Senate Passes GOP Tax Bill, Sends It Back To The House

WASHINGTON, DC — The Senate voted 51-48 Wednesday shortly after 12 a.m. to pass the newest draft of the Republican plan to overhaul the American tax code by heaping tax cuts largely on corporations and the wealthy. The bill must now make its way back to the House of Representatives — where it already was passed Tuesday afternoon — so that the representatives can approve minor technical fixes that the Senate passed.

Protesters outside the chamber interrupted the Senate vote at one point, cheering "Kill the bill!"

All Senate Democrats opposed the bill, while all Republicans in attendance voted in favor. Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona was absent due to medical issues but had voiced support for the legislation.

Once the House approves the Senate's changes — as it is expected to — all that will be needed for the bill to become law is President Trump's signature.

“This is a historic step toward tax relief for hardworking Americans," White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement after the bill passed the Senate. "We commend every Senator who supported these tax cuts and look forward to the House’s final vote on this important bill tomorrow."

Most House Republicans supported the original version of the bill 227-203 Tuesday afternoon, while all Democrats were opposed.

"This is our chance, this is our moment," House Speaker Paul Ryan said in the last speech before the House vote took place Tuesday. "Let's recapture our destiny for generations to come so this beautiful story of the American people is repeated and repeated and passed onto the next generation."

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke as debate continued late into the night and Tuesday turned into Wednesday. As some lawmakers milled noisily, Schumer became visibly irritated and asked for order.

"We believe you're messing up America," he said. "You could pay attention for a couple of minutes."

When he ended his speech, which called for Republicans to start the bill-writing process over with a truly bipartisan approach, he said: "The entire Republican party will come to rue this day."

If the bill becomes law, it will represent the first major legislative accomplishment since Republicans won control of the Congress and the White House. It will also be the largest step the GOP has taken to roll back Obamacare. The legislation eliminates the individual mandate to purchase health insurance, part of a long-standing Republican campaign promise.

The legislation has gone through many changes as both chambers of Congress have taken turns drafting the language. A conference committee settled on a final draft last week that appears to satisfy the vast majority of Republican lawmakers. The fundamentals of the bill include:

• Corporations get a massive permanent tax cut from 35 percent down to 21 percent.
• The top income tax rate is dropped from 39.6 percent to 37 percent, giving a large tax cut to wealthy people.
• Many individuals and families will see their tax rates fall at first, but these cuts expire before the 10-year horizon of the bill expire.
• The child tax credit is increased, giving many families an additional cut; this provision expires in 2026.
• Several larger personal deductions are cut, which will likely cause some families and individuals to pay higher rates overall, even in the short term.
• The Affordable Care Act insurance mandate is repealed, a move which the Congressional Budget Office thinks will raise premiums and cause millions more people to be uninsured in the coming years.

Despite the enthusiasm among Republican lawmakers for the bill, the public is much more hesitant about the changes. Read more about how the tax bill will affect your finances in the first year.

"With this tax reform, families at every income level get a tax cut, but especially middle-income families," said Ryan, one of the leading advocates of the effort. However, while the majority of families will get tax cuts, some will see their taxes go up, and many of these benefits disappear in later years under the bill.

"There's real economic anxiety in America," Ryan said at a press conference ahead of the vote.. "But there's so much potential for our people, for our country, for our economy."

Democratic lawmakers took to the House floor to denounce the bill ahead of the vote.

"The American people don't buy Republican claims that this bill will help middle class families," said Kentucky Democrat Rep. John Yarmuth. "In fact, in several years, more than 83 million middle class families will see a tax hike."

Republicans have responded to criticisms that the tax cuts for families expire by saying that the future Congress will not let those provisions go into effect. However, this would mean that the tax cuts would add much more to the national debt than it already does.

Multiple polls have found that most Americans are not happy about the GOP tax bill. One recent survey by Harvard CAPS-Harris found that 64 percent of respondents do not support the legislation. Another recent poll by Reuters/Ipsos found less opposition, with only 49 percent saying they are against the tax plan; but even in that survey, only 31 percent of Americans were in favor of the legislation.

The rush to pass the bill — including last minute demands from the likes of Sen. Marco Rubio — may have forced lawmakers to make changes to the bill with completely thinking them through. The latest version has not been completely evaluated by congressional analysts. If these changes introduce new technical flaws into the legislation or inspire new objections from other lawmakers, Republicans may be forced to address these issues in 2018.

Proponents of the bill argue that the bill is a much-needed reform that places businesses on more equal footing with foreign competitors and offers tax relief to families and individuals. Critics say it is an unnecessary giveway to the wealthy and corporations that adds to the deficit. They also add that the benefits to families and individuals is temporary and that long-term deficits will lead to cuts in valuable social programs.

Read more about the details of the tax bill here.

Watch: Republican Senators Celebrate Tax Vote

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