Speaker Johnson May Bring $70B Tax Bill Up For House Vote This Week

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is expected to bring the roughly USD$70 billion bipartisan tax dealnegotiated by Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-MO) and Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) to the floor for a vote this week. The bill would revive three popular business tax breaks in return for enhanced child tax credits and low-income housing tax credits.

• Johnson said yesterday: “There’s a lot of great policy in there. It’s not a perfect bill. We’re not going to get a perfect bill when we have divided government as we do.”
• Due to an ongoing conservative Republican blockage of legislation seen as increasing spending, Johnson will bring the bill to floor under suspension of rules, meaning the bill must pass with Democrat support.
• Although the bill is seen as broadly beneficial to both parties, Johnson is wary of opposition from blue-state Republicans over the absence of State and Local Tax (SALT) relief. Without strong support from the center of his conference Johnson is likely to face more criticism from conservatives, a trend which sees an intensification of bellicose rhetoric during the passage of bipartisan legislation in the House.
• Punchbowl News notes: “The SALT push could be a headache for leadership. On the tax bill itself though, Republicans seem to have confidence they’ll be able to push it through. Democrats are expected to put up a strong number in favor of the package.”