Jubilant Republican lawmakers early yesterday pushed on to the verge of the most sweeping rewrite of US tax laws in more than three decades, a deeply unpopular bill they insist Americans will learn to love when they see their paychecks in the new year.
US President Donald Trump cheered the lawmakers on, eager to claim his first major legislative victory.
After midnight, the US Senate narrowly passed the legislation on a party-line 51-48 vote.
Photo: EPA
Protesters interrupted with chants of “kill the bill, don’t kill us,” and US Vice President Mike Pence repeatedly called for order. Upon passage, Republicans cheered.
US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Americans would respond positively to the tax bill.
“If we can’t sell this to the American people, we ought to go into another line of work,” he said.
Trump hailed the vote in an early morning tweet and promised a news conference, likely yesterday, when the US House of Representatives was to complete legislative action on the measure.
The early morning vote came hours after the Republicans rammed the bill through the House 227-203, but it was not the final word in Congress because of one last hiccup.
Three provisions in the bill, including its title, violated Senate rules, forcing the Senate to vote to strip them out, so the massive bill was hauled back across the Capitol for the House to vote again yesterday and Republicans have a chance to celebrate again.
Hours earlier, House Speaker Paul Ryan gleefully pounded the gavel on House vote.
Republican representatives roared and applauded as they passed the US$1.5 trillion package that would touch every US taxpayer and every corner of the nation’s economy, providing steep tax cuts for businesses and the wealthy, and more modest help for middle and low-income families.
Despite Republican talk of spending discipline, the bill would push the huge national debt ever higher.
“This was a promise made. This is a promise kept,” Ryan and other Republican leaders said at a victory news conference.
After the second House vote, the measure would then head to Trump, who is aching for a big political victory after 11 months of legislative failures and nonstarters.
Congressional Republicans have repeatedly argued the bill would spur economic growth as corporations, flush with cash, increase wages and hire more workers.
However, they acknowledge they have work to do in convincing everyday Americans. Many voters in surveys see the legislation as a boost to the wealthy, such as Trump and his family, and a minor gain at best for the middle class.
Tax cuts for corporations would be permanent, while the cuts for individuals would expire in 2026 to comply with Senate budget rules. The tax cuts would take effect next month and workers would start to see changes in the amount of taxes withheld from their paychecks in February.
The bill would slash the corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent.
The top tax rate for individuals would be lowered from 39.6 percent to 37 percent.
The legislation repeals an important part of the 2010 healthcare law — the requirement that all Americans carry health insurance or face a penalty — as the Republicans look to unravel the law they failed to repeal and replace this past summer.
It also allows oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College