Senate Approves Tax Reform Bill In 51-49 Vote

December 2, 2017 News, Politics

The New York Times reports:

The Senate passed the most sweeping tax rewrite in decades early Saturday, with Republicans lining up to approve an overhaul that will touch almost every corner of the United States economy, affecting families, small business owners and multinational corporations, with the biggest benefits flowing to the highest-earning Americans.

Senators voted 51-49, as Republicans approved the nearly 500-page bill in the early morning hours after lawmakers received a rewritten version, which contained significant changes from the original bill that passed two Senate panels last month along party lines. The last-minute revisions prompted an outcry from Democrats, who said it was impossible — and irresponsible — for lawmakers to read and digest a significant piece of legislation in such a short period of time.

Speaking on the Senate floor ahead of the vote, Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, called the Republican approach “a process and a product that no one can be proud of and everyone should be ashamed of.”

He went on to warn that changes made to the bill “under the cover of darkness” would “stuff even more money into the pockets of the wealthy and the biggest corporations while raising taxes on millions in the middle class.”

CBS News reports:



Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who held a press conference after the bill’s passage, suggested Democrats were only concerned about the legislative process because they were losing.

“You complain about process when you’re losing,” McConnell said. “And that’s what you heard on the floor tonight.” McConnell also said he believes the bill will be revenue neutral, despite analyses suggesting it will add to the deficit.

“This is a great day for the country, it’s been 31 years since we’ve done comprehensive tax reform,” McConnell said. President Trump hailed the bill’s passage in a tweet Saturday morning, thanking Republicans for approving the measure.

Tags

© joemygod.com 2024