House Passes $78 Billion Tax Bill

Speaker Johnson (R-LA) has made yet another controversial move with the gavel in hand.

This time, it was his backing of the $78 billion tax bill that worked its way through the House on Wednesday, passing with a 357-70 vote.

The bill will increase the child tax credit as well as reinstate certain business tax deductions that were removed when Trump was in office.

Help or Hurt

The bipartisan legislation was penned by House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-MO) and Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR).

On the new legislation, Smith stated, “The numbers speak for itself, it shows that when you’re trying to deliver for the American people, people will join together and that’s what we saw today.”

Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has already expressed his support for the bill, so we should expect this to move through the Senate fairly quickly, and eventually to Joe Biden’s desk for a signature.

Even though the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of the legislation, hardliners in the GOP were not happy with the bill.

Most notably, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) stated, “Unfortunately, as happens in this town, this legislation comes with provisions that, frankly, the people I represent are tired of.

“And it’s provisions that would continue to expand the welfare state, as ‘The Wall Street Journal’ editorialized about, by expanding the child tax credit in ways that will continue to fund people directly through refundable credits which we find to be problematic, and we think undermines the kind of economic activity and incentive to work and incentive to, you know, produce value that we think is critically important for economic growth.”

Speaker Johnson disagreed, stating, "The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act is important bipartisan legislation to revive conservative pro-growth tax reform.

"Crucially, the bill also ends a wasteful COVID-era program, saving taxpayers tens of billions of dollars.

"Chairman Smith deserves great credit for bringing this bipartisan bill through committee with a strong vote of confidence, and for marking up related bills under regular order earlier in this Congress. This bottom-up process is a good example of how Congress is supposed to make law."

I feel fairly confident in saying that if the GOP manages to hold the House in 2024, and that is no gimme, Johnson will not be the Speaker in the next term.

I just don’t see any way the Freedom Caucus backs him after the legislation he has passed and the promises he has already broken.