The following article by Vanessa Williamson was posted on the Washington Post website December 21, 2017:
Congressional Republicans on Dec. 20 passed a massive tax overhaul, sending the bill to President Trump for him to sign it into law. (Jenny Starrs, Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)
The Republican Congress has passed a tax plan in which more than four-fifths of the long-term tax cuts are steered to the extremely wealthy, and are offset by future tax increases for a significant fraction of the party’s own voting base. Republicans plan substantial cuts to government services that those votersuse and like.
The following article by Alexander Bolton was posted on the Hill website December 21, 2017:
Credit: Melina Mara/The Washington Post
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) will be a crucial swing vote for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) next year, but it may be tougher to strike deals with her after McConnell failed to fulfill a pledge on health care.
The moderate senator told reporters this month that she had an “ironclad” commitment from McConnell and Vice President Pence to pass legislation by the end of the year to stabilize ObamaCare premiums. She wanted that assurance before committing her vote for tax reform. Continue reading “Broken health-care pledge tests Collins-McConnell relationship”
The following article by Melanie Zanona and Jordain Carney was posted on the Hill website December 20, 2017:
Credit: Alex Edelman/picture-alliance /dpa/AP
House Republican leaders are moving ahead with a stopgap spending bill to keep the government open for a few more weeks, even as they struggled on Wednesday to secure the necessary GOP votes for the plan.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus and the House Armed Services Committee huddled separately with Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) late Wednesday night to voice opposition to leadership’s plan to avoid a government shutdown, which will take place Friday at midnight if Congress doesn’t intervene.
In an encouraging sign for Ryan and his top lieutenants, Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said several members of his group flipped from “no” to “yes” after striking a deal with leadership on a temporary reauthorization of a surveillance program that is also included in the tentative spending patch.
But defense hawks were still unhappy that the continuing resolution (CR) won’t include a full year of funding for defense, though it’s unclear if there will be enough opposition to sink the bill.
“I think there are a lot of people who are going to spend their time tonight really thinking about whether or not this is the hill we’re going to die on,” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla), a member of Armed Services Committee, said coming out of Ryan’s office. “We just had this great moment on tax reform.”
“I think they’re going to get the votes,” he added.
The following article by Drew Harwell was posted on the Washington Post website December 20, 2017:
President Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Wednesday. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
President Trump, who won the White House on a wave of populist promises, will likely save millions of dollars, thanks to Congress’s approval of a tax plan he pledged was designed for the middle class.
Trump, who said he would be a “big loser” if the bill passed, stands to gain immensely from the Republican tax overhaul, including through a lower top tax rate and lucrative deductions for top-earning households, according to attorneys and tax experts who reviewed the final bill.
The following article by Patricia Cohen was posted on the New York Times website December 20, 2017:
A North Carolina plant that recycles plastic bottle chips. President Trump and congressional Republicans have argued that their rewrite of the tax code will create more jobs and raise wages.CreditChuck Burton/Associated Press
When President Trump adds his distinctive signature to the tax bill, he will also be making a huge bet that the Republican strategy of deep cuts for businesses and wealthy individuals will fuel extraordinary growth across the board.
Perhaps more than any other American political leader, Mr. Trump knows that long shots, like his own presidential bid, sometimes pay off. In that vein, he and congressional Republicans are arguing that their bitterly contested and expensive rewrite of the tax code will ultimately create more jobs and raise wages.
If they are proved correct, they will be repudiating not only historical experience, but most experts. From Congress’s own prognosticators to Wall Street’s virtuosos, scarcely any independent analyses project anything like the rosy forecasts offered by the president’s top economic advisers. Continue reading “In Tax Overhaul, Trump Tries to Defy the Economic Odds”
The following article by Kim Soffen and Reuben Fischer-Baum was posted on the December 20, 2017:
President Trump is expected to sign a major overhaul of the tax code after the House passed a final iteration of the bill on Wednesday. It is his first major legislative achievement and has significant implications for individuals and businesses across America.
The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website December 20, 2017:
During a cabinet meeting, President Trump lauded the passing of the GOP tax plan. (Joyce Koh/The Washington Post)
President Trump was so excited about passing his first major piece of legislation Wednesday that he blurted out that the Republican Party had misrepresented the entire bill, handing Democrats some potentially troublesome talking points for the 2018 midterm elections.
Speaking at the White House just before the House prepared to sign off on the tax-cuts bill one last time, Trump reveled extensively in his win before turning things over to Vice President Pence to heap praise upon him continuously for a few minutes. It was a thoroughly unique spectacle, even as victory dances and Trump Cabinet meetings go. Continue reading “Trump just admitted the GOP’s tax cuts were deceptively sold”
The following article by Joe Williams was posted on the Roll Call website December 20, 2017:
Susan Collins made vote on taxes contingent on passage of bills
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, made her vote on the tax package contingent on passing the health insurance stabilization measures. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Key Republicans announced on Wednesday they would no longer push for legislation to stabilize the health insurance markets to hitch a ride on a short-term measure to fund the government.
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine have been pushing the legislation, with Collins even staking her vote for the GOP tax bill in part on the measure passing before the end of 2017.
The decision by the two lawmakers clears a major hurdle to Congress passing a measure to fund the government beyond Dec. 22, when current funding expires.
“Rather than considering a broad year-end funding agreement as we expected, it has become clear that Congress will only be able to pass another short-term extension,” Alexander and Collins said in a statement. “For this reason, we have asked [Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell] not to offer this week our legislation.”
The two members instead said instead they would push for the legislation to be included when Congress considers a broader spending package next year.
“It looks like the Christmas present of lower health insurance premiums will now have to be a Valentine’s Day present,” Alexander said.
Collins in the statement said she spoke with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, who told her he remains committed to passing a separate health care bill Collins introduced with Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida.
The release did not mention Ryan’s support for the insurance stabilization bill Alexander sponsored with Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate health panel.
The release from Collins and Alexander also indicated Congress would wait until next year to fully reauthorize a popular children’s health insurance program. Funding for CHIP expired at the end of September.
Several states say they will need to start freezing enrollment or even shutting down parts of their programs soon if Congress does not authorize the program.
The following article by Alicia Parlapiano was posted on the New York Times website December 20, 2017:
Republican lawmakers say that one of the largest tax cuts in their tax bill, a 20 percent deduction for pass-through income, is for small businesses and job creators. But there are also millions of other tax filers — many at the highest income levels — who would benefit significantly.
The following article by James Hohmann with Breanne Deppisch and Joanie Greve was posted on the Washington Post website December 20, 2017:
Republicans are forging ahead with their promise to overhaul the tax code, even with very little public support for their proposal. (Video: Jenny Starrs/Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
THE BIG IDEA: The best thing going for Republicans right now is low expectations.
