Speaker looks to get tax bill back on track

WASHINGTON Republicans looking to get their massive tax cut and margin assurance package back on track held a rare Sunday night committee meeting after that same panel voted against advancing the measure two days earlier Deficit hawks joined with Democratic lawmakers on the House Budget Committee in voting against reporting the measure to the full House Five Republicans voted no one on procedural grounds the other four voicing concerns about the bill s impact on federal budget deficits Johnson expressed confidence the bill will advance out of the committee and be on the House floor by the end of the week This is the conveyance through which we will deliver on the mandate that the American people gave us in the last balloting he noted in a Fox News interview that aired Sunday The Republicans who criticized the measure noted that the bill s new spending and the tax cuts are front-loaded in the bill while the measures to offset the cost are back-loaded For example they are looking to speed up the new work requirements that Republicans want to enact for able-bodied participants in Medicaid Those requirements would not kick in until under the current bill We are writing checks we cannot cash and our children are going to pay the price revealed Rep Chip Roy R-Texas a member of the committee Something requirements to change or you re not going to get my help Johnson announced the start date for the work requirements was designed to give states time to retool their systems and to make sure that all the new laws and all the new safeguards that we re placing can in fact be enforced Roy was joined in voting no by Reps Ralph Norman of South Carolina Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma and Rep Andrew Clyde of Georgia Rep Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania switched his vote to no in a procedural step so it could be reconsidered later saying after the hearing he was confident Republicans would get this done Johnson explained talks to deal with their concerns were continuing Sunday