The following article by the Roll Call staff was posted on their website November 29, 2017:
Credit: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
The Senate voted Wednesday to officially begin debating the GOP tax overhaul bill, moving one step closer to a drastic rewrite of the nation’s tax code.
The Senate adopted the motion to proceed to the House-passed tax overhaul bill, 52-48.
The procedural vote had been delayed as senators worked through language that would open a part of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.
At a time of high inequality, when many of the economy’s rewards have already flowed to the wealthy, critics of the plan say this is an unnecessary gift. The plan “provide large benefits to the wealthy but little or nothing to everyone else,” says the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-of-center think tank, citing its large corporate tax cut and reduction of the estate tax. An NBC/Wall Street Journal pollfrom September found that 62 percent of Americans think taxes on the wealthy should go up. Twelve percent think they should go down. Continue reading “What Republicans say when asked why their tax bill benefits the rich most of all”
NOTE: The New York Time’s article has a great interactive graphic at it’s top that we aren’t able to import.
The following article by Margot Sanger-Katz was posted on the New York Times website November 29, 2017:
If Congress passes its tax bill and then takes no other action, the funding for dozens of federal spending programs could be cut — in many cases to nothing — beginning next year.
The following article by Stephanie Leiser, Lecturer in Public Policy at the University of Michigan, was posted on the Conversation website November 29, 2017:
Credit Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
Republicans seem to be operating under the assumption that if the details of their tax “reform” plan are aired for too long, the whole thing might fall apart.
The following article by Will Drabold was posted on the mic.com website November 28, 2017:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) holds a news conference to talk about the Republican tax plan. J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Amid protest on Capitol Hill, a Republican senator Tuesday afternoon said that the GOP needs to pass its tax bill soon to avoid it being killed by mounting opposition.
“Time is not our friend here,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told a gaggle of reporters on his way to a Senate committee meeting to vote on advancing the GOP tax bill.
The following article by John T. Bennett was posted on the Roll Call website November 28, 2017:
Go-it-alone approach could work on taxes, but not government funding
President Donald Trump and GOP leaders are going it alone on their tax effort, but they need Democrats on resolving spending disputes. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Following on what he called a “love fest” with Senate Republicans at a lunchtime Capitol meeting, President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed momentum on a GOP-led overhaul of the tax code and swiped at Democrats whom he will need to get any sort of resolution to a rapidly approaching standoff over government spending.
The following article by John T. Bennett was posted on the Roll Call website November 28, 2017:
During turbulent day, White House tries to get a legislative win
President Donald Trump arrives on Tuesday with Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., left, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., for the Republican Senate Policy luncheon in the Capitol to discuss a tax overhaul bill. Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call
President Donald Trump lobbied GOP senators behind closed doors Tuesday to support a tax overhaul bill that is key to his agenda, but the chamber’s leading Republican indicated afterward he is still searching for the votes to pass it.
Trump returned to Capitol Hill for the third time in four weeks to sell Republican members on the House and Senate versions of GOP tax plan. But this time, he also went to try and wrangle the remaining holdouts to secure the 50 votes needed to pass the bill later this week. (Vice President Mike Pence could cast the 51st and decisive vote.)
The following article by Mike DeBOnis, Erica Werner and Damian Paletta was posted on the Washington Post website November 28, 2017:
The Senate Budget Committee moved the Republican tax bill forward amid the shouts of protesters on Nov. 28. (U.S. Senate Budget Committee)
The Republican effort to rewrite the tax code surged forward Tuesday, as a Senate panel approved the measure and several wavering lawmakers signaled they are leaning toward backing the bill.
The Senate Budget Committee voted 12 to 11 to send the $1.4 trillion tax package to the Senate floor for a vote later this week. That margin was in doubt up until the votes were cast because two Republicans, Sens. Bob Corker (Tenn.) and Ron Johnson (Wis.), had threatened to oppose it. Continue reading “Senate Republican tax plan clears hurdle with help from two key GOP holdouts”
NOTE: Rep. Erik Paulsen voted FOR the GOP tax bill.
Mitch McConnell (Credit: Reuters/Joshua Roberts)
The following article by Alex Rowell and Andrew Schwartz was posted on the Center for American Progress website November 27, 2017:
Senate Republicans have put forward a tax plan that would give corporations a permanent tax cut while raising taxes on millions of families. The plan would be a windfall for the richest Americans: In 2027, nearly 62 percent of its benefits would accrue to the top 1 percent. Yet, many families would end up paying more at tax time. And because the bill would increase the deficit by more than $1.4 trillion over the next 10 years, it would trigger automatic cuts to important government programs—including $25 billion in cuts to Medicare in 2018—resulting in additional burdens on working- and middle-class families. Continue reading “Millions of Working- and Middle-Class Americans Would See a Tax Increase Under the Senate GOP Tax Plan”
The White House and GOP leaders are scrambling to win over Republican senators who are concerned that the tax legislation could blow up the deficit or would not provide enough help to small businesses.
