Sen. Thad Cochran still out sick with UTI, threatening key tax-related vote this week

[Swordsmyth]

Mississippi Republican Sen. Thad Cochran remains ill and won't return to his Senate duties Monday as was expected, his office announced. The 79-year-old's absence raises doubts about the ability of GOP leaders to pass a key budget resolution -- a vote is planned later this week -- that is needed to advance tax reform, a top legislative priority for Republicans and President Donald Trump.
"Mrs. Cochran informed me late Saturday night that Senator Cochran has developed another urinary tract infection," said the statement from Cochran's chief of staff Brad White. "After a day of monitoring his condition, and on the advice of his physicians and other health care professionals, Senator Cochran has postponed his return to Washington. He will continue his recuperation at home in Mississippi."
White did not say if Cochran might be back in time for the vote, which, while not formally scheduled, is expected to take place late Thursday night or very early Friday morning, but the senator already has been out for several weeks.
Asked if the vote might be postponed to give Cochran time to recover, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell spokesman Don Stewart said he did not have any scheduling announcements to make.

More at: http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/16/politi...ppi/index.html

[Zippyjuan]

http://thehill.com/opinion/finance/3...or-against-tax

With Cochran out, the Senate Republicans can only have one member of their party vote against any budget resolution. And if they can't pass a budget resolution (agreed to by the House) they will be unable to use reconciliation to try to pass any tax reform.

If they don't pass a budget resolution, they can't use reconciliation rules to try to pass a tax bill with only a simple majority of votes. To use reconciliation, the bill must include rules for that reconciliation. According to law, they were supposed to have passed a budget back in April. The 2018 fiscal year has already started (October 1st). The House has already passed their version. House and Senate must pass the exact same bill but they have different spending priorities. If the Senate changes anything at all, the House must vote again to approve any of the Senate changes. If the House changes anything, it goes back to the Senate.

A vote on this week's budget resolution will be a vote for or against tax reform

When senators vote later this week on this year's budget resolution, they are voting to support or oppose tax reform.

While in years past the budget has been largely a visionary document, in 2017, the budget is the vehicle for tax reform. Support for this budget equals support for tax reform, while opposition means opposition to tax reform.

Passage of the resolution will allow a tax cut of $1.5 trillion over the next decade, giving families and businesses the tax reduction they need. It will also unlock tax reform that leads to drastic simplification and strong economic growth resulting in new or better jobs and higher wages.

Failure to pass the budget will mean tax reform stalls and perhaps, the best opportunity to pass comprehensive tax reform in 30 years will be missed.

To get tax reform, Congress must use budget reconciliation, which avoids a Senate filibuster as almost every Senate Democrat has already ruled out supporting Trump’s tax reform plan.

At the start of the year, Republican lawmakers promised they would achieve two core conservative issues — repeal of ObamaCare and passage of pro-growth tax reform.

More than nine months into the year, neither goal has been achieved leaving Republicans with few victories to point to. Ahead of 2018, Republican lawmakers still have an opportunity for a win by passing tax reform.

While detailed legislation still needs to be developed by the committees of jurisdiction, senators have an opportunity next week to show they are serious when they say they support tax reform by voting for the FY 18 budget resolution.

A vote for the budget resolution should be considered a vote for the many reforms proposed in the tax framework.

However, without a budget resolution, none of the reforms in this framework can become law.

Support for tax reform is unanimous amongst Republicans, and by passing a budget resolution that unlocks tax reform, Republican senators can prove their commitment to tax reform.

[Swordsmyth]

Senior GOP senator, evidently disoriented, says he isn't retiring

In good news for Republicans, Cochran is back in Washington to vote for a budget resolution that will pave the way for a GOP-only tax reform bill. The bad news, as Politico recounts, is that Cochran, who turns 80 in December, "appeared frail and at times disoriented during a brief hallway interview on Wednesday." Cochran told reporters that he did not plan to retire from the Senate, where he has served since 1979, but "when queