Congress delivers on promise to send tax reform bill to President Donald Trump by Christmas
By Bryan Kirk, Patch Staff
As promised, the long awaited GOP tax reform bill will be on President Donald Trump's by Christmas, after both houses approved the oft debated bill on Wednesday.
U.S. Rep Kevin Brady, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, talked about the bill after the House approved the bill Tuesday.
"Today, the House voted for the biggest tax reform package in a generation...simply, the tax cuts and jobs act is a game changer for families, for businesses and certainly for America," he said to local reporters.
It's an event in American political history that has been a long time coming, especially for Brady who has been working on this legislation for more than a year, and who stooding next to House Speaker Paul Ryan when the vote was recorded in the House.
At the same time, Brady has made the rounds to every political talk show to talk about the tax reform bill since Trump's election, to talk about simplifying the tax code, making it easier to file income taxes, and generating greater economic growth for businesses and communities.
"For the first time in a long time, you're going to get to see jobs coming back from overseas, rather than watching them flow over to other countries," Brady said.
On Tuesday, the passage of the first tax reform bill since the Reagan era came to fruition as passed the bill, sending the bill to the Senate.
When it was all said and done, political leaders split along party lines with the GOP voting in favor of the bill while Democrats voted against the bill calling the legislation a tax cut for corporate America, a claim that Brady called "baloney."
"I think Democrats had already written those talking points two years ago, and by just being obsessed with that, they have ignored just how much tax relief there is for real hard-working Americans," Brady said.
With the passage of the tax reform bill, Brady said that by Jan. 1, all Americans will see the implementation of a new simplified tax code, and that by February American will see noticeable tax relief in their personal income.
Meanwhile, the Senate narrowly passed the bill 51-48, and celebrated the passage at an early press conference, where Sen. Orrin Hatch calling the vote historic.
"The Democrats have said the American people will remember this night, and I hope they do because we passed one of the most important tax breaks in this country's history," he said. Texas Sen. John Cornyn said the passage of the bill was really a referendum that the American Dream was still alive.
"We don't believe you have to settle for anemic growth, flat wages and fewer jobs," he said. "We weren't willing to settle for the status quo because we believe American can do better."
