Sen. Portman says he's confident wavering Republicans will "come together" on tax bill
Ohio Senator Rob Portman says both Republicans and Democrats "all want to get to yes" on the Senate's tax bill as Republicans forge ahead on overhauling the nation's tax code.
While there are currently two senators not in support of the bill in its current form, including Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, and Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, Portman remains confident of the bill's passage.
"I think about 90 percent of Republicans who've said they are supportive of it, in fact strongly supportive, and then we've got some folks who are looking at various aspects, but they all want to get to yes, they all want simplification, they all want the pro-growth policies," Portman said on "CBS This Morning" on Tuesday
He added, "In something this complicated, there's going to be differences but I feel confident we'll come together."
While at least seven Republicans, including Sens. Bob Corker, Lisa Murkowski, Jeff Flake, James Lankford, John McCain, Jerry Moran and Susan Collins, have voiced some concerns with the bill's current form, Portman says "overwhelmingly, Republicans and a lot of Democrats, by the way, are very supportive of the middle class tax cuts, the simplification and just the general focus here which is how to get more jobs and increase wages."
Portman's comments come as President Trump is set to arrive for his eighth visit to Capitol Hill to push any wavering Senate Republicans to vote yes, in an effort to secure what would be a major win for the administration's packed agenda.
Mr. Trump has repeated that he is aiming to get the overhaul finished by the end of the year ahead of the holiday season.
While debate remains over whether the plan will provide a guaranteed tax cut for all middle class families, Portman says it will be a "big deal" for families living paycheck to paycheck.
"It's progressive in the sense if you are a family of four, two kids making $50,000 a year, you get a 36 percent tax cut on average, if you're making $85,000, you get a 20 percent tax cut," said Portman.
He added, "the benefit is really focused on middle class and those who are in this range of 30-70,000 bucks."
Senators are hoping to vote on their plan sometime this week. If successful, the House and Senate will then move to conference and hash out any remaining differences between the two plans before handing off a final version to the president.
