Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY) is taking heat for threatening to vote “no” on the “big, beautiful bill” if the Senate makes any sort of changes to its key provisions. The New York congressman warned his colleagues in the Senate against taking action to lower the House’s $40,000 cap on the controversial state-and-local-tax deduction (SALT), which many conservatives see as a bailout for blue states.

“If the Senate waters it down by a dollar, I’m a no,” LaLota posted on social media. He then argued that even the cap that’s currently on SALT is “unfair” to the constituents he represents.

Another New York congressman, Mike Lawler, penned a piece for the New York Post also upholding the SALT deduction, even going so far as to call the quadrupling of the cap to $40,000 a “had fought victory for middle-class and working families, already drowning under the tax-and-spend policies in Albany that have made New York the highest-taxed state in the nation.”

“Quadrupling the SALT cap will be a lifeline for the teachers, nurses, small-business owners and first responders who keep our communities strong, and for all of the working-class families and retirees on fixed incomes across the Hudson Valley,” Lawler wrote.

He finished his piece by saying, “As an independent voice in Washington, I’ve never been afraid to challenge my own party or work across the aisle to get results. This bill is a historic step forward — a tax cut that rewards hard work, supports families and levels the playing field.”

However, critics of SALT refer to it as the “blue state bailout.”

The concern with the deduction is that it disproportionately benefits high-income taxpayers who live in Democratic-led, high-tax states such as New York, California, and New Jersey. SALT allows taxpayers to deduct state and local taxes from their federal income tax.

Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) says that if the cap is increased, it would be a “costly tax break for people with higher incomes” and a “wealth transfer from low-tax to high-tax state residents.”

Another congressman, Rep. John Rose (R-TN), slammed the provision, saying that “raising the SALT deduction is a bailout for Democrat Governors—paid for by red states with low taxes.”

LaLota, however, believes raising the cap helps to reduce inequities faced by his constituents living in a high-tax state such as New York. He pointed out the fiscal imbalance that exists between states. He then said that for every dollar New York sends to the federal government, it only gets 91 cents back. Tennessee, however, gets $1.40.

The New York Congressman said this disparity shows that New York is subsidizing other states, not the other way around. LaLota is so dedicated to his position that he is threatening to fight the bill altogether. “I promise, and I’m reaffirming my promise again here today,” he said, “I will fight anybody, including those in my own party, who would seek to extend this onerous gap on us middle-class Long Islanders.”