President Trump, Republicans Poised for Historic Tax Reform Victory

The Associated Press
The Associated Press

President Donald Trump and Republicans will score an historic victory by likely passing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act this week, the largest tax cut legislation in decades.

Speaker Paul Ryan scheduled the House to vote on the final version Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on Tuesday.

House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) said on Sunday, “We are on the 1-yard line and we intend to punch it in in a good strong way on Tuesday.”

Brady added, “And this means Americans on April 15, that will be the last time Americans have to file under this horrible broken tax code, so there is a lot to be happy about.”

The Senate will likely vote on the bill later this week even as Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Thad Cochran (R-MS) continue to recover from their respective illnesses. Republicans gained a presumptive majority in the Senate last week as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) announced that he will vote for the tax bill after Republicans expanded the child tax credit and when Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) also revealed that he will vote for the tax bill. Corker previously voted against the bill’s passage earlier this month, arguing that the bill increased the deficit too much.

Republicans unveiled the final version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act last Friday after reconciling the differences between the House and Senate drafts.

The Republican Tax Cuts and Jobs Act features massive tax cuts for middle-class families and small businesses and repeals Obamacare’s individual mandate. The final version of the Republican tax legislation reduces the corporate tax rate from 35 to 20 percent, opens up the Artic Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling, and doubles the standard deducation for indiviudals and married couples.

President Donald Trump said that passing the tax reform bill would ensure a “Merry Christmas” for the country.

President Trump tweeted on Sunday, “As a candidate, I promised we would pass a massive TAX CUT for the everyday working American families who are the backbone and the heartbeat of our country. Now, we are just days away.”

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