House Speaker Mike Johnson and other members of House GOP leadership are pushing the House Ways and Means Committee to vote on its tax legislation next week.
“On schedule, it’ll be next week,” Johnson told reporters Tuesday, when asked when he’d like to see the tax writing committee vote on its portion of the GOP package carrying President Donald Trump’s broad domestic agenda.
The legislation is set to include trillions of dollars in extensions of expiring tax cuts and Trump’s other tax priorities, like proposals to eliminate federal taxation of tips and overtime work.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise agreed with Johnson’s timeline for Ways and Means action, in an interview.
“Seven of the committees are moving this week, but the other four are going to start moving next week,” including the tax panel, he said.
A spokesperson for Ways and Means declined to comment on the House leaders’ remarks.
Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) said Monday that he knows what date the bill markup will be but is not announcing it yet. Many parts of the tax package could depend on progress other panels make on spending cuts.
That’s because the $4.5 trillion allowance for tax cuts in the House budget is contingent on the GOP being able to identify $2 trillion in spending cuts.
“Jason and Chairman Guthrie are going to be talking a lot,” said Scalise, referring to House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-K.y.), who will navigating politically perilous cuts to Medicaid.
Scalise added that the GOP has a “rough idea” of the amount of tax cuts that Smith will be working with.
When asked about the number as he exited the GOP’s weekly conference meeting Tuesday, Smith said: “We know exactly what we’re doing. We’re going to announce it shortly.”
It’s “going to be a pro-growth tax bill that delivers on the president’s priorities from day one of his term in office,” Smith said.
Ways and Means members huddled Tuesday as they continued to review provisions to be included in the bill. They are set to convene again for their lunch Wednesday and another policy discussion Thursday.
