Blue Dog Democrats taking hard line on GOP tax bill
Blue Dog Democrats are lining up in firm opposition to the Republicans’ tax code overhaul, hoping that Tuesday’s election results will force GOP leaders to reach across the aisle for a bipartisan alternative.
The Blue Dogs had initially expressed an eagerness to join Republicans in the push for sweeping tax reform, which stands among the GOP’s top priorities. But the fiscally minded Democrats are quickly racing away from the GOP proposal, largely over projections the bill will hike taxes on millions of middle-class families and lead to a spike in deficit spending.
“Let me just be quite honest,” said Rep. David Scott, a Georgia Blue Dog. “There is no way I can support it.”
Behind Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, the Republicans are pressing forward this week with the marathon markup of their partisan tax proposal. The Republicans, desperate for a major legislative victory following the embarrassing demise of ObamaCare repeal earlier in the year, are scrambling to move the tax bill through the House by Thanksgiving and to President Trump’s desk by Christmas.
But overhauling the nation’s convoluted tax structure is a colossal task — there are reasons Congress hasn’t enacted major tax reforms since the Reagan administration — and the Republicans are facing stiff headwinds from a long list of opponents, including small business groups, realtors, universities and deficit hawks, not to mention Democrats united against the plan.
http://thehill.com/policy/finance/359515-blue-dog-democrats-taking-hard-line-on-gop-tax-bill
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