Senate Republicans are sticking to their plans to pass a tax bill with 50 Republican votes, despite Democratic pleas not to be sidelined as they were on health care.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday reaffirmed the GOP’s long-standing intention to shield any tax overhaul from a likely Democratic filibuster by using the procedural protections of budget reconciliation.

In explaining his decision to reporters, the Kentucky Republican cited a Tuesday letter from 45 Democratic senators urging Republicans not to use reconciliation and vowing to oppose a tax plan that adds to the deficit or cuts the annual bill of the richest 1 percent of taxpayers.

“We will need to use reconciliation” for taxes in the wake of Democrats’ statement that they are “not interested in addressing” Republican priorities, McConnell said.

“I don’t think this is going to be 1986, when you had a bipartisan effort to scrub the code,” McConnell added, though he left the door open to winning votes from the “Democratic senators who did not sign the letter who may be open to pro-growth tax reform.”

The three Democratic senators who did not lay down explicit conditions were Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, and Joe Donnelly of Indiana, all of whom face tough reelections next year.

McConnell also said that unlike the closed-door process the Senate GOP employed to write its Obamacare repeal bill, the party would hold hearings in both chambers on taxes after lawmakers return from their recess next month. Republicans hope to finish work on tax reform “some time this year,” McConnell said.

This won't fail.

This won't fail.

I was always under the impression fiscal conservatism was low taxation and low spending.

How is simply cutting taxes a reform measure?

I was always under the impression fiscal conservatism was low taxation and low spending.

How is simply cutting taxes a reform measure?

I was always under the impression fiscal conservatism was low taxation and low spending.

t Apple has over 200 billion in cash parked overseas.

t Apple has over 200 billion in cash parked overseas.

Conservatives say they are for low taxes and low spending, but they are lying. The asswipes always glut the budget with pork, corporate welfare, and of course military spending (but let's be honest that is corporate welfare as well). Just look at how much the budget grew under Bush 43 and Reagan. The tax cuts were welcome, but you can't raise spending while doing that.

The only true fiscal party left is the Libertarian Party. They pair their tax cuts with spending cuts. That is how it should be done.

I haven't yet read any specifics on spending increases. The canned answer about the cuts usually is the revenue increases from the growth they create is the main goal. Also, should they cut the corp rates then revenue can increase by bringing home money off shore. I read this morning that Apple has over 200 billion in cash parked overseas.

Kansas is doing great.

as a side note on our broken tax system, we are the only country that requires ex-pats to file taxes to keep their citizenship. No other country does that.

yea these guys living on a 26 foot sailboat in the Philippines on $20/day banging 15 year old prostitutes shouldn't have to pay anything to keep calling themselves Americans!

I've read part of the proposed tax reform is to double the standard deduction. If that happens, I'm 100% on board with this.

Now if only the asshats would cut spending as well to go along with the tax cuts.

They won't. Our buddy Mitch, you know who cried about the deficit the whole time the black guy was in office, told somebody who asked him to at least agree to the Dem demands that this not raise the deficit to "grow up".

Are both parties so bad that Schumer and McConnell are the best leaders or is it just the Peter Principle? I just find it hard to believe that every party leader is a walking talking rectum. How is it possible they keep picking the worst of the worst... unless they are all so bad that we should be thankful it's these morons instead of others.