Mixed Messages On Tax Bill’s Individual Mandate Repeal

Nov. 20--WASHINGTON -- Trump administration officials gave mixed messages about a key provision of the Senate GOP tax bill yesterday as Republicans make a final push to score a legislative victory before the end of the year.

The bill, which Republicans say will cut corporate and individual taxes for most Americans, will be the top priority of Senate Republicans when they return from this week's Thanksgiving break.

But the measure, which differs from the version passed by the House last week, faces a number of roadblocks aside from unified opposition from the Democratic caucus.

A number of Republicans have expressed concerns about the Senate version of the bill, which repeals the Obamacare individual mandate, citing a Congressional Budget Office projection that would cut the deficit by $338 billion, but increase the number of uninsured Americans by 4 million in 2019 and 13 million by 2027.

Yesterday Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said the White House was open to dropping the repeal.

"I don't think anybody doubts where the president is on repeal and replace. The White House would love to see Obamacare taken apart all at once, bit by bit, however we can do it," Mulvaney said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" yesterday.

But, he said: "What we're interested in is the best tax bill that can pass."

"If a good tax bill can pass with that Obamacare mandate repeal as part of it, great," Mulvaney said.

"If it needs to come out in order for that good tax bill to pass, we can live with that as well."

But Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin yesterday described the White House's support for the individual mandate repeal as unequivocal.

"This isn't a bargaining chip," Mnuchin said on "Fox News Sunday."

"The president thinks we should get rid of it," Mnuchin said.

"I think we should get rid of it. It's an unfair tax on poor people, to think that you put a penalty on people who can't afford to buy medical policies is just fundamentally unfair."

Asked if the White House "could live with" the bill passing without the mandate repeal, Mnuchin said: "I think right now our objective is to keep it in."

Meanwhile, congressional Republicans and President Trump are facing the prospect of pushing to pass legislation that is unpopular.

While support for middle-class tax cuts is broad, only 16 percent of American voters believe that the Republican tax plan will reduce their taxes, according to a Quinnipiac poll.

But 61 percent of respondents said they believe the plan will mainly benefit wealthier Americans, and 52 percent disapprove of the plan.

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