After several last-minute procedural hiccups, the House voted (224-201) for a second time to pass the tax reform bill. The passage of the tax reform bill marks the first legislative victory this year for Congress and the Administration.
The President will held a celebratory “bill passage event” this afternoon at the White House, but will not formally sign the bill into law after a specific congressional provision is waived. Under the 2010 pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) law, automatic and across-the-board spending reductions must be applied to mandatory programs, including Medicare, student loans, and other programs to any bill that decreases taxes and does not fully offset them with revenue increases elsewhere.
The $1.5 trillion reduction in government revenue projected in the tax reform bill triggers the PAYGO provision. However, congressional leadership agreed to waive the PAYGO provision to garner votes from Senators, most notably Susan Collins (R-ME).
Next Steps
In order to avoid a government shutdown on December 22, Congress is expected to pass a short-term spending bill in the next couple days that will fund the federal government until January 19, 2018 as well as waive the PAYGO provision in the tax reform bill until 2019.
The BDA will continue to provide updates as they become available. Please let us know if you would like additional information.
