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Senate Republicans pass sweeping overhaul of US tax code Senate Republicans pass sweeping overhaul of US tax code
(about 2 hours later)
Senate Republicans have passed the most sweeping overhaul of the US tax code in three decades, a significant step that moves Donald Trump closer to achieving the first major legislative victory of his presidency.Senate Republicans have passed the most sweeping overhaul of the US tax code in three decades, a significant step that moves Donald Trump closer to achieving the first major legislative victory of his presidency.
The Senate passed their tax plan in a 51-49 vote early on Saturday morning after a frantic rewrite of the legislation. Senator Bob Corker was the sole Republican to vote against the bill, which would bestow huge benefits on US corporations and the wealthiest Americans. The Senate passed its tax plan in a 51-49 vote early on Saturday morning, with Vice-President Mike Pence presiding over the chamber and after a frantic rewrite. Bob Corker was the sole Republican to vote against the bill, which would bestow huge benefits on US corporations and the wealthiest Americans.
The House of Representatives passed its own tax reform bill last month and now a final bill will be passed to Trump. “We think this is a great day for the country,” the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, said at a celebratory press conference.
“We think this is a great day for the country,” the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, said at a celebratory press conference after the vote. On Saturday morning, Trump praised lawmakers and said he was looking forward to signing the bill before Christmas.
Trump tweeted his thanks to McConnell and said he was looking forward to signing the bill before Christmas. “It was a fantastic evening last night,” the president told reporters outside the White House before he left for New York. “We passed the largest tax cuts in the history of our country and many other things along with it.
We are one step closer to delivering MASSIVE tax cuts for working families across America. Special thanks to @SenateMajLdr Mitch McConnell and Chairman @SenOrrinHatch for shepherding our bill through the Senate. Look forward to signing a final bill before Christmas! pic.twitter.com/gmWTny3SfS “Now we go on to conference and something beautiful is going to come out of that mixer. People are going to be very, very happy. They’re going to get tremendous, tremendous tax cuts and tax relief, and that’s what this country needs.”
The vote marked a significant feat for Republicans, who suffered a series of embarrassing blows earlier this year by failing on multiple occasions to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act amid opposition within their own party. Trump and Republicans in Washington subsequently staked their political fortunes on the hope that tax reform would not suffer the same fate as healthcare. The vote marked a significant feat for Republicans, who suffered a series of embarrassing blows earlier this year by failing to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Trump and Republicans in Washington staked their political fortunes on the hope that tax reform would not suffer the same fate.
The House speaker, Paul Ryan, said: “For the first time since 1986, both the House and the Senate have passed a major overhaul of our nation’s tax code. Now we will move quickly to a conference committee so we can get a final bill to President Trump’s desk.”The House speaker, Paul Ryan, said: “For the first time since 1986, both the House and the Senate have passed a major overhaul of our nation’s tax code. Now we will move quickly to a conference committee so we can get a final bill to President Trump’s desk.”
The rush to pass the bill before the end of the week sparked outcry from Democrats, who said it would be impossible to fully digest the legislation before voting began. The rush to pass the bill sparked outcry from Democrats, who said it would be impossible to fully digest the legislation before voting began. Lawmakers received the nearly 500-page bill, some of it handwritten, hours before they voted on a plan that will affect nearly every US business and taxpayer.
Lawmakers received the nearly 500-page bill, some of it handwritten, hours before they voted on the sprawling tax plan that will affect nearly every US business and taxpayer. “I defy any member of the Senate to stand here, take an oath that they have read this and understand what in the world it means to businesses and families and individuals,” said Senator Dick Durbin, the minority whip from Illinois, holding up pages with notes scribbled in the margin.
“I defy any member of the Senate to stand here, take an oath that they have read this and understand what in the world it means to businesses and families and individuals,” said Senator Dick Durbin, the minority whip from Illinois, holding up page notes scribbled in the margin. In New York on Saturday, before a fundraising event at Cipriani restaurant on 42nd Street, Trump said: “We got no Democrat help and I think that’s going to cost them in the election because they voted against tax cuts. I don’t think politically it’s good to vote against tax cuts.”
After closing debate, the Senate began the tedious process of a vote-a-rama, in which senators can offer an endless series of amendments. At midnight, Vice-President Mike Pence arrived in the chamber to break a tie on an amendment offered by Senator Ted Cruz that allows parents to start savings accounts to fund tuition at private and religious K-12 schools known as 529 plans. The provision prevailed. After closing debate, the Senate began the tedious process of a vote-a-rama, in which senators can offer an endless series of amendments. At midnight, Pence arrived to break a tie on an amendment offered by Ted Cruz that allows parents to start savings accounts to fund tuition at private and religious K-12 schools known as 529 plans. The provision prevailed.
Earlier on Friday, McConnell emerged, smiling, from a meeting with colleagues, to announce that his party had secured the votes necessary to pass the legislation. Democrats scored a small victory when four Republicans joined them to strike a provision that appeared tailored to benefit a single Christian college in Michigan that receives substantial contributions from the secretary of education, Betsy DeVos.
“We have the votes,” McConnell told reporters on his way to the Senate floor. He said a final vote was expected later in the day. Not a single Democrat crossed the aisle to support the plan, which they attacked as a “scam” and a handout to corporations and the wealthy.
The House of Representatives passed its own tax reform legislation earlier this month. When the Senate passes its version, the two bills will be reconciled, presenting further hurdles in the coming weeks. “I don’t think there is a person more bipartisan than I am,” said Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, lamenting his frustration with the partisan nature of the process. Earlier this week, he joined red-state Democrats to urge Republicans to work with them on tax reform.
