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With the deadline looming to pass a spending bill to fund the government by week's end, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., joined by, from left, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, meets reporters following a closed-door strategy session, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017.
Laura Russo is just the kind of voter the Republicans need, but the party's proposed tax overhaul, which includes limits on the deductions for mortgage interest, state taxes and property taxes, is pushing her away. "I would be dramatically affected," she said.
Congressional Republicans, buoyed by the Senate's approval of a landmark tax overhaul, expressed confidence Saturday that final legislation would be agreed upon quickly and sent to President Trump by the end of this month. While the tax bills approved by the House and the Senate diverge in significant ways, the same forces that rocketed the measures to passage appear likely to bond Republicans in the two chambers as they work to hash out the differences.
The Republican push to rewrite the tax code gained momentum Tuesday after a Senate panel advanced the measure and several wavering lawmakers signaled that they are leaning toward backing the bill. Republicans on the Senate Budget Committee unanimously voted to send the party's tax package to the Senate floor, setting up a final vote as soon as this week.
In the century that Pat Snook's family has run a cattle operation in southeast Texas, she and her relatives have paid the federal estate tax three times to account for acreage, equipment and other assets being passed from one generation to the next. "You don't mind paying it one time," said Snook, who lives in Livingston, about an hour northeast of Houston.
Call it a tax rewrite, reform, revamp, overhaul or as its Republican authors label it, "The Tax Cut and Jobs Act." But the better label for it is The Great Tax Scam of 2017, or A Pig in a Poke.
Along with roll call votes this week, the Senate also passed the FEMA Accountability, Modernization and Transparency Act , to ensure that the Federal Emergency Management Agency's current efforts to modernize its grant management system includes applicant accessibility and transparency; the Criminal Antitrust Anti-Retaliation Act , to provide ... (more)
The House is preparing to vote Thursday on the first major rewrite of the tax code since 1986, a crucial step toward delivering one of President Trump's signature promises. Starting Jan. 1, the bill would drop the top corporate rate dramatically, realign how Washington treats domestic and foreign income of multinational companies, and give individuals lower rates while eliminating some deductions and credits.
Republicans are muscling their massive tax bill through the House, with President Donald Trump urging them on to a critically needed legislative victory and GOP House leaders exuding confidence they have the votes. But the tax overhaul hit a roadblock Wednesday as Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin became the first Republican senator to say he opposes his party's politically must-do tax legislation.
Republicans are muscling their massive tax bill through the House, with President Donald Trump urging them on to a critically needed legislative victory and GOP House leaders exuding confidence they have the votes. But the tax overhaul hit a roadblock Wednesday as Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin became the first Republican senator to say he opposes his party's politically must-do tax legislation.
By ALAN FRAM and MARCY GORDON Associated Press WASHINGTON - Wisconsin's Ron Johnson on Wednesday became the first Republican senator to say he opposes his party's tax bill, signaling potential problems for GOP leaders.
Congressional Republicans on Tuesday projected confidence about delivering on an overhaul of the nation's tax code with President Donald Trump planning an in-person appeal to lawmakers ahead of a crucial House vote this week. House GOP leaders rallied support with the rank-and-file at a closed-door meeting.
As Republicans stake their claim to middle-class rescue in tax cut legislation deemed to carry tax hikes for millions, President Donald Trump plans an in-person appeal to lawmakers as the proposal faces a crucial vote in the House. Underscoring the sharp political stakes for Trump, who lacks a major legislative achievement after nearly 10 months in office, Trump will meet with House Republicans on Thursday ahead of an expected vote on the tax overhaul legislation.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, left, calls for a short recess to consider his manager's amendment, to the objections of Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., right, the ranking member, as the GOP tax bill debate enters a final day, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, left, joined by Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the ranking member, and Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., offers his manager's amendment as the GOP tax bill debate enters the final stage, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017.
The chairman of the House's tax-writing committee is expressing confidence that chamber won't go along with the Senate's proposal to eliminate the deduction for property taxes, setting up a major flashpoint as Republicans aim to put a tax cut bill on President Donald Trump's desk before Christmas. The GOP is moving urgently on the first rewrite of the U.S. tax code in three decades, but key differences promise to complicate the effort.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, left, joined by Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the ranking member, and Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., offers his manager's amendment as the GOP tax bill debate enters the final stage, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017. WASHINGTON -- The chairman of the House's tax-writing committee said Sunday that he's confident that chamber won't go along with the Senate's proposal to eliminate the deduction for property taxes, setting up a major flash point as Republicans aim to put a tax cut bill on President Donald Trump's desk before Christmas.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, left, joined by Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., the ranking member, and Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., offers his manager's amendment as the GOP tax bill debate enters the final stage, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, joined by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., right, holds a proposed "postcard tax filing form" as they unveil the GOP's far-reaching tax overhaul, the first major revamp of the tax system in three decades, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017. Computers are probably the worst thing that ever happened to the tax code, because they allow lawmakers to make the nation's revenue laws complicated beyond the power of human comprehension.
Republican tax writers in the House and Senate scoured the U.S. tax code this week and shook the couch cushions for loose change, as one member put it, in a struggle to find ways to pay for the deep tax cuts their leaders and President Donald Trump have promised. By late Thursday, the House Ways and Means Committee had hammered together a bill and sent it toward the House floor for a vote promised next week, while the Senate Finance Committee revealed a proposal that it intends to mark up on Monday.