Category: US Senate

Broken Promises: More Special Interest Breaks and Loopholes Under the New Tax Law

The following article by Alexandra Thornton was posted on the Center for American Progress website March 1, 2018:

Credit: Getty Images

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was introduced on November 2, 2017, rushed through Congress on a partisan basis, and signed by President Donald Trump just seven weeks later. No hearings were held on the actual bill and experts who could have helped ensure that provisions were properly drafted had barely any opportunity to digest legislative language or analysis from the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, much less to provide comments. Additionally, Democratic legislators were not permitted in the drafting room. The result is a bill riddled with drafting errors, special tax breaks that were not vetted, and new loopholes.1 While some are mere glitches, others appear to be purposeful giveaways that will create complexity and confusion for taxpayers and will have a significant impact on federal revenues.2

Most tax policy experts understand tax reform to involve making the tax system fairer, as well as simpler and more efficient where possible.3 This is achieved in part by eliminating special interest tax breaks and loopholes that allow savvy taxpayers to legally escape tax.4 This approach contributed to the success of the Tax Reform Act of 1986.5 While it will take time before the full ramifications of the TCJA are fully revealed, it is clear at this point that the effort did not result in true tax reform. Rather, while some special interest tax breaks and tax loopholes were eliminated or reduced, a host of others were left in place. And new breaks and loopholes were added that individuals and businesses, with the help of their sophisticated tax advisers, can use to avoid paying taxes in the years ahead.6 This issue brief provides a sample of the many special tax breaks that remain or were added to the tax code, along with some new loopholes that have been identified in the two short months since the bill was passed. Continue reading “Broken Promises: More Special Interest Breaks and Loopholes Under the New Tax Law”

Former Obama chief of staff said top Senate Republican ‘watered down’ pre-election Russia warning

The following article by Karoun Demirjian was posted on the Washington Post website March 4, 2018:

Credit: AP Photo / Ron Sachs

A former chief of staff to President Barack Obama said Sunday that the Senate’s top Republican insisted that a bipartisan appeal for states to step up election security in the face of Russian aggression be “dramatically watered down” before it was issued in advance of the 2016 election.

Denis McDonough said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was single-handedly responsible for downgrading the language in a letter “asking the states to work with us” to better secure election systems in light of intelligence indicating Russia was attempting to interfere in the election. McDonough complained that members of Congress have shown a “stunning lack of urgency about this question,” and he put the blame mostly on Republican leaders in Congress. Continue reading “Former Obama chief of staff said top Senate Republican ‘watered down’ pre-election Russia warning”

Senate Intelligence Leaders Say House G.O.P. Leaked a Senator’s Texts

The following article by Nicholas Fandos was posted on the New York Times website March 1, 2018:

Senator Richard M. Burr, right, and Senator Mark Warner, the leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Credit Andrew Harnik/Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Senate Intelligence Committee has concluded that Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee were behind the leak of private text messages between the Senate panel’s top Democrat and a Russian-connected lawyer, according to two congressional officials briefed on the matter.

Senator Richard M. Burr of North Carolina, the committee’s Republican chairman, and Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat, were so perturbed by the leak that they demanded a rare meeting with Speaker Paul D. Ryan last month to inform him of their findings. They used the meeting with Mr. Ryan to raise broader concerns about the direction of the House Intelligence Committee under its chairman, Representative Devin Nunes of California, the officials said. Continue reading “Senate Intelligence Leaders Say House G.O.P. Leaked a Senator’s Texts”

Most Americans say Trump, Congress not doing enough to stop mass shootings, Post-ABC poll finds

The following article by Scott Clement and Emily Guskin was posted on the Washington Post website February 20, 2018:

Nikolas Cruz, facing 17 charges of premeditated murder in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, appears in court for a status hearing in Ft Lauderdale, FL on Monday. Credit: Pool/Reuters

More than 6 in 10 Americans fault Congress and President Trump for not doing enough to prevent mass shootings, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll, with most Americans continuing to say these incidents are more reflective of problems identifying and addressing mental health issues than inadequate gun laws.

In the poll conducted after a gunman killed 17 people at a Florida high school last week, more than three-quarters, 77 percent, said they think more effective mental health screening and treatment could have prevented the shooting.

The Post-ABC poll also finds that 58 percent of adults say stricter gun control laws could have prevented the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, but there is no rise in support for banning assault weapons compared with two years ago and the partisan divide on this policy is as stark as ever. On the issue of whether allowing teachers to carry guns could have deterred the rampage, a proposal Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said is an option for schools, 42 percent said they agreed. Continue reading “Most Americans say Trump, Congress not doing enough to stop mass shootings, Post-ABC poll finds”

5 Ways the Trump Budget Undermines Gun Violence Prevention and School Safety Efforts

The following article by Chelsea Parsons and Scott Sargrad was posted on the Center for American Progress website February 16, 2018:

Thousands gathered for an evening vigil at Pine Trails Park in Parkland, FL, to remember those killed and injured in the February 15, 2018 shooting, in Parkland, FL. Credit: Getty/Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles

In his address to the nation the day after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 students and teachers and injured another 14, President Donald Trump vowed to take action, stating that he would soon hold meetings with governors and attorneys general in which “making our schools and our children safer will be our top priority.” He continued, “It is not enough to simply take actions that make us feel like we are making a difference. We must actually make that difference.” However, the president’s actions have already spoken louder than these hollow words. Just two days before the shooting, his administration released its fiscal year 2019 budget, which proposed cutting funding to crucial programs that help prevent gun violence and ensure school safety.

