Tax reform is already off to a "very good start," but Washington shouldn't just settle for that, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady said Monday.
"Phase two is about building up the success of phase one," the Texas Republican told Fox News' "Fox and Friends." "Here we are just a few months into the new tax code, and already paychecks are rising at the fastest rate in more than a decade. Unemployment claims down the lowest since the 1970s and jobs are coming back to the United States, so it's off to a very good start."
However, lawmakers should just settle for an "excellent start," but should "break the culture in Washington," said Brady.
Tax reform used to be done once every 30 years or so, said Brady, but he and President Donald Trump think Congress and the president should be working every year to make the tax code "more competitive and more innovative and family-friendly."
"One of the things we have talked about now that paychecks are rising, we have got more jobs, so can we do more to help families save for retirement, for healthcare, maybe for college or technical schools for their kids?" said Brady. "Can we do more to help businesses help their employees pay off those student loans? Those sort of improvements that just make us better as a nation every year."
Meanwhile, Democrats want to go back to the time when taxes and spending were going up, said Brady.
"We think it's important to have a vote before November to talk about issues like permanence," said Brady. "We made the family tax cuts long term but not permanent because senate budget rules. We think that would be a good vote to have as well."
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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