The House on Thursday passed a sweeping Republican tax bill cutting taxes for corporations and many people, putting GOP leaders closer to delivering to President Donald Trump a crucial legislative achievement after nearly a year of failures.
The House voted 227-205 along party lines to approve the bill, which would bring the biggest revamp of the U.S. tax system in three decades. U.S. Reps. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, and Darin LaHood, R-Peoria, both voted for the bill.
Most of the House bill's reductions would go to business. Both the Senate and House would slash the 35 percent corporate tax rate to 20 percent and reduce levies on millions of partnerships and certain corporations, including many small businesses.
Speaking recently on GLT's Sound Ideas, Davis said lowering the corporate tax rate was important:
Personal income tax rates for many would be reduced through some deductions, and credits would be reduced or eliminated. But projected federal deficits would grow by $1.5 trillion over the coming decade.
Davis has long supported the House GOP’s tax overhaul. He did raise concerns over the initial bill’s potential impact on tuition waivers for higher education. The Senate’s tax reform bill preserves the qualified tuition waiver, but the House bill currently does not, Davis said. In a statement Wednesday, Davis said he’s been told by Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, that Brady will work to find a compromise with the Senate when the two bills go to conference.
Davis issued a statement Thursday praising the bill:
“Today is not about politics or the legacy of Republicans and Democrats. It’s about middle-class Americans who have not seen a tax break in more than 30 years, small businesses who continue to be taxed at a much higher rate than large businesses, and it’s about bringing back jobs and investments by corporations who have left this country because we have the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world. "H.R. 1 is a pro-middle class, pro-small business and pro-America bill that is necessary to ensure the kind of economic growth our country has not seen in years. However, this is just the first step. It’s imperative that our Senate colleagues pass a bill, get to conference to iron out the differences and send a bill to the president’s desk so when people get their paychecks next year, they will see more of their hard-earned money going into the bank and less of it going to Washington. The stakes are high because this is our chance to change the lives of working Americans for the better.”
“Our economy is strongest when the middle class can keep more of their money in their pockets. Today, we're one step closer to bringing them the #TaxReform and relief they need,” LaHood said on Twitter.
Our economy is strongest when the middle class can keep more of their money in their pockets. Today, we're one step closer to bringing them the #TaxReform and relief they need. pic.twitter.com/sWd5UDU4LO
— Darin LaHood (@RepLaHood) November 16, 2017
On Thursday, the Democrats who are vying to challenge Davis in the 13th Congressional District next year were quick to attack his vote on the tax bill.
“Congressman Davis & House GOP just showed us a very clear picture of their priorities - to reward the wealthy and corporations and leave the rest of working families with peanuts or worse, a tax hike,” said Democrat Betsy Dirksen Londrigan of Springfield on Twitter.
Congressman Davis & House GOP just showed us a very clear picture of their priorities - to reward the wealthy and corporations and leave the rest of working families with peanuts or worse, a tax hike. #GOPTaxScam
— Betsy Dirksen Londrigan (@BetsyforIL) November 16, 2017
"Rodney Davis voted in support of a huge giveaway to corporations and the wealthiest at the expense of the rest of us. It will lead to tax increases for middle class families, and it is going to add $1.5 trillion to our debt. I am shocked that a rep. for #IL13 would support it," said Erik Jones, a former assistant Illinois attorney general from Edwardsville.
Rodney Davis voted in support of a huge giveaway to corporations and the wealthiest at the expense of the rest of us. It will lead to tax increases for middle class families, and it is going to add $1.5 trillion to our debt. I am shocked that a rep. for #IL13 would support it.
— Erik Jones (@ErikJones4IL) November 17, 2017
“Republicans and Rodney Davis showed their true allegiance today, passing the most one-sided tax "reform" package in American history. The biggest winners? Trump and the top .1%. Who pays the bill? Is there ever any question?” said Jonathan Ebel, a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Republicans and Rodney Davis showed their true allegiance today, passing the most one-sided tax "reform" package in American history. The biggest winners? Trump and the top .1%. Who pays the bill? Is there ever any question?
— Jonathan Ebel (@jonathan_ebel) November 16, 2017
“@RodneyDavis just voted to raise taxes on the middle class to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Shame on him. Voters will remember this next November,” said Democrat David Gill, a Bloomington doctor.
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