Below are five ways that the Trump budget undermines efforts to reduce gun violence and keep our nation’s students safe. Continue reading “5 Ways the Trump Budget Undermines Gun Violence Prevention and School Safety Efforts”

Fact Sheets: President Trump’s FY 2019 Budget Harms Nearly Every Community Across the Country

The following article by Eliza Schultz, Katherine Gallagher Robbins, Rejane Frederick, Silva Mathema, Connor Maxwell, Heidi Schultheis, Anusha Ravi, Leila Schochet, Leonard Scott IV and Shabab Ahmed Mirza was posted on the Center for American Progress website February 16, 2018:

Copies of President Donald Trump’s fiscal year 2019 budget sit on a table at the House Budget Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, February 12, 2018. Credit: Getty/AFP/Saul Loeb

Immediately after President Donald Trump signed into law a tax overhaul that jacks up the deficit by $1.5 trillion—and unabashedly funnels enormous tax cuts to the nation’s millionaires, billionaires, and corporations—he and his colleagues in Congress made clear how they planned to pay for it: by slashing the very programs that help everyday people make ends meet. In February, President Trump released a budget that doubles down on his Robin Hood in reverse vision for the country. His proposals are draconian—seeking to dismantle the nation’s health care system; dramatically curtailing access to affordable housing and nutrition; and even threatening programs that Trump pledged not to touch, such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Continue reading “Fact Sheets: President Trump’s FY 2019 Budget Harms Nearly Every Community Across the Country”

‘Crisis Budgeting’ Likely Ahead Despite White House Claim

The following article by John T. Bennett was posted on the Roll Call website February 13, 2018:

‘All sorts of riders’ could bring new shutdown threats, experts say

White House officials contend the two-year budget deal that became law last week will end Washington’s spending crises and government shutdown threats. But President Donald Trump’s new budget request suggests otherwise.

Trump himself was lukewarm about the spending package he signed last week, which raised defense and domestic spending caps for the remaining seven-and-a-half months of this fiscal year and the next. And the president had little to say about the fiscal 2019 budget blueprint his administration sent to Capitol Hill on Monday. But his top aides painted each one as game-changing documents. Continue reading “‘Crisis Budgeting’ Likely Ahead Despite White House Claim”

Rand Paul embarrasses himself by calling wife beating “complicated”

The following article by Alison R. Parker was posted on the ShareBlue website February 11, 2018:

Contrary to Sen. Rand Paul’s flustered claim, there is nothing “complicated” about whether or not punching your spouse in the face is wrong.

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul Credit: CBS

The cognitive dissonance on display from the Trump administration regarding the domestic abuse scandals surrounding two now-former White House aides was bizarrely crystallized in one statement by Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul.

Trump has gone out of his way to defend Rob Porter — despite photographic evidence of the violent abuse Porter inflicted on one of his ex-wives and testimony from another, as well as an ex-girlfriend — as well as former speechwriter David Sorensen. Continue reading “Rand Paul embarrasses himself by calling wife beating “complicated””

In big reversal, new Trump budget will give up on longtime Republican goal of eliminating deficit

The following article by Damian Paletta was posted on the Washington Post website February 11, 2018:

The spending deal reached between Senate Democrats and Republicans would garner trillion-dollar-plus annual deficits, bringing fears of larger economic effects. (Reuters)

President Trump on Monday will offer a budget plan that falls far short of eliminating the government’s deficit over 10 years, conceding that huge tax cuts and new spending increases make this goal unattainable, three people familiar with the proposal said.

Eliminating the budget deficit over 10 years has been a North Star for the Republican Party for several decades, and GOP lawmakers took the government to the brink of default in 2011 when they demanded a vote on a amendment to the Constitution that would prohibit the federal government from spending more than it takes in. Continue reading “In big reversal, new Trump budget will give up on longtime Republican goal of eliminating deficit”

GOP praises, Dems question tax-cut boost in paychecks

The following article by Naomi Jagoda was posted on the Hill website February 11, 2018:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), left, and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.). Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Taxpayers are starting to see bigger paychecks as a result of the new tax law, which Republicans hope will pay off for them in the midterm elections.

Democrats warn that Republicans may be overpromising, and have expressed concerns that a number of taxpayers expecting refunds may instead end up owing the IRS money next year.

The growing paychecks reflect the new withholding guidance issued by the IRS last month following enactment of the tax law. The guidance adjusts the amounts that companies take from their employees’ paychecks for federal taxes. Continue reading “GOP praises, Dems question tax-cut boost in paychecks”