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Republicans advanced to the one-yard line to pass historic tax reform as the Senate passed the final Tax Cut and Jobs Act on Tuesday, sending the bill to the House for final passage. President Donald Trump hopes to sign the bill before Christmas.
The Senate passed the final the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, 51-48, along partisan lines. Fifty-one Republicans voted in favor the bill, while zero Democrats voted for the tax reform legislation.
Vice President Mike Pence presided over the vote as the president of the Senate.
The House passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act earlier on Tuesday. However, the Senate parliamentarian ruled that three provisions violated the Senate’s Byrd rule for reconciliation bills, so the House will have to vote on the tax reform legislation again on Wednesday.
The Senate passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act earlier this month and the House passed its version of the tax reform legislation in November. The House and the Senate convened a conference committee to reconcile the differences between the two drafts of the tax reform legislation.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said on Tuesday that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is the “worst bill to ever come to the floor of the House” and is a “looting of America.”
Pelosi added that the bill will “install a permanent plutocracy in America.”
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) argued that lawmakers should vote for the tax reform legislation “to raise the paychecks of the American people.”
Speaker Paul Ryan declared, “Today we give the people of this country their money back.”
After the House passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on Tuesday, President Donald Trump tweeted, “Congratulations to Paul Ryan, Kevin McCarthy, Kevin Brady, Steve Scalise, Cathy McMorris Rodgers and all great House Republicans who voted in favor of cutting your taxes!”
The Senate passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act 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 in the Senate last week as Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Bob Corker (R-TN) announced that they will vote in favor of the tax reform legislation. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) later revealed on Monday that she too will vote for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Republicans unveiled the final version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act earlier this month 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 21 percent, opens up the Arctic Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling, and doubles the standard deduction for individuals and married couples.
President Donald Trump said that passing the tax reform bill would ensure a “Merry Christmas” for the country.
President Donald Trump tweeted on Tuesday, “Stocks and the economy have a long way to go after the Tax Cut Bill is totally understood and appreciated in scope and size. Immediate expensing will have a big impact. Biggest Tax Cuts and Reform EVER passed. Enjoy, and create many beautiful JOBS!”
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