Final Passage Coming Soon For the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Updated 12/19/17 - 5:30pm ET: The House announced that it will have to re-vote on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on Wednesday morning after provisions in the version it passed Tuesday were found to have violated Senate budget rules. The Senate will remove the problematic provisions before it votes on the legislation tonight.

The problems arose because of the Senate's budget rules, known as the "Byrd bath", which requires that legislation going through the reconciliation process: 1) have a budgetary impact in terms of spending or revenue; 2) that those changes aren't incidental; and 3) that all those changes are within the jurisdiction of the committees given reconciliation instructions; among other requirements.

Countable's original story appears below.

The GOP’s tax reform bill — the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — is nearing the end of its journey through Congress, with the final version of the bill produced by the conference committee set to get a vote in both chambers of Congress on Tuesday.

The bill will get a vote on the House floor around 1:30pm ET and you can watch it happen live at this link.

It will then head to the Senate, where the exact timing of the final vote is less clear because it’s unknown how much of the 10 hours of debate senators will choose to exhaust. Republican lawmakers are likely to yield back most of their time, which led Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to forecast a vote "later this evening". You can watch the debate and the eventual vote on live on the Senate floor here.

What happens next?

After it’s passed by both chambers of Congress, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will go to President Donald Trump’s desk to be signed into law at his discretion, likely in the coming days. The changes made to the tax code will take effect on January 1, 2018, so you’ll likely see an impact in your paycheck and when you go to file your 2018 tax return.

Got a last minute pep talk for your reps before they vote? Hit Take Action to tell them what you think, then share your thoughts in the comments below!

Take Action

— Eric Revell

RELATED READING

• Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: Cutting Taxes for Individuals and Businesses (Conference Report)

(Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore / Creative Commons)