Congressional Conference Committee On Tax Reform Impaneled, Three Members From Our Area
WASHINGTON, D.C. (CBS) -- Three regional members of the U.S. Senate will be part of the conference committee reconciling their version of tax reform with a competing measure that passed in the house.
There are no local members of the House among the 14 members selected by leadership for the 29-member conference committee, with nine Republicans and five Democrats from that side of Capitol Hill.
The Senate has 15 people participating in the talks, eight-to-seven Republican. Locally, that includes Pennsylvania Republican Pat Toomey and two Democrats, Bob Menendez of New Jersey and Tom Carper from Delaware. All three serve on the Senate Finance Committee.
Those talks will not be easy. Not only are there partisan differences over how to cut taxes and who should benefit, but regional issues are also likely to come up.
Among them, the GOP plan to eliminate federal deductions for state and local taxes and limit deductions for real estate levies. Those issues are key in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, where taxes are higher than other parts of the country.