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The Senate rejected a bill on Thursday that aimed to restore lapsed tax breaks for businesses and expand the child tax credit. Many Republicans opposed the bipartisan deal, hoping to gain an advantage in more comprehensive tax legislation expected next year.
U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., was among the GOP senators who voted against the measure. “I support several provisions in the tax package, including restoring full expensing of the research and development tax credit and the goal of supporting children and their families,” Britt said in a press statement. “However, I cannot support ramming through a bill that would have serious unintended consequences.”
The roughly $80 billion bill had previously soared through the House with rare broad bipartisan support. Despite its earlier success, Senate Republican opposition doomed the bill’s passage months ago, according to widely reported news accounts. Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, brought it up for a procedural vote on Thursday. The vote failed 48 to 44, falling short of the 60 votes needed to advance.
Sen. Britt criticized Sen. Schumer for bypassing the traditional committee process to force a procedural vote on the tax package without allowing for a committee hearing or debate. The press statement also noted that Schumer did not provide assurances of an open amendment process on the Senate floor. Both opportunities would have allowed senators to negotiate through regular order, consider, and vote on changes to correct the critical flaws in the bill, according to her office’s press release. Additionally, Schumer scheduled this bill as the last vote before sending the Senate home for five weeks, indicating he had no intention of starting bipartisan negotiations, according to the release.
In her press statement, Britt expressed support for the Child Tax Credit and its benefits for America’s working families but opposes components of the bill that weaken work requirements. Britt has a history of strong advocacy for families and small businesses in Alabama and said she supports a long-term solution to address the three expiring business tax provisions in the bill.
The rejection of this bill leaves the future of these tax provisions uncertain as both sides prepare for the broader tax reform battle expected in the next legislative session.
