Washington, DC
Despite the White House budget director’s suggestion that Republicans would be better off pursuing tax reform without Democrats, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, again called on congressional lawmakers Wednesday to address the issue in a bipartisan fashion.
Contending that both parties have been discussing tax system overhauls in the House, Neal, the top Democrat on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, said he was caught somewhat off guard by Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney’s claim that a tax bill would look “a lot weaker” with Democrats on it.
“I am surprised because for the moment these conversations have remained cordial inside of the House,” he said in an interview. “We’ve gone back and forth with the Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee.”
Mulvaney told “Fox & Friends” Wednesday that GOP leaders face a choice of attempting tax reform through a more traditional approach requiring 60 votes for passage in the Senate or an expedited budget reconciliation approach requiring just 50 votes.
The OMB director seemingly offered support for the reconciliation approach — similar to how Republicans sought to repeal the Affordable Care Act — contending that he believes “a tax bill looks a lot weaker — a lot less likely to get us to 3 percent economic growth — if we’ve got 8, 10, 12, 14 Democrats on it.”
Neal, who recently urged Republicans against taking up tax system changes through budget reconciliation, said Democrats have indicated they are willing to discuss how tax overhauls should be done, offering that “there will be some points of agreement, on that there is no doubt.”
He further reiterated his case for a bipartisan approach to the issue, arguing it’s the only way “if you want (changes) to be lasting.”
“If they do it through reconciliation, I think you’re more inclined to get a tax cut than you are to get tax reform,” he said. “Remember, that the last great tax reform measure passed 31 years ago and it was bipartisan … Big things, lasting things only happen with bipartisan efforts.”
Trump administration officials recently joined House and Senate Republicans in expressing their commitment to overhauling the U.S. tax system “to protect American jobs and make taxes simpler, fairer and lower for hard-working American families.”
They offered support for a plan that lowers the tax rate for all American businesses, reduces tax rates “as much as possible,” allows unprecedented capital expensing, places a priority on permanence and encourages American companies to bring back jobs and profits from overseas.
Republican leaders said they expect to have tax overhaul legislation move through committees in the fall, adding that they hoped Democrats “will participate in this effort.”
