Tired of losing, GOP ready to pass tax reform

WASHINGTON—Republicans still have significant disagreements over their signature tax bill, but leaders retain hope for crossing the finish line before the end of the year.

Senate Republicans took a big step toward that goal Wednesday by uniting the 52-member caucus on a key procedural vote sending the bill to the floor for a full debate. Problems within the tax bill remain, but Republicans appear to be on the same page for one reason: They can’t stomach another defeat.

President Donald Trump huddled with Senate Republicans on Tuesday and discussed what would happen if the tax bill failed.

“I think the American people will look at all of us and say, ‘I can’t believe you people didn’t pass this bill, how did you make it out of the birth canal?’” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told me.

Republicans have few legislative victories to tout in 2017, and Kennedy said voters already believe nothing is getting done.

The House of Representatives passed its version on the tax bill earlier this month, and Senate leaders have been hard at work whipping the Republican caucus to get in line. This is the same position the GOP faced on healthcare reform, when the House-passed Obamacare overhaul died in the Senate.

Conservatives can’t bear another broken promise.

This week, a group of 42 federal and state conservative groups issued a letter supporting the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. And 12 conservative leaders delivered a unified statement to the GOP: “Any Senator serious about delivering tax relief for American families and all American businesses cannot in good conscience delay action on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.”

Republicans feel the pressure to act, but the bill’s details still matter, and lawmakers have several concerns to consider before a final vote.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, offered some weighty demands to Senate leaders this week. She doesn’t like pairing the tax package with a repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate. Collins said Obamacare has problems but repealing a crucial part of it without anything to stabilize insurance markets is irresponsible.

Collins asked Trump on Tuesday if he would support the tax bill if it also provided two years of Obamacare cost-sharing reduction payments, as well as language to fund reinsurance programs aimed at bringing down premiums. He agreed to both and also OK’d her request to include a deduction for up to $10,000 in property taxes. She told reporters Senate leaders gave her assurances as well.

“I think they are eager to help me get to yes on this bill,” Collins said with a laugh.

In July, Collins was one of three Republican senators to sink the healthcare reform effort. GOP leaders know she’s not afraid to do it again and are bending to her demands. Meanwhile, three GOP fiscal conservatives—Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee, Jeff Flake of Arizona, and James Lankford of Oklahoma—also made progress on their demands this week.

As written, the tax bill cuts federal revenue by $1.4 trillion over the next 10 years without matching spending cuts. Most Republicans are OK with that because they claim the tax cuts will boost economic growth enough to pay for the cuts over time. But it’s still a gamble.

The three senators want a safeguard in place to prevent the government from bleeding money if economic growth doesn’t soar as planned. If the economy doesn’t meet certain benchmarks after five years, they want a “trigger” to increase taxes to recover some of the lost revenue.

“We’re not talking about a large tax increase,” Lankford said. “We’re talking about small things around the edges to be able to guard against future increases in deficits.”

All three senators voted for the motion to proceed Wednesday based on an “agreement” with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to address their concern. But negotiations aren’t final, and GOP leaders haven’t released specific details of pending changes.

Evangelicals pressure Congress on DACA fix

It’s been nearly three months since President Donald Trump urged Congress to legislate a permanent solution for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, but there have been few signs of progress.

This week, 34 evangelical leaders urged lawmakers to prioritize helping immigrants brought to the United States through no fault of their own by paving a legal pathway for them to stay.

“We carry particular concern for the future of these so-called Dreamers because they have much to offer America,” the letter reads. “Not only that, but they were brought here without their consent, and in most cases the United States is the only home they have ever known.”

The signers include American Principles Project president Frank Cannon, Southern Evangelical Seminary president Richard Land, and Samuel Rodriguez, who heads the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.

President Barack Obama created DACA to give special consideration to young illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children. Trump said Obama did not have the authority to grant legal status to the nearly 800,000 people protected under the DACA program. Congress has until March 5 to pass a fix before the first DACA recipients risk deportation.

Congress has not passed meaningful immigration reform since the Reagan administration. Most lawmakers—Republicans and Democrats—agree DACA recipients deserve special consideration. But deep partisan concerns are still at play.

Democrats want to use this window to provide a pathway to citizenship for young immigrants, which then could grant status to extended family members through the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act. Only a handful of Republicans support that idea.

Most Republicans want to include broader immigration reforms into any DACA fix, primarily to beef up border security. Three Senate Republicans introduced a more modest proposal two months ago that would create a 15-year path to citizenship but suppress benefits to extended family members.

GOP leaders have not scheduled a vote for either proposal. And notably, Trump spoke to the Senate Republican Caucus on Tuesday for more than an hour and did not mention DACA once. —E.W.

Runaway spending

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., unveiled his third annual “Federal Fumbles” report this week, outlining $437.6 billion in wasteful federal government spending. The 86-page report includes 100 specific examples of federal projects and inefficiencies that Lankford believes waste taxpayer dollars.

“I wish there were only 100 ways the government dropped the ball,” he said at a news conference Monday.

Areas of federal waste include some expensive, inefficient infrastructure projects. Late last year, the Department of Transportation gave San Diego $1.04 billion to extend its trolley system by 10.9 miles. This amounts to nearly $100 million for each new mile of track. “This $1 billion investment could have paid to put in 100 to 250 new miles of four-lane highways anywhere in America,” the report notes.

Similarly, Washington, D.C., used $200 million in federal funds to build a streetcar that transports passengers just 2.4 miles along a road that already has a bus route.

The report also notes some smaller federal grants most taxpayers aren’t aware they fund. The National Endowment for the Arts spent $30,000 to stage an outdoor performance of Doggie Hamlet in New Hampshire. The production included people yelling and chasing costumed dogs and sheep.

“Many people view art subjectively, and there are likely many who would enjoy watching this play. However, with $20 trillion in national debt, it is difficult to explain to taxpayers in Oklahoma or Montana—even the people who work with sheep daily—why $30,000 was spent for a few people to run around a field yelling at sheep,” the report reads. —E.W.

How D.C. stole Christmas

The Archdiocese of Washington filed a legal challenge this week against the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) advertising guidelines after WMATA denied its Christmas ad. The advertisement depicted shepherds following the star on their way to see the baby Jesus in Bethlehem and included a simple message: “Find the perfect gift.” The ad also lists the address for a website with information about the archdiocese’s Christmas events. The page includes the phrase, “Jesus is the perfect gift.”

WMATA’s legal counsel said the ad violates its guidelines because it “depicts a religious scene and thus seeks to promote religion.” The archdiocese claims the rejection violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

“We believe rejection of this ad to be a clear violation of fundamental free speech and a limitation on the exercise of our faith,” Kim Fiorentino, the archdiocese’s general counsel, said in a statement. “We look forward to presenting our case to affirm the right of all to express such viewpoints in the public square.” —E.W.

Back to school

Amid an outpouring of stories about sexual misconduct on Capitol Hill, the House unanimously approved a resolution Wednesday requiring annual sexual harassment training for members of Congress and their staff. Lawmakers call it an important first step to address systemic problems of abuse in Congress but said more changes should follow. Members introduced bipartisan legislation Wednesday to require disclosure when lawmakers use taxpayer funds to settle sexual harassment or sexual assault claims. A recent report revealed Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., spent $27,000 in taxpayer funds to keep quiet a sexual harassment complaint. The Committee on House Administration will hold a hearing Dec. 7 focusing on problems with the reporting and settlement process for sexual harassment claims. —E.W.