Senate Moves to Begin Debate on Tax Reform Legislation

The Senate agreed to move forward on tax reform debate Wednesday, the last procedural hurdle to passing the Republican tax reform legislation.

The motion to proceed passed 52-48, along partisan lines.

Reluctant Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Bob Corker (R-TN), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) all voted for the tax reform bill, known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, despite their reservations about the bill.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday, “I encourage any member who thinks that we need to fix the problems of our outdated tax code to vote to proceed to the legislation. I urge them to vote for the motion to proceed and offer their amendments. … The bottom line is this: we must vote to begin debate.”

Now that the Senate approved the motion to proceed, the upper chamber of Congress will debate the legislation for roughly 20 hours. Pundits expect the Senate to vote on the bill as early as Thursday.

President Donald Trump said that passing the tax reform bill would ensure a “Merry Christmas” for the country.

Trump argued, “This week’s vote can be the beginning of the next great chapter for the American worker.”