Sen. Tim Scott says he's "confident" tax plan will pass by Thanksgiving
Republican Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina told "CBS This Morning" Thursday that he's "confident" the GOP's long-awaited plan for tax reform will pass by the Thanksgiving holiday as he says Republicans have taken a cue from their missteps during the previous health care debate.
"What we've learned through our previous failures is how to get it right, the reality of it is the House the Senate and the White House, we've been talking for months about tax reform, we were not all on the same page during health care debate, we are all on the same page as it relates to tax reform," Scott told CBS on Thursday.
The senator said now lawmakers are working out the "unique nuances" between both the House and Senate's plans.
"There's a number of itemized deductions that people will see as 'sacred cows' so we're going to have to go through the process of understanding and appreciating the impact that will have on our ability to lower taxes for the average hardworking person in the middle class," said Scott.
He added, "The good news is we're looking at getting this done by Thanksgiving so folks will have a great opportunity to understand what it is we're doing for them by the time we get to the holidays."
Specifically, Scott said he was a "huge fan" of preserving the retirement incentives for Americans in the current tax bill.
"We need to make sure we continue to encourage retirement savings so that fewer people are challenged while they're in their, as I used to call it, the third half of their life," he said.
President Trump has previously vowed there will be "NO change to your 401(k)" and praised the current limits in recent tweets.
There will be NO change to your 401(k). This has always been a great and popular middle class tax break that works, and it stays!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 23, 2017
While Republicans are forging ahead on their plans to overhaul the nation's tax code, party infighting, particularly between members of Congress and Mr. Trump, have seemingly overshadowed the party's efforts.
But Scott says that "hopefully there's nothing to threaten the passage of the bill", calling the recent condemnations from Sens. Bob Corker of Tennessee and Jeff Flake of Arizona "healthy debate."
"We're not a homogeneous group of folks who all think exactly the same, which is good news for the American people," he said. "The tent is big enough for a lot of diverse opinions, at the same time, the focus of the Republican party is not on the party its on the American people."
When pressed further on the tensions brewing among Republicans, he added, "We have sometimes strong differences on how we believe we bridge the gap to make sure that the average person has a better future than they had a good past, so for us to get there, there's going to be some disagreement, I think that's actually healthy for the party and healthy for the country, as long as we remember we're one country."