Rep. Burgess Owens said during a recent interview that House negotiators were "in a good place" on ongoing budget discussions, after the interviewer warned that failure could mean a "nearly $5,000,000,000,000 tax increase on all Americans."

The interviewer, identified as Liz, asked, "What is the status of it now? Because it's a nearly $5,000,000,000,000 tax increase on all Americans if it fails. It's out of Ways and Means. What is happening now?" Liz's question framed the immediate concern about the measure's status in the House process.

Owens described the legislative steps under way: "we just got through with our markups. This Friday, we're gonna have the budget committees will bring everything together. Then we then we collaborate and we talk with the senate. We do something called a bird bath, and that's really where it all kind of shakes out." He urged patience with the process while emphasizing continued effort by House negotiators.

Owens said lawmakers had been casting difficult votes and that a narrow House majority had been decisive at key moments: "we have very small men of, a majority, but that small majority of 3 or 4 comes through at every single time." He also noted extended committee sessions, saying, "1 committee was 23 hours, other committee was 17," as part of the work to finalize provisions.

The interviewer recited a list of possible provisions and exclusions being discussed, saying, "No taxes on tips. No taxes on overtime. No taxes movements for social security benefits possibly not being taxed. No, interest deductions on, you know, new car loans for cars made in America." The interviewer also referenced potential carve-outs for "military retirees and first responders." Those items were presented as examples raised during the interview; Owens framed them as part of broader negotiations rather than as final decisions.

No formal vote outcome or final legislative text was presented during the conversation. Owens described continuing House–Senate coordination and the forthcoming consolidation of committee work but did not provide a timetable for final approval.

The exchange included references to members and moments from recent committee activity; the interviewer mentioned specific lawmakers during earlier remarks, and Owens characterized the moment as an unusually intense period of legislative bargaining.

Next steps described in the interview: consolidation of markups by budget committees and talks with the Senate, with the final shape of the measure to be determined during those negotiations.