WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on Republican tax overhaul legislation (all times local):
12:45 p.m.
Ailing Republican Senators. John McCain and Thad Cochran will be able to cast their votes for the GOP tax package next week.
That’s the word from fellow GOP Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio. He told reporters on Friday: “All of our thoughts and prayers go out to Sen. McCain. He’s having a tough time. I am told he will be here next week and voting. And more importantly we all wish him the best of health.”
McCain, 81, is hospitalized at Walter Reed Medical Center where the Arizona senator is being treated for the side effects of brain cancer treatment.
Thad Cochran, 80, of Mississippi had a non-melanoma lesion removed from his nose earlier this week.
Portman said: “I’m told he will be here next week also.”
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11:44 a.m.
Several Republican senators are optimistic about passage of the far-reaching GOP tax package next week.
Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, one of the House-Senate negotiators, said Friday he believes they have the votes to pass the bill. His comments came as fellow Republican, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, pressed for expansion of the child tax credit, saying he’s a “no” vote if it’s not a significant boost.
Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey told reporters: “All I’m going to say is I’m optimistic that we have enough support to pass the bill.”
Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi said “there’s a problem with every single senator until the last vote is cast.” He added: “There are changes in this bill that I think can form some of the things he (Rubio) asked for.”
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11 a.m.
Republican Congresswoman Kristi Noem says the child tax credit has been expanded for low-income families in an effort to win Sen. Marco Rubio’s support for a sweeping tax package.
The tax package would double the per-child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000. The bill originally made a portion of the credit — $1,100 — available to families even if they owe no income tax. Noem says that amount has been increased to $1,400. Rubio said he wanted the $1,100 figure increased, but he did not say by how much.
Low-income taxpayers would receive the money in the form of a tax refund, which is why it’s called a “refundable” tax credit.
Noem, of South Dakota, said the change should win Rubio’s support but she had not heard directly from him.
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10 a.m.
President Donald Trump says he’s seen the latest version of the $1.5 trillion tax overhaul package moving through Congress and he predicts it will do “very, very well.”
The president told reporters Friday Republicans should be in position to pass the package as early as next week and says it will be “monumental.”
Trump also addressed prospects for increasing the child tax credit, one of the final sticking points in negotiating the package.
He said that where Democrats have “done nothing” for children, the plan will include “a tremendous child tax credit and it is increasing on a daily basis.”
The size of the child tax credit was one of the final points being ironed out as GOP leaders drive to push through their big tax package.
The GOP leaders are trying to muscle the bill through Congress next week, handing Trump his first major legislative victory by Christmas.
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3:15 a.m.
Republican Marco Rubio’s potential defection over a tax credit for low-income parents has put a speed bump into GOP leaders’ drive to push their big tax package through the Senate, but it’s a complication that’s likely to be resolved.
The Florida senator says he’ll vote against the $1.5 trillion bill unless House and Senate negotiators expand the tax credit that low-income Americans can claim for their children.
That puts the Republicans’ razor-thin margin in the Senate closer to the edge. The GOP leaders are straining to muscle the bill through Congress next week, handing President Donald Trump his first major legislative victory by Christmas.
The Senate turmoil erupted the same day that a key faction of House Republicans came out in favor of the bill, boosting its chances.
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