House OKs Tax Bill, Future Less Certain In Senate

WASHINGTON, DC — House Republicans approved a sweeping rewrite of the tax code as a much different bill moves through the Senate. House Speaker Paul Ryan, who met behind the scenes with Republican holdouts who say the proposal doesn't do enough for middle-income Americans, mustered enough votes to pass the plan, 227-205.

A key component of the bill that would slash taxes by more than $1.4 trillion over 10 years is a massive corporate tax cut, from 35 percent to 20 percent. It also collapses the number of brackets from seven to four and scales back or eliminates many popular deductions, including one for state and local taxes that Republicans in high-tax states like New York and New Jersey have fought hard to keep.

Thirteen Republicans voted against the proposal. It would have taken 22 Republican holdouts to kill the bill, the most comprehensive overhaul of the tax code in three decades.

They may face backlash at re-election time after the Congressional Leadership Fund, which has close ties to Ryan and big Republican donors. Corry Bliss, who runs the fund, told The Washington Post that Republicans who vote against the tax bill shouldn't expect support in the midterm elections.

"CLF will never spend a dollar attacking a Republican," Bliss said. "But CLF is going to raise and spend $100 million to protect the Republican majority. CLF, like any organization, will allocate resources to friends and family first."

The House version ends the deduction for medical expenses not covered by insurance, which critics said would hurt the elderly. AARP Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond called it "a health tax for taxpayers who get sick or have chronic conditions."

"As Congress continues its consideration of tax legislation, we continue to urge the House and Senate to work in a bipartisan manner to maintain tax incentives that promote retirement savings, retirement security and help offset the high out-of-pocket health care costs of older Americans" LeaMond said in a statement.

The Senate version of the tax overhaul preserves the tax deduction.

People who pay alimony and divorce attorneys are also lining up to oppose elimination of the alimony deduction as the House bill provides. The Senate bill doesn't touch the deduction, but it could resurface during budget reconciliation.

Charles Crenshaw, a divorced engineer from Bloomfield, Connecticut, told The Associated Press he pays his ex-wife tens of thousands dollars a year in alimony and would lose thousands of dollars a year if the deduction is eliminated.

"I'm contacting my congressman," Crenshaw said, "to say that's something that should be left alone."
He is among many unhappy couples, divorce lawyers and other keeping a close eye on the proposal, which would also end taxation of alimony recipients on the payments.

In a pre-vote rally, President Trump urged Republicans to pass the nearly $1.5 trillion overhaul. "He told us that we have this once-in-a lifetime opportunity to do something really bold, and he reminded us that is why we seek these offices," Rep. Steve Womack, an Arkansas Republican, said of Trump's closed-door pep rally.

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"And here we are on the cusp of getting something really important done."

The stakes are high for Trump, who has yet to achieve a major legislative victory.

At least 22 Republicans would have had to break ranks for the bill to fail in the House, assuming all Democrats vote against it, which they did.

CBS News said 10 Republicans have said they can't support the bill in its current form — New York Reps. Dan Donovan, John Faso, Peter King, Elise Stefanik and Lee Zeldon; New Jersey Reps. Leonard Lance, Frank LoBiondo and Chris Smith; Darrell Issa of California and Walter Jones of North Carolina.

The Senate version of the bill, unveiled Wednesday, repeals a key provision of the Affordable Care Act requiring all Americans to buy health insurance under renewed pressure from Trump, who returned to the United States Tuesday after an extended trip to Asia. The Congressional Budget Office says repealing the mandate would reduce federal deficits by about $338 billion by 2027, but would increase the number of uninsured people by 4 million in 2019 and 13 million in 2027.

While House leaders are confident, the the tax code overhaul hit a roadblock Wednesday when Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson became the first Republican senator to deflect. With only a slim margin in the Senate, there's not much room for Republicans to break ranks. Johnson told The Wall Street Journal the bill favors corporations over other businesses.

"If they can pass it without me, let them," he told The Journal, the first to report his opposition. "I'm not going to vote for this tax package."

Patch editor Beth Dalbey and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Image: House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)