Much of the focus on Monday was centered on Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who is pressing for changes to the bill that would help “pass-through” businesses.
A larger group of undecided Republicans appears to be seeking changes that would aim to limit the bill’s impact on the national debt.
Senate Republican leaders are planning to vote Wednesday on a motion to proceed to the tax bill, but a handful of Republicans have not taken a hard stance yet. Republican leadership can only afford to lose two votes, assuming all members of the Democratic caucus vote against it.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) told reporters Monday that he expects leadership to offer a series of amendments to the bill on the floor.
“This is a dynamic process,” he said.
While Republicans across the board say they want to vote for the tax bill, some are pushing for changes before committing their support.
Daines on Monday became the second GOP senator to oppose the current version of the legislation, joining Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) in protesting that the bill treats corporations better than pass-through businesses.
Pass-throughs are companies such as sole proprietorships and partnerships that are taxed through the individual code. Most U.S. businesses, including many small businesses, are pass-through entities.
The Senate tax bill would create a 17.4 percent deduction for pass-through income, but pass-throughs would see less of a tax cut than corporations, which would get their rate slashed from 35 percent to 20 percent.
“I want to see changes to the tax cut bill that ensure main street businesses are not put at a competitive disadvantage against large corporations,” Daines said in a statement. “Two-thirds of our job creation comes from main street businesses and I’m doing what I can to make sure all of America is stronger and more competitive. Before I can support this bill, this improvement needs to be made.”
Johnson told Wisconsin reporters Monday that he would vote against the bill in the Senate Budget Committee on Tuesday afternoon if a change to the pass-through provision hasn’t been made by then.
“I’m not exactly sure what’s going to happen in committee; we’re working diligently to fix the problem,” he said. “If we develop a fix prior to committee, I’ll probably support it but if we don’t, I’ll vote against it.”
A no vote from Johnson could be a big setback for Republicans because they only have a one-seat majority on the Budget Committee.
Senate GOP leaders and administration officials have been trying to address the concerns of Daines and Johnson, possibly by increasing the pass-through deduction to 20 percent.
President Trump tweeted that with a few changes to the tax bill, “the pass through provision becomes simpler and really works well!”
A handful of other GOP senators have not taken a hard stance on the tax bill yet because they are worried about the measure’s impact on the debt.
“I would very much like to support it. We have got to get some things all worked out, and those are all in process,” Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said during a news conference Monday.
The Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that the bill in its current form would add about $1.4 trillion to the deficit in its first 10 years. Republicans have said that they expect increased economic growth produced by the tax cuts to generate additional revenue that would offset some or all of the deficit increases.
But Lankford said he would like to see a “backstop” if the economic growth targets aren’t hit. He said he’s looking at a number of options for what such a provision would look like.
“I believe that we should not only take the best guesses that we can get out there from the best economists and be able to look at it, but we should build in the what if,” he said. “What if this doesn’t work? What changes might be needed in the tax code in the days ahead to be able to adjust in what scenario? So if the revenue is not coming in, should the rates change?”
Lankford said he’s had “good conversations” with other lawmakers about the tax bill.
“The conversations have all been extremely productive,” he said.
Besides Lankford, several other GOP lawmakers have raised concerns about the impact of the tax bill on the debt, including Sens. Jerry Moran(Kan.), Bob Corker (Tenn.) and Jeff Flake (Ariz.).
Corker and Flake both decided against seeking reelection in 2018 and have been outspoken critics of Trump. Still, they both backed the Senate’s efforts to repeal ObamaCare and maintained that their votes on tax legislation would be unrelated to any personal issues they have with the president.
Concerns about the deficit may have a bigger influence on the ultimate Senate bill than they did in the House, where only one GOP lawmaker, Rep. Walter Jones (N.C.), voted against legislation because of debt concerns.
On the other hand, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Monday came out in support of the Senate GOP tax bill, in part because the bill is not revenue neutral.
“I spoke out all year against the GOP leaders’ initial plan to make their tax reform ‘revenue neutral’ — meaning not really a cut,” he said in a Fox News op-ed. “I’m pleased to see my point of view has prevailed, and the current tax plan calls for a $1.5 trillion cut over the next ten years.”
In addition to the deficit hawks, Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) have also not yet announced their positions on the bill.
Collins has expressed concerns about a provision that would repeal the individual insurance mandate in ObamaCare. Murkowski supports repealing the mandate but hasn’t yet endorsed the full bill.
The Senate Budget Committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday to consider the tax bill and legislation allowing oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and combine them into one bill. ANWR drilling is a top priority for Murkowski.
Trump is planning to rally GOP senators on taxes on Tuesday, when he attends the Senate Republicans’ lunch. He is also planning to sell the tax bill on Wednesday during a speech in Missouri.
