The House on Thursday passed the tax portion of the year-end budget deal as Congress seeks to quickly wrap up its remaining business with members itching to head home for the holidays.
The vote was 318 to 109.
Despite some grumbling in both parties over the contents of the deal – a $1.1 trillion spending bill and a $622 billion package of tax cuts – it is expected to be approved by both chambers. But the House vote on the appropriations package, which will occur Friday morning, could be close.
If both bills pass the House, they will be rolled into one package that the Senate is expected to clear for the president’s signature as early as Friday afternoon.
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) on Thursday expressed confidence that deal would make it through the House.
“I feel pretty good about where we are,” he said at a news conference before the tax vote. “Like I say, you always find out when the vote comes.”
[Here’s what made it into Congress’s big spending and tax bills]
House Republicans provided most of the needed votes, 241, to pass the tax package, which House Democratic leaders oppose because they say it is too expensive and does not do enough for low-income workers. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) opposed the tax agreement but said she will vote for the spending bill.
“I know it sounds good but it’s a Trojan Horse and we should not be fooled,” she said of the tax bill on the House floor. But despite Pelosi’s harsh criticism, 77 of her House Democratic colleagues still chose to vote for the bill.
House Democratic votes will be needed to pass the spending bill on Friday due to Republican discontent with the size of the package and the lack of policy provision on issues such as immigration and abortion that conservatives pushed to include in the deal.
But Pelosi said she does not know if there will be enough Democratic support for the spending measure and that she has counseled members to study the legislation before making up their mind.
“It’s up to them to get the votes, they’re the majority,” she said of Republicans at a news conference.
Pelosi said that many of her members are particularly concerned that the bill would roll back the ban on oil exports.
While Pelosi does not support that policy, she argued that Democratic leaders were able to secure in the deal policies they support by not seeking to block the inclusion of the export ban language.
“I feel that what we did in the bill, more than 10 times offsets the damage that exporting crude oil does,” she said.
The overall tax and spending agreement has broader bipartisan support in the Senate.
On Wednesday, Senate Minority leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called the agreement a good compromise that includes provisions that benefit both parties. He outlined victories for Democrats, including expanded funding for domestic programs and expanded tax credits for alternative energy production.
“Sometime in the darkness the bill was finalized,” Reid said “No legislation is perfect, but this is good legislation.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...hp-more-top-stories_budget-1pm:homepage/story
The vote was 318 to 109.
Despite some grumbling in both parties over the contents of the deal – a $1.1 trillion spending bill and a $622 billion package of tax cuts – it is expected to be approved by both chambers. But the House vote on the appropriations package, which will occur Friday morning, could be close.
If both bills pass the House, they will be rolled into one package that the Senate is expected to clear for the president’s signature as early as Friday afternoon.
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) on Thursday expressed confidence that deal would make it through the House.
“I feel pretty good about where we are,” he said at a news conference before the tax vote. “Like I say, you always find out when the vote comes.”
[Here’s what made it into Congress’s big spending and tax bills]
House Republicans provided most of the needed votes, 241, to pass the tax package, which House Democratic leaders oppose because they say it is too expensive and does not do enough for low-income workers. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) opposed the tax agreement but said she will vote for the spending bill.
“I know it sounds good but it’s a Trojan Horse and we should not be fooled,” she said of the tax bill on the House floor. But despite Pelosi’s harsh criticism, 77 of her House Democratic colleagues still chose to vote for the bill.
House Democratic votes will be needed to pass the spending bill on Friday due to Republican discontent with the size of the package and the lack of policy provision on issues such as immigration and abortion that conservatives pushed to include in the deal.
But Pelosi said she does not know if there will be enough Democratic support for the spending measure and that she has counseled members to study the legislation before making up their mind.
“It’s up to them to get the votes, they’re the majority,” she said of Republicans at a news conference.
Pelosi said that many of her members are particularly concerned that the bill would roll back the ban on oil exports.
While Pelosi does not support that policy, she argued that Democratic leaders were able to secure in the deal policies they support by not seeking to block the inclusion of the export ban language.
“I feel that what we did in the bill, more than 10 times offsets the damage that exporting crude oil does,” she said.
The overall tax and spending agreement has broader bipartisan support in the Senate.
On Wednesday, Senate Minority leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) called the agreement a good compromise that includes provisions that benefit both parties. He outlined victories for Democrats, including expanded funding for domestic programs and expanded tax credits for alternative energy production.
“Sometime in the darkness the bill was finalized,” Reid said “No legislation is perfect, but this is good legislation.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...hp-more-top-stories_budget-1pm:homepage/story
