WASHINGTON — The Republican-led House of Representatives is targeting a vote early this week bipartisan bill to expand the child tax credit and provide a number of tax breaks for business, three sources said.
The $78 billion package, which cleared the Ways and Means Committee on a 40-3 vote, could come up as early as Wednesday, one of the sources said, adding that the timing is not locked. This week” is reviewed.
The legislation presents a rare opportunity for a historically ineffective Congress to score a victory for voters. But it faces some hurdles in the House, where it will likely be fast-tracked and require a two-thirds vote to pass, and there is uncertainty in the Senate.
“There is great interest in its implementation. These are proven pro-worker, pro-family policies that help extend some of the economically beneficial provisions of the Republican tax cuts from 2017,” bill author R-Mo. Ways and Means chairman Jason Smith said. “The 40-3 majority in the committee reflects the strong interest of all parties in holding a vote in the House as soon as possible.”
Some Liberals objected to tax cuts for business, including breaks for research and development and small business spending. All three no votes in the committee came from Democrats, although many others in the party support the package because of provisions for families with children that are projected to reduce child poverty.
There is some resentment among Republicans from various quarters.
On Thursday, Smith told Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., two sources said. and a private call between a group of Republicans in the SALT caucus came amid complaints that the bill did not raise the cap. federal deductions for state and local taxes — commonly known as SALT — is a priority for some GOP members from New York and California. (Taxpayers in areas with higher state and local taxes are more likely to use SALT deductions than low- and middle-income Americans elsewhere.)
Rep. Nick LaLota, RN.Y., who led protests over the lack of SALT relief, was shot down by Long Island voters. was $10,000 cap on SALT deductions imposed by the 2017 Trump tax law. He raised his voice during the call, according to one of the sources familiar with the incident. Both sources said Smith stood his ground and defended his decision not to expand the SALT cap in the tax package; most congressional Republicans support keeping the cap in place. He was the first to report the call Hill.
“I’m not in favor of a tax package that doesn’t have adequate relief for SALT,” LaLota told reporters. “I am ready to fight for my voters by voting no.”
But it’s unclear whether other Republicans who support SALT will vote against the bill. This includes Rep. Marc Molinaro, RN.Y.
“We are still committed to extending the deadline there are benefits for all middle-class families,” Molinaro said. “I hope we can find a solution, but the child tax credit is a very promising extension.”
Rep. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a member of the hard-right Freedom Caucus, also condemned the legislation. argues It could benefit the children of undocumented immigrants and brand fellow Republicans as “whores” for business.
“I’m sick of these gutless cowards in Washington. Do you know what we’re putting down next week, Jimmy? A tax cut bill for corporations,” Roy said on Thursday’s “Fox Across America w/ Jimmy Failla” podcast. “Because Republicans are whores for endless wars and corporations. This is so. That’s what they stand for. And I’m not going to pretend it’s anything else.”
One House GOP aide noted that the business provisions would restore expired tax breaks from the 2017 GOP tax law, calling them “a key part of Trump’s economic legacy.” Roy praises Trump’s tax law on the campaign trail website as “a big step forward for economic growth”.
Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who co-authored the new tax package, dismissed claims by conservatives that it would empower “illegals” to reap the benefits. “It’s actually not true. There is no change in our bill from the Trump policy in 2017, it does not do that.”
Overall, supporters are confident that protests are not widespread and that the bill has the votes to pass the House.
What happens next is less clear.
In the Senate, the bill would require 60 votes to defeat a filibuster. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., doesn’t weigh in, and his office said he’s deferring to Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, the ranking member of the Finance Committee, to handle it for Republicans. Crapo told NBC News that he is not ready to support the bill and wants to make changes to it, though he declined to say what changes.
Wyden said a successful House vote could pressure the Senate to move quickly to pass the bill as tax filing season begins.
“This very difficult political environment at the moment. They take it. If he gets a big vote … then I think it’s going to change a lot,” Wyden said. “Because it’s not going to be much of a debate between Democrats and Republicans. There will be people who say that a bunch of starving kids need this financial aid, that they are from a big family and that they are not getting a fair shake in terms of aid. Or a small business that needs that R&D incentive to pay wages.