President Donald Trump is slated to meet with Republican members of the Senate Finance Committee, the panel responsible for crafting the multi-trillion-dollar tax cut bill Congress is aiming to pass this year, according to a top Senate Republican.
The meeting, scheduled for Thursday at the White House, will be the first sit-down between the Senate tax panel and Trump since he took office nearly two months ago. The House and Senate have made halting progress advancing the tax cut package with the two chambers at odds over how to pass the legislation.
“We are going to discuss the next steps to get America back on track,” Senator John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican and a member of his party’s leadership, told reporters. “We want to get everything done in a timely manner.”
The president has so far expressed a desire to follow the House’s preferred strategy for one big legislative vehicle that includes all of his priorities, including funding for border security and energy measures. The Senate has floated a plan to pass an immigration bill first, leaving taxes for later in the year.
Trump has said he wants to craft a bill that extends his 2017 tax cuts and includes a raft of other campaign pledges, including eliminating levies on tips, overtime pay and Social Security benefits. He has also called for a 15% corporate rate for companies that manufacture in the U.S.
Republicans have a year-end deadline to pass the legislation. If they fail to craft a deal, many of Trump’s first-term cuts for individuals and small businesses will expire.
The House last month passed a budget proposal as the first step toward enacting the tax package, using a process that won’t require Democratic votes. The proposal, which would pair tax cuts with $2 trillion in spending reductions and a $4 trillion debt ceiling increase, is currently being considered by the Senate.
To make the tax cut extension permanent, Senate Republicans are considering using a budget gimmick that assumes the extension costs zero dollars since the tax cuts are currently enshrined in law.
The White House has also vowed to end the carried interest tax break for private equity and curb tax breaks for billionaire sports team owners.
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