In a moderated speech at the University of Utah as part of the Sutherland Institute’s Congressional Series, Representative Blake Moore made a compelling case for why students should get involved in politics and care about taxes.

“It’s the boring things that are really, really important,” he joked.

Moore, who represents Utah’s 1st District, spoke “calmly, candidly and advocated bipartisanship on numerous issues,” as one student in the audience at the university’s Hinckley Institute of Politics put it during the question-and-answer portion of the program.

Moore explained to students that unlike other years, the 2024 election cycle is critical because provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), passed under the Trump administration, will expire in 2025, affecting more than 29 million households.

The Republican congressman and vice chairman of the Republican Conference said he was frustrated that the issue was not given more space in the national debate.

Rep. Blake Moore believes Harris and Trump don’t talk enough about taxes

Neither Vice President Kamala Harris nor former President Donald Trump discussed the tax policies they wanted to pursue, he said.

As the Deseret News previously reported, the two candidates shied away from detailing their preferred tax policies, even though they both loudly promised not to tax tips and increase the child tax credit.

The TCJA doubled the child tax credit to $1,000. The Harris and Trump campaigns proposed raising it to $6,000 and $5,000, respectively.

Trump has said he wants to permanently enact the tax package he negotiated with Congress in 2017. Harris, in turn, has repeated President Joe Biden’s promise not to raise taxes on households earning less than $400,000 a year. In her speech at the convention, she also announced that she would cut taxes for middle-class families. She also said she wants to raise taxes on higher-income families and on corporations.

Moore made a case for students to be interested in these expiring tax provisions. “This is important because you are going to enter the workforce,” he said, “and the decisions we make now will have a significant impact on all of you.”

MP Moore emphasizes solution to deficit problem

The GOP representative said the TCJA “did not solve our deficit.” Republicans focused instead on economic growth, he said. But the power dynamic has since changed and “it’s been a political maneuver ever since.”

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the U.S. budget deficit reached $1.9 trillion in June, a 27 percent increase from the agency’s projections earlier this year.

Student loan forgiveness programs contributed to the increase. Moore advised students not to be afraid of student debt. “Be smart about it. Work your ass off,” Moore said.

He highlighted a bill, the Secure Act 2.0, proposed in the House Budget Committee, where Moore serves. This bill would allow employers to treat an employee’s loan repayments as 401(k) contributions and match the appropriate amount.

“Companies want to do that, and employees should welcome that,” he said, “and you’ll start saving for retirement five, six years earlier than you otherwise would have.”

Who will control Congress in 2025?

Nic Dunn, moderator of the event and vice president of strategy and communications at the Sutherland Institute, laid out three hypothetical scenarios for 2025: First, Republicans have control of the House, Senate and White House. Second, Democrats have full control. Third, it’s a divided government, similar to what we have now. Dunn asked Moore what he could accomplish in those situations.

The congressman said lowering the debt ceiling is a priority, but added that the deal will not be as good as what they negotiated with the Biden White House in 2021, which is set to expire on January 1, 2025.

“It would be a completely normal increase in the debt ceiling,” said Moore. The Republican congressman said he hopes to eliminate the waste that contributes to the U.S. debt problem.

Even when Republicans are in the majority, legislation can be blocked, Moore says. Most bills can only pass in the Senate if they receive 60 or more votes. If that hurdle is not met, any senator who is in the minority can block the bill through the filibuster rule, he explains.

“If the government is divided on tax policy, at some point we could end up with something very similar to what we did this year,” Moore said.

Which Senate seats could change in 2024?

The Biden administration and the Democratic-controlled Senate have not proposed tax reform in recent years, largely because they knew it would not be popular, Moore said.

They would rather reform provisions as they expire, he added. Democrats are instead focused on trillions of dollars in spending, including the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act. Moore said he expects that trend to repeat under another divided government.

However, Moore said he is confident the Senate will flip to Republicans this year. Democrats currently hold a two-vote majority, 51 to 49. With West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin not running for re-election, “the outcome is guaranteed to be 50-50,” Moore said.

He also said he expected Democratic Senator Jon Tester of Montana’s seat to flip and Republicans to retain control of Ohio if Vance becomes the next Vice President of the United States in a Trump White House.

The race for commander in chief has become neck-and-neck since Harris’ nomination. “Trump was clearly ahead,” Moore said, adding that Harris “has narrowed that gap a little bit. It’s going to be an exciting few months to see how it plays out.”