Home WebMail Friday, November 1, 2024, 10:29 AM | Calgary | -5.1°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
Posted: 2017-12-19T19:29:26Z | Updated: 2018-01-22T15:46:55Z

WASHINGTON After years of false starts and failed promises including another one Tuesday when House Republicans passed a tax bill with provisions that were struck down by the Senate parliamentarian House Republicans once again passed the final version of the GOP tax bill Wednesday, sending the bill to President Donald Trumps desk.

Even though House Republicans had already passed a nearly identical form of this bill, and had already congratulated themselves in a series of speeches Tuesday, the House voted again Wednesday, 224-201, to pass the tax bill, this time with the stricken provisions omitted.

The Senate passed this version of the bill on a party-line, 51-48 vote early Wednesday morning.

House Republicans had passed what they thought would be the final tax proposal on Tuesday, 227-203, with 12 Republicans voting no. The bill passed Wednesday with the same 12 Republicans voting no, but with three absences on the GOP side and four absences on the Democratic side.

It was a small gaffe that led House lawmakers to need to vote again, but one typical of this process. Republicans rushed a bill to the floor and ended up embarrassing themselves.

Still, the hiccup was just a formality. Even though the Senate parliamentarian struck down college savings provisions benefiting home-schooled children a provision important to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) the bill still flew through the Senate late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning and had no trouble on Wednesday in the House.

The bill is, without a doubt, Trump and the GOP Congresss most significant legislative achievement since Republicans gained control of the House, Senate and White House.

But the win may end up costing Republicans. This bill is far from the congressional victory Republicans had sought to run on during next years midterm elections: Its deeply unpopular, with approval ratings that were already significantly under water and grew worse over the past few weeks as the legislation neared final passage.

A CNN poll in November showed 31 percent of voters viewing the tax bill favorably, with 45 percent opposing it. A poll conducted in the past week showed 33 percent supporting the bill, but 55 percent now against it.