really get worked up over things that may be happening or may be true, or may not be true."
"We don't know. And we got to just go off the realities of what are in front of us and not get distracted by a lot of the noise that's taking place right now," Michlewitz said.
