10/19/2017

Trump, GOP Signal Tax Reform Could Slip to 2018

The administration acknowledged the difficulty of passing major legislation with so few days left on the legislative calendar

Even as Congress works to adopt a budget resolution that could accelerate lawmakers’ ability to pass a tax reform package this year, President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) this week acknowledged the difficulty of passing major legislation with so few days left on the legislative calendar.

“I would like to see it be done this year,” Trump told reporters in the Rose Garden after a meeting with McConnell. “But don’t forget it took years for the Reagan administration to get taxes done. I’ve been here for nine months.”

McConnell also tamped down the expectation that Congress will pass tax reform in this calendar year.

“The goal is to get it done this calendar year but it is important to remember that [President Barack] Obama signed Obamacare in March of year two [of his first term]; Obama signed Dodd-Frank in July of year two,” McConnell said.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) has been adamant that the House will bring up and pass tax reform legislation this year, even warning last week that he may have to keep the House in session over Christmas if necessary to pass a bill.

“We have to get this done,” Ryan said last week. “If we squander this opportunity, it’s not going to come back.”

This article was provided to OSAE by the Power of A and ASAE's Inroads.