The House voted Monday to appoint lawmakers to a conference with the Senate on how to combine tax reform legislation authored by Republicans in each chamber, the latest step in the GOP plan to get a final bill to President Trump’s desk by Christmas.
The vote was narrower than some expected at the start, and the vote was held open for more than 30 minutes as a few dozen Republicans held back their vote amid signs that some in the GOP caucus were skittish about moving the bill along.
But in the end, several Republicans swung back to “yes,” and the motion to meet with the Senate passed, 222-192.
Rep. Mark Meadows, Chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, R-N.C., said his group of about three-dozen conservatives refused to back the conference committee vote at first because they were seeking changes to how the House will handle a vote on a short-term spending bill.
The House and Senate had been planning a two-week spending extension but conservatives want the spending bill to last another week, until Dec. 30.
“We had a long conversation about the short-term spending bill,” Meadows said. “We would like to have [it] come due by the end of the year as opposed to before Christmas.”
HFC members want the extra week to figure out a spending bill for the rest of the fiscal year, and worry that rushing that bill will leave in too many Democratic priorities.
Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn., said Freedom Caucus members believe the spending bills become “loaded up with a lot of liberal spending” and are “much more Democratic” when they are negotiated before Christmas.
Meadows said GOP leaders are now considering the December 30 date.
Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., refused to change is vote even though House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, R-N.C., “negotiated some concessions.”
“I think we really need to see what they are doing with the spending bills before we move forward,” Amash said.
Just before the vote, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced that Republican senators will begin meeting with House lawmakers this week.
“We are looking forward to getting a final bill to the president’s desk soon,” McConnell said.
There are some significant differences between the House and Senate versions.
The Senate bill includes a provision that would repeal the Obamacare mandate by ending the fine imposed on those who do not purchase health insurance. Senate Republicans also reintroduced the Alternative Minimum Tax into their legislation after it had been eliminated in both the House and initial Senate plans.
