House to take up tax bill Thursday
The House will take up the GOP's tax bill on Thursday, as Republicans scramble to meet a deadline from Republican Party leaders to vote on the legislation ahead of Thanksgiving.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-California, announced the timing of the vote for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, before the House leaves for a week break during Thanksgiving. House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have said they want to see votes ahead of Thanksgiving, and President Trump has said he wants to sign the bill by Christmas.
The plan would double the standard deduction from $6,350 to $12,000 for individuals and $12,700 to $24,000 for married couples, but would eliminate a number of deductions used by the middle class. The plan repeals the deduction for state and local taxes, and because of that, a number of Republicans in higher-tax states like New Jersey and California have come out against the bill. The House bill does increase the child tax credit, from $1,000 to $1,600 per child.
But Ryan would not rule out changes to the bill ahead of Thursday's vote.
"We're pushing this bill as we have it," Ryan told reporters in a press conference Tuesday. "There's ongoing conversations. It's a work in progress.*
Ryan has said the average family of four will save $1,182 with the GOP plan, but critics have pointed out that some families will almost certainly see a tax increase. McConnell had to revise a claim he had made that no middle-class families would see a tax increase with the Senate plan, saying he "misspoke."
The House plan would add $1.7 trillion to the debt over the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office projects, another sticking point for the most conservative members.
Last week, Ryan said House and Senate Republicans will reconcile the differences between their two plans in committee.
"We're going to conference," Ryan told reporters at a press conference on Capitol Hill.
"We're doing this the right way," he added. "We're doing this regular order."
CBS News' Rebecca Shabad contributed to this report.