Page 10A
NATION
East Oregonian
Saturday, December 16, 2017
Huge tax bill heads for passage as GOP senators fall in line
WASHINGTON (AP) — After
weeks of quarrels, qualms and
then eleventh-hour horse-trading,
Republicans revealed the details of
their huge national tax rewrite late
Friday — along with announce-
ments of support that all but guar-
antee approval to give President
Donald Trump the Christmas legis-
lative triumph he’s been aching for.
The legislation would slash tax
rates for big business and lower
levies on the richest Americans
in a massive $1.5 trillion bill that
the GOP plans to muscle through
Congress next week before its
year-end break. Benefits for most
other taxpayers would be smaller.
“This is happening. Tax reform
under Republican control of
Washington is happening,” House
Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin
told rank-and-file members in a
conference call. “Most critics out
there didn’t think it could happen.
... And now we’re on the doorstep
of something truly historic.”
According to the 1,097-page
bill released late Friday, today’s 35
percent rate on corporations would
fall to 21 percent, the crown jewel of
the measure for many Republicans.
Winds temporarily
calm on lines of
huge California
wildfire
SANTA BARBARA,
Calif. (AP) — Calming
winds Friday gave
firefighters a chance to
gain ground against a huge
wildfire in coastal mountains
northwest of Los Angeles
but forecasters warned that
conditions would remain dry
and warm and the respite
from gusts would only be
temporary.
Red Flag warnings for
the critical combination of
low humidity and strong
winds expired for a swath
of Southern California at
midmorning but a new
warning was scheduled to
go into effect Saturday in the
fire area due to the predicted
return of winds.
The so-called Thomas
Fire, the fourth-largest in
California history, was 35
percent contained after
sweeping across more than
394 square miles of Ventura
and Santa Barbara counties
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Tex-
as, is pursued by reporters in the Capitol after signing the confer-
ence committee report to advance the GOP tax bill on Friday.
Trump and GOP leaders had set
20 percent as their goal, but added
a point to free money for other
tax cuts that won over wavering
lawmakers in final talks.
The legislation represents the
first major legislative achievement
for the GOP after nearly a full
year in control of Congress and
since it erupted Dec. 4 a
few miles from Thomas
Aquinas College.
One focus of firefighting
was on the eastern
flank in canyons where
a state firefighter was
killed Thursday near
the agricultural town of
Fillmore.
The death of Cory
Iverson, 32, was announced
by Chief Ken Pimlott of
the California Department
of Forestry and Fire
Protection but he released
no information about the
circumstances, citing an
ongoing investigation by an
accident review team.
Moore tells
supporters ‘battle
is not over’ in
Senate race
MONTGOMERY,
Ala. (AP) — Alabama
Republican Roy Moore on
Friday told supporters that
the “battle is not over” in
Alabama’s Senate race even
though President Donald
Trump and others have
the White House. It’s the widest-
ranging reshaping of the tax code in
three decades and is expected to add
to the nation’s $20 trillion debt. The
tax cuts are projected to add $1.46
trillion over a decade.
The bill would repeal an
important part of President Barack
Obama’s Affordable Care Act —
the requirement that all Americans
have health insurance or face a
penalty — as the GOP looks to
unravel a law it failed to repeal and
replace this past summer.
Only on Friday did Republicans
cement the needed support for the
overhaul, securing endorsements
from wavering senators.
Marco Rubio of Florida relented
in his high-profile opposition after
negotiators expanded the tax credit
that parents can claim for their
children. He said he would vote for
the measure next week.
Rubio had been holding out for a
bigger child credit for low-income
families. After he got it, he tweeted
that the change was “a solid step
toward broader reforms which are
both Pro-Growth and Pro-Worker.”
Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee,
the only Republican to vote against
the Senate version earlier this month,
made the surprise announcement
that he would back the legislation.
Corker, the chairman of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, has
repeatedly warned that the nation’s
growing debt is the most serious
threat to national security.
“I realize this is a bet on our
BRIEFLY
called on him to concede.
Moore sent a fundraising
email to supporters asking
for contributions to his
“election integrity fund’ so
he could investigate reports
of voter fraud.
“I also wanted to let you
know that this battle is NOT
OVER!” he wrote.
Democrat Doug Jones
on Tuesday defeated Moore
by about 20,000 votes,
or 1.5 percent, according
to unofficial returns. But
Moore has not yet conceded
the heated Alabama race to
fill the seat that previously
belonged to U.S. Attorney
General Jeff Sessions.
Moore told supporters
that the race was “close”
and some military and
provisional ballots had yet
to be counted. Those are
expected to be counted
next week.
Moore said his campaign
is collecting “numerous
reported cases of voter
fraud” to send to the
secretary of state’s office.
Secretary of State
John Merrill has said it is
unlikely that the last-minute
ballots will change the
outcome of the election or
even trigger a recount.
Trump doesn’t
want to talk about
Flynn pardon ‘yet’
WASHINGTON
(AP) — President Donald
Trump won’t say whether
he is considering a pardon
for former National Security
Adviser Michael Flynn, who
country’s enterprising spirit, and
that is a bet I am willing to make,”
Corker said.
The White House said Trump
“looks forward to fulfilling the
promise he made to the American
people to give them a tax cut by the
end of the year.”
The bill embodies a longstanding
Republican philosophy that a
substantial tax break for businesses
will trigger economic growth and
job creation for Americans in a
trickle-down economy.
Skeptical Democrats are likely to
oppose the legislation unanimously.
“Under this bill, the working
class, middle class and upper
middle class get skewered while
the rich and wealthy corporations
make out like bandits,” said Senate
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of
New York. “It is just the opposite of
what America needs, and Republi-
cans will rue the day they pass this.”
The bill would drop today’s 39.6
percent top rate on individuals to 37
percent.
The standard deduction — used
by around two-thirds of households
— would be nearly doubled, to
$24,000 for married couples.
has pleaded guilty to lying to
the FBI.
On Friday, Trump told
reporters, “I don’t want
to talk about pardons for
Michael Flynn yet.” Trump
spoke as he left the White
House for a speech at the
FBI training academy in
Quantico, Va.
Flynn is cooperating
with special counsel
Robert Mueller’s probe
into potential collusion
between Russia and the
2016 Trump campaign.
Trump avoided a
reporter’s question about
when he knew that Flynn
had made false statements to
the FBI about his discussion
of U.S. sanctions with the
Russian ambassador to the
U.S.
After the president’s
comments, White House
lawyer Ty Cobb said, “There
is no consideration at the
White House of any pardon
for Michael Flynn.”
Have
yours-
Elf
a Very
happy
holiday
Designed by Karli Kretschmer,
Age 9, La Grande, OR.
She was the winner of our
annual Holiday Design Contest.
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