Senators Scramble to Advance Tax Bill That Increasingly Rewards Wealthy
- 6 years ago
Senators Scramble to Advance Tax Bill That Increasingly Rewards Wealthy
Earlier in the day, Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas and the majority whip, said, “There’s no deal,
but there’s been some discussions on how to address Senator Johnson and Senator Daines’s concerns.” He continued, “We’re trying to be responsive.”
Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, who leads the Senate Finance Committee, said
that there was a strong desire to get a bill passed by Friday and that additional changes would most likely be made on the Senate floor.
On Monday, several Republicans from the Senate Finance Committee, including Mr. Hatch, emerged from a lunch with President Trump at the White House saying
that they were confident they would have the necessary votes to pass the package this week and would be able to resolve differences with the House version so that the bill could be signed into law in short order.
As Republican leaders pressed for a Senate floor vote this week, there appeared to be little momentum for amendments
that would help low-income Americans, which some Republican and many Democratic senators had sought.
Two Republican senators, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Steve Daines of Montana, have said
that they will vote against the plan if it does not do more to help the owners of those businesses, possibly by increasing the individual income tax deduction for such owners from the 17.4 percent rate currently in the Senate bill.
Earlier in the day, Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas and the majority whip, said, “There’s no deal,
but there’s been some discussions on how to address Senator Johnson and Senator Daines’s concerns.” He continued, “We’re trying to be responsive.”
Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, who leads the Senate Finance Committee, said
that there was a strong desire to get a bill passed by Friday and that additional changes would most likely be made on the Senate floor.
On Monday, several Republicans from the Senate Finance Committee, including Mr. Hatch, emerged from a lunch with President Trump at the White House saying
that they were confident they would have the necessary votes to pass the package this week and would be able to resolve differences with the House version so that the bill could be signed into law in short order.
As Republican leaders pressed for a Senate floor vote this week, there appeared to be little momentum for amendments
that would help low-income Americans, which some Republican and many Democratic senators had sought.
Two Republican senators, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Steve Daines of Montana, have said
that they will vote against the plan if it does not do more to help the owners of those businesses, possibly by increasing the individual income tax deduction for such owners from the 17.4 percent rate currently in the Senate bill.