Senate Republicans are poised to deliver on a permanent tax relief for millions of Americans in a major bill Congress is currently negotiating that is backed by President Donald Trump.
The Senate advanced a budget blueprint, including a permanent extension of the expiring 2017 Trump Tax Cuts, during a vote of 52 to 48 Thursday. GOP lawmakers have said that failure to extend the tax cuts would lead to roughly a $4 trillion tax increase on Americans’ pocketbooks in 2026.
“Let me be clear — a $4 trillion Democrat tax increase on American families would be devastating,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso said on the Senate floor Thursday. “Senate Republicans are fighting to stop it. Republicans want to make the 2017 tax cuts permanent. Republicans want to reverse the Democrat failures of the past four years. Republicans are focused on getting America back on track.”
“Ninety percent of Americans saw their taxes go down because of tax reform,” Barrasso added. “It would be disastrous for ‘tax-and-spend’ Senate Democrats – those who brought us the highest inflation in our lifetime – to choke off the chance for Americans to keep more of their hard-earned money.
Congressional Republicans are working to enact Trump’s legislative agenda through a process known as budget reconciliation, which allows Senate Republicans to bypass the filibuster and advance legislation by a simple majority vote. Passage of the budget resolution by both chambers will unlock a sweeping tax and spending bill expected to include border security funding, defense spending and an array of the president’s tax priorities, such as no taxes on tips.
At the heart of the budget resolution — and the president’s first-year priorities — is Senate Republicans’ commitment to making the expiring Trump tax cuts permanent. They plan to deliver on permanent tax relief by using a budget scoring approach that assumes a permanent extension has a deficit neutral impact because the forthcoming bill would just be continuing current policies.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday that Senate Republicans are in lockstep with Trump in viewing temporary tax relief as a nonstarter.
“Americans should not have to live in fear of a tax hike every few years,” Thune said.
The Senate parliamentarian, a nonpartisan official who interprets Senate procedure, also said that the Senate budget blueprint, which uses the current-policy baseline, is appropriate for floor consideration, according to Senate GOP leadership.
Though deficit-concerned GOP lawmakers have raised concerns about the accounting tactic, the president has given the budget resolution his blessing.
“Every Republican, House and Senate, must UNIFY,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday evening. “We need to pass it IMMEDIATELY!
Passage of the Senate’s revamped budget resolution Thursday evening will unlock 50 hours of debate that will be followed by a marathon process known as a “vote-a-rama.” Senate Democrats will be allowed to call up an unlimited number of amendments during that time period intended to exact political pain on their Republican colleagues until the chamber runs out of steam to continue.
The budget blueprint will be sent to the House for consideration, once adopted by Senate Republicans.
Senate Republicans are likely to remind their counterparts that failure to pass the Senate budget resolution will lead to a majority of Americans experiencing a tax hike next year. The average American household earning $80,000 a year would see a $1,700 tax increase if the tax cut provisions are allowed to expire at the end of 2025, according to analysis from the Tax Foundation released on March 12.
No Senate Democrat voted in favor of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which lowered taxes for the vast majority of Americans.
“It is almost Democrats’ favorite day – Tax Day,” Barrasso said, trolling his Democratic colleagues Thursday. “Right now, millions of Americans are filing their taxes. As they do, I ask myself and I wonder if they know that Democrats right here in the United States Senate want to raise their taxes by $4 trillion?
(Featured Image Media Credit: Flickr/Pictures of Money)
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