Democrats who complained that the first phase of tax reform legislation did not include permanent tax cuts will have their chance to make that happen, House Ways and Means chairman Rep. Kevin Brady said Wednesday.
"It is stunning that in six months, half a year, America has gone from asking where are the jobs to where are the workers," the Texas Republican told Fox News' "Fox and Friends."
"Democrats here, they're going to get a chance. They complained bitterly that these cuts weren't permanent, so we're just going to see if that was talk or it's action."
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump met with members of Congress to discuss the next phase of tax cuts, and Brady said the meeting was "incredibly exciting."
"President Trump's tax cuts have really transformed the future of America for the better," said Brady. "Remember, it wasn't that long ago, you know, our economy was sluggish. Paychecks were going nowhere, jobs going overseas. All that has changed."
The question now is whether to lock all that in, said Brady, particularly the tax cuts for middle class families and "Main Street" small businesses.
"The president is all in on doing that, and so the meeting yesterday was to make sure we are in lockstep going forward," said Brady. "We're going to start right now on 2.0 and discussions with the rest of Congress."
The cuts weren't made permanent to begin with because of "goofy budget rules" in Congress, said Brady.
"We made it long-term, eight years. We didn't get a chance to make it permanent."
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, New York, Connecticut, Maryland and New Jersey sued the federal government, seeking to void the new $10,000 cap on the federal deduction for state and local taxes that was part of the 2017 tax overhaul, and Brady said such "gimmicks" will end badly for taxpayers.
"These governors and the state legislatures are getting a windfall," said Brady. "The question is do they pocket it or do they pass it on? We say pass it on."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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