Republicans have contended the $1.4tn package of tax cuts enclosed in their plan would in effect pay for itself through growth. That belief, however, was complicated by a series of independent projections that found it would not. “This, as I have seen it unfold tonight, it is not designed to have one Democrat on the bill,” he added.
The nonpartisan joint committee on taxation projected that the plan would add $1tn to the federal deficit over the next 10 years – even after factoring in the economic growth the bill is projected to generate. And on Friday, the independent Tax Policy Center released similar findings, predicting that the Senate bill would add $1.2tn to the federal deficit over the next decade after accounting for increased economic growth. The House passed its own tax legislation earlier this month. The two bills will now be reconciled, presenting further hurdles in the coming weeks.
McConnell parried criticism that the bill would not offset the costs, predicting that the plan would produce much larger growth than the analyses have found. Republicans have contended the $1.4tn package of cuts enclosed in their plan will in effect pay for themselves through growth. A series of independent projections found they would not.
“I’m totally confident this is a revenue-neutral bill,” McConnell told reporters. “I think this will be a revenue producer.” The nonpartisan joint committee on taxation projected that the plan would add $1tn to the federal deficit over the next 10 years – even after factoring in the economic growth the bill is projected to generate. On Friday, the independent Tax Policy Center released similar findings, predicting that the Senate bill would add $1.2tn to the federal deficit over the next decade after accounting for increased economic growth.
Senate Republicans are using a vehicle known as “budget reconciliation” to pass the tax plan using a simple-majority vote, leaving them room for only two defections. Faced with competing concerns, leadership spent the night locked in negotiations with members over the legislation’s impact on the federal deficit, healthcare and certain businesses. McConnell parried, telling reporters: “I’m totally confident this is a revenue-neutral bill. I think this will be a revenue producer.”
On Friday morning, Senate Republicans regained momentum after three key holdouts announced their support for the tax overhaul in exchange for a series of changes to the legislation. Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, said she would vote in favor of the legislation, ensuring that Pence would not be needed to break a tie. Senate Republicans used a vehicle known as “budget reconciliation” to pass the tax plan using a simple-majority vote, leaving them room for only two defections. On Friday morning, three key holdouts had announced their support. Leadership nonetheless spent the night locked in negotiations.
Republican senators Corker and Jeff Flake had sought to extract an agreement that would scale back some of the tax cuts in the event the economic growth projections were not met. On Thursday, they unexpectedly held court on the Senate floor, after learning that a mechanism they created to limit the impact on the national debt was not compliant with the Senate’s budget rules. The tense showdown led Republicans scrambling to find a way to offset the deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars. Corker and Jeff Flake, of Arizona, had sought to extract an agreement that would scale back some of the tax cuts in the event growth projections were not met. On Thursday, they unexpectedly held court on the Senate floor, after learning that a mechanism they created to limit the impact on the national debt was not compliant with the Senate’s budget rules. The tense showdown led Republicans scrambling to find a way to offset the deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars.
But ultimately, the plans were rejected by Senate leadership, Cruz told reporters, after he and a number of others objected. Ultimately, the plans were rejected by Senate leadership, Cruz told reporters, after he and a number of others objected. “That proposal did not carry the day,” Cruz said. “Those $350bn in tax increases are not in the bill … and larding the bill up with new tax increases would have been going the wrong direction.”
“That proposal did not carry the day,” Cruz said. “Those $350bn in tax increases are not in the bill … and larding the bill up with new tax increases would have been going the wrong direction.” Flake announced that he would support the bill, saying in a statement he had secured two priorities: the elimination of an $85bn “expensing budget gimmick” and a “firm commitment” that Congress would enact permanent protections for immigrants brought to the country illegally as children.
Flake on Friday announced that he would support the bill despite his concerns, saying in a statement that he had secured two priorities: the elimination of an $85bn “expensing budget gimmick” and a “firm commitment” from the leadership and administration that Congress would enact permanent protections for immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. Meanwhile, Corker said he would not support the plan. Corker said he would not support the plan, adding in a statement: “At the end of the day, I am not able to cast aside my fiscal concerns and vote for legislation that I believe, based on the information I currently have, could deepen the debt burden on future generations.”
“This is yet another tough vote,” Corker said in a statement. Key to winning over Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Steve Daines of Montana was an agreement to expand tax cuts for millions of businesses known as “pass-through entities”.
“But at the end of the day, I am not able to cast aside my fiscal concerns and vote for legislation that I believe, based on the information I currently have, could deepen the debt burden on future generations,” he added. Democrats remained united in their opposition, attacking the legislation as a giveaway to corporate America and the wealthy.
Key to winning over the Republican senators Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Steve Daines of Montana was an agreement to expand tax cuts for millions of businesses known as “pass-through entities”. The plan will now allow owners of these companies to deduct 23% of their business income, up 17.4%.
Democrats, who were excluded from the process of drafting the tax plan, have remained united in their opposition, attacking the legislation as a giveaway to corporate America and the wealthy.
“In the waning hours, this bill is tilting further towards businesses and away from families,” said Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, in a floor speech on Friday. “Every time the choice is between corporations and families, the Republicans choose corporations.”“In the waning hours, this bill is tilting further towards businesses and away from families,” said Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, in a floor speech on Friday. “Every time the choice is between corporations and families, the Republicans choose corporations.”
Trump has called for a tax bill to reach his desk by the end of the year, vowing to deliver a “big, beautiful Christmas present” to Americans.
“A vote to cut taxes is a vote to put America first again. We want to do that,” Trump said on Wednesday.