In Ames, King touts tax bill passage

Nov. 21--Republican Congressman Steve King was bullish on the chances of the U.S. Senate passing its tax reform bill when he spoke at the Ames Chamber of Commerce on Monday.

King, who represents Iowa's 4th District (which includes Story and Boone counties), was one of the 227 Republicans who voted yes on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on Thursday. The House of Representatives bill would drop the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent, reduce the number of tax brackets from seven to four, and nix most of the itemized deductions, except for three: the deduction for mortgage interest, property taxes up to $10,000 per year and charitable donations.

Standing in front of an audience of 35 people at the chamber of commerce, King said the House's passage made him feel "lifted up and buoyant."

For the immediate future, though, the fate of tax reform lies in the hands of the Senate, where Republicans have a much smaller majority (two votes) than in the House. The Senate bill is also different and would, for instance, delay enacting the corporate tax cut and repeal the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate -- the fee people pay when they can afford to buy health insurance but decide not to.

Even though Republicans in the Senate failed on multiple occasions this year to pass legislation that would repeal the Affordable Care Act, King is confident the Senate can follow the House's lead on tax reform, which was another campaign promise along with the Obamacare repeal.

"They just know they have to," King said. "They have to find a way to get this done."

He estimated there's a "75 percent or better probability" the Senate will pass a bill after the Thanksgiving recess. But meeting with the media after speaking with chamber members, he said that after "skinny" Obamacare repeal bill failed, he said he lost some of his ability to predict the Senate's actions.

But he was still optimistic, saying that all 52 Republican votes would be "in play." He said he didn't think an impasse would arise over one single issue, whether it's the Obamacare individual mandate or concerns the tax bill could add millions to the federal deficit.

"I think it's a matter of two or three or five or six people getting what they want or compromising on what they want, and I think the White House is working on that right now," he said.

The Senate's tax bill passed the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday on a party-line vote. Just like in the House, no Democrats are expected to vote for the bill. King said he expected that House Republicans would also vote yes on a tax reform conference report if the Senate bill passes.

Part of King's visit on Monday was also spent selling those in attendance on the bill. He was most excited about the potential corporate tax relief, saying that with less of a tax burden, some companies might elect to stay in the United States rather than move overseas. Some companies could also elect to return to the United States and bring jobs with them, he said. Keeping companies and jobs in the country has also been a focus of President Donald Trump.

Along with larger businesses, the rich will benefit from the bill in its present form, too. The estate tax, which is applied when assets more than $5.5 million are passed down to heirs, will expire in 2024. Per the Washington Post, the Joint Committee on Taxation, which is nonpartisan, said that 92 percent of Americans would pay less or the same in federal taxes for the next five years. Forty percent of American citizens would still be paying less in 2023, but 22 percent would pay more.

The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the bill will cost a little more than $1.4 trillion.

Asking King a question about the cumulative effect of Congressional actions on vulnerable populations, Story County Supervisor Lauris Olson, a Democrat, said that the House bill will remove the medical expense deduction, which will affect families who use the rebate to help pay for the care of their elderly and children with special needs.

King said the bill writers decided to offer a higher standard deduction to be able to eliminate several of the individuals deductions, like the one for medical expenses. He said he tried to add amendments to the bill, but they were rejected. But in the end, he said, he wanted to "see the economy grow." If everything works out and more people are paying taxes, then Congress could look at addressing some of the issues Olson is concerned about (cuts in food assistance and housing programs.)

Passing tax reform would constitute a major victory for a Republican-controlled Congress that's struggled, particularly while trying to repeal Obamacare, to pass major legislation. King said a victory on tax reform could build momentum for another swing at repealing the landmark healthcare law.

If Congress can pass both those measures, it might prevent the "Democratic wave" some election analysts are predicting in the 2018 midterm election, he said. (As for King, four Democrats are in the early stages of their campaigns to unseat him.)

"If those two things get done, I think there's momentum for the Republican Party in current majorities to move through the midterms," he said. "And if we fail on one of two or those, then I think it's going to be really rough."

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