This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/30/us/politics/tax-overhaul-senate-debate.html
The article has changed 20 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Republican Tax Overhaul Heads to the Senate Floor for Debate | Republican Tax Overhaul Heads to the Senate Floor for Debate |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| • The Senate voted along party lines on Wednesday to start debate on the Republican tax bill, setting the stage for a final vote later in the week. | • The Senate voted along party lines on Wednesday to start debate on the Republican tax bill, setting the stage for a final vote later in the week. |
| • Debate is limited to 20 hours, and the Senate is scheduled to convene at 10:30 a.m. Thursday to continue discussing the bill. | • Debate is limited to 20 hours, and the Senate is scheduled to convene at 10:30 a.m. Thursday to continue discussing the bill. |
| • Republicans are still talking about changes to their tax plan before its final approval. | • Republicans are still talking about changes to their tax plan before its final approval. |
| • Though Republicans sound optimistic, party leaders still do not have firm commitments from enough senators to ensure the bill will pass. | • Though Republicans sound optimistic, party leaders still do not have firm commitments from enough senators to ensure the bill will pass. |
| • Main areas of contention are whether to include a trigger to offset deficit impact and how low to make the corporate tax rate. | |
| • Senator Susan Collins of Maine says she is still not committed to voting for the bill. | |
| Senator Susan Collins remains a key senator to watch, given she has yet to commit to the bill and could be the deciding vote between a tax bill that passes and one that fails. On Thursday, Ms. Collins outlined some of her priorities and concerns at a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. | |
| On her vote: | |
| Ms. Collins said she remains concerned about the impact of the Senate plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act mandate that most Americans buy insurance or pay a penalty and also wants to ensure that taxpayers can continue to deduct some state and local taxes, a provision known as SALT. | |
| “The SALT amendment is extremely important to me. The health care agreement is extremely important for me. It would be very difficult for me to support the bill if I do not prevail on those two issues,” she said. | |
| Ms. Collins said that as of Thursday morning she was optimistic about the measures after conversations with President Trump and Senate leaders. | |
| Still, “I am not committed to vote for this bill because who knows what is going to happen on the Senate floor.” | |
| On the trigger: | |
| “I want to see what the trigger is looking like. It’s gone through several iterations and it’s still under negotiation.” | |
| Ms. Collins said she had concerns that if economic growth does not meet expectations, the trigger would be a gut punch to the economy at precisely the moment programs like Medicaid and unemployment compensation are most needed. | |
| “You don’t want to raise taxes if the economy is going into a recession. That’s the worst thing you could do.” | |
| On the corporate tax rate: | |
| Ms. Collins said she was open to nudging the corporate tax rate above the 20 percent currently envisioned in the Senate bill. | |
| “I don’t think we need to go to 20 percent on the corporate tax side,” she said. Senators have begun discussions about raising the rate to 22 percent, which would still be a bit cut from the current 35 percent corporate tax rate. | |
| On automatic spending cuts that could be required by tax bill: | |
| “I strongly oppose that. I have written a letter to Mitch McConnell asking what is the plan to avert that. I met with Senator McConnell just yesterday and he has assured me that will not be allowed to happen.” | |
| Ms. Collins said she expected that a waiver of the so-called PAYGO requirements would be included in a year-end spending bill. | |
| On an amendment that would close the carried interest loophole: | |
| “I would make refundable the tax credit for child or adult dependent care. I would pay for it by closing the loophole on carried interest.” | |
| The Senate version of the bill would not end the loophole but would simply extend the minimum holding period for investments that qualify for the tax break to three years from one. | |
| The Senate cleared a procedural hurdle on Wednesday with its vote to begin debating the tax bill, and early remarks from lawmakers offered a preview of what that debate will probably center on. | The Senate cleared a procedural hurdle on Wednesday with its vote to begin debating the tax bill, and early remarks from lawmakers offered a preview of what that debate will probably center on. |
| “This is an historic day as the Senate begins consideration of tax reform that will help boost America’s economy, that will create more jobs and that will leave more money in people’s paychecks,” said Senator Michael B. Enzi, Republican of Wyoming and the chairman of the Budget Committee. | “This is an historic day as the Senate begins consideration of tax reform that will help boost America’s economy, that will create more jobs and that will leave more money in people’s paychecks,” said Senator Michael B. Enzi, Republican of Wyoming and the chairman of the Budget Committee. |
| Mr. Enzi offered a warning about the coming debate. | Mr. Enzi offered a warning about the coming debate. |
| “You’re probably going to hear a lot of screaming going on in speeches this week,” he said. “Please don’t confuse volume with veracity or truth.” | “You’re probably going to hear a lot of screaming going on in speeches this week,” he said. “Please don’t confuse volume with veracity or truth.” |
| Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Finance Committee, offered another kind of warning. | Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Finance Committee, offered another kind of warning. |
| “The Senate is 20 hours of debate away from a broken promise of truly historic proportions,” he said. This year, he said, was supposed to be when “the working people of America regained a powerful voice in Washington.” | “The Senate is 20 hours of debate away from a broken promise of truly historic proportions,” he said. This year, he said, was supposed to be when “the working people of America regained a powerful voice in Washington.” |
| “Instead of a strong voice, what they got instead was a big con job,” Mr. Wyden said. “If this Republican tax bill passes, Washington is going to reach into the pockets of working Americans and cut a big check to multinational corporations, to tax cheats and to the politically powerful and well-connected.” | “Instead of a strong voice, what they got instead was a big con job,” Mr. Wyden said. “If this Republican tax bill passes, Washington is going to reach into the pockets of working Americans and cut a big check to multinational corporations, to tax cheats and to the politically powerful and well-connected.” |
| President Trump criticized The New York Times on Thursday in a pair of early morning Twitter posts about its coverage of the Republican’s tax plan. | President Trump criticized The New York Times on Thursday in a pair of early morning Twitter posts about its coverage of the Republican’s tax plan. |
| “The Failing @nytimes, the pipe organ for the Democrat Party, has become a virtual lobbyist for them with regard to our massive Tax Cut Bill,” Mr. Trump wrote in one of his posts. An editorial criticizing the Senate tax bill was published Wednesday online and in Thursday’s print editions. The Editorial Board, which writes editorials, is separate from the newsroom. | “The Failing @nytimes, the pipe organ for the Democrat Party, has become a virtual lobbyist for them with regard to our massive Tax Cut Bill,” Mr. Trump wrote in one of his posts. An editorial criticizing the Senate tax bill was published Wednesday online and in Thursday’s print editions. The Editorial Board, which writes editorials, is separate from the newsroom. |
| The president also accused the news organization of violating its own social media guidelines after the NYT Opinion account shared on Twitter the phone numbers for two Republican senators’ offices. However, as one senior Times editor posted in a tweet, “The president is mistaken.” The guidelines, designed to avoid bias in social media posts, do not apply to the Opinion department’s posts. | The president also accused the news organization of violating its own social media guidelines after the NYT Opinion account shared on Twitter the phone numbers for two Republican senators’ offices. However, as one senior Times editor posted in a tweet, “The president is mistaken.” The guidelines, designed to avoid bias in social media posts, do not apply to the Opinion department’s posts. |
| “I was a co-author of the expanded social media guidelines. They apply to the NYT newsroom, not to NYT Opinion,” Cliff Levy, a newsroom deputy managing editor, tweeted in response to the president’s post. | “I was a co-author of the expanded social media guidelines. They apply to the NYT newsroom, not to NYT Opinion,” Cliff Levy, a newsroom deputy managing editor, tweeted in response to the president’s post. |
| The Times echoed that in its own Twitter post. | The Times echoed that in its own Twitter post. |
| Mr. Trump himself received criticism for publicly sharing a phone number. He once gave out the cellphone number of Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, during the 2016 presidential campaign. | Mr. Trump himself received criticism for publicly sharing a phone number. He once gave out the cellphone number of Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, during the 2016 presidential campaign. |
| The administration pledged official support on Thursday for the tax bill pending in the Senate, an unsurprising move that confirmed Mr. Trump’s promise to a Missouri crowd on Wednesday that he would sign the bill if it reached his desk. | |
| “The Administration strongly supports Senate passage” of the bill, officials wrote in a statement of administrative policy, because it would reduce taxes for businesses and middle class families and simplify the tax code. The statement also praised provisions in the bill to repeal the individual health insurance mandate under the Affordable Care Act and to open part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling. | |
| If the bill were presented to Mr. Trump, the statement said, “his advisors would recommend that he sign the bill into law.” | |
| The complaints from Mr. Wyden and other Democrats carry limited weight because Republicans can — and plan to — pass their bill without any Democratic votes. | The complaints from Mr. Wyden and other Democrats carry limited weight because Republicans can — and plan to — pass their bill without any Democratic votes. |
| Republicans are using special procedures that shield the measure from a Democratic filibuster. Debate on the legislation is limited to 20 hours. When the debate ends, it will be time for a vote-a-rama, a marathon of amendment votes. Eventually, the Senate would vote to pass the tax bill. | Republicans are using special procedures that shield the measure from a Democratic filibuster. Debate on the legislation is limited to 20 hours. When the debate ends, it will be time for a vote-a-rama, a marathon of amendment votes. Eventually, the Senate would vote to pass the tax bill. |
| But before then, the contents of that bill are expected to change. | But before then, the contents of that bill are expected to change. |
| Republicans have been discussing significant revisions to their bill as party leaders try to secure the votes they need for passage. Those discussions will continue on Thursday as the debate plays out on the Senate floor. | Republicans have been discussing significant revisions to their bill as party leaders try to secure the votes they need for passage. Those discussions will continue on Thursday as the debate plays out on the Senate floor. |