GOP chairman envisions tax reform 2.0 as a package of bills

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) on Tuesday said that he sees a second round of tax cuts taking the form of more than one bill.

“I don’t see it as one bill,” Brady said at an event hosted by The Washington Post. “I see it as a package of two, three or four approaches with permanency being one of them.”

The White House and House Republicans have been discussing pursuing a second phase of tax cuts, with a focus on permanently extending tax cuts for individuals that would expire after 2025 under the tax law President Trump signed last year.

{mosads}

Brady has also said he wants to bolster incentives to save for retirement and education as part of a second tax package.

“We think the timing is right to help families save more and earlier in their life,” he said.

Brady said that Ways and Means Republicans plan to start circulating a draft of a second tax package among their colleagues following the July 4th recess and release the “legislative outline” in early August. He said he expects votes to be held in the fall.

While House Republicans plan to act on a second tax package, it’s unclear whether the Senate will also do so.

A second tax cut package would need 60 votes in the Senate to pass, which means that at least nine Senate Democrats would have to back it. And some Senate Republicans have expressed concerns about additional tax cuts adding to the debt.

Brady said that he thinks the House’s job is to develop the best package to send to the Senate, and he’s confident that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Republicans “will choose those areas they have the most interest in.”