Republicans Eye Tax Overhaul By August Recess

PHILADELPHIA – House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) told members Wednesday that he believes Republicans can have a tax reform package finished by the August recess.

According to multiple members of Congress at the GOP retreat in Philadelphia, that plan right now is for Republicans to use the FY 2018 budget to overhaul the tax code. That will allow Republicans to use a process known as budget reconciliation to pass tax cuts. Reconciliation only requires a simple majority to pass in the Senate and gives Democrats little opportunity to block Republicans’ tax cuts.

Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) told reporters that the plan is to “‘have it on the president’s desk by the August recess.”

But there was some disagreement about whether that was possible. According to Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA), it was unclear if the plan was to have just the House finished up with tax reform or the Senate finished up with it as well.

The tax reform timeline sets out an aggressive agenda for the Republican-controlled Congress. Republicans also are hoping to be finished with repealing the Affordable Care Act by early March and that assumes that Republicans have put in place all of Trump’s cabinet nominees and other judicial appointments.

The congressional Republican retreat began Wednesday. Republicans had lunch and heard from the American Enterprise Institute’s director Arthur Brooks. Members then heard from both Ryan and McConnell about the upcoming agenda.

More serious and meaty policy discussions about Obamacare repeal and replacement weren’t scheduled until Thursday, when President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are also scheduled to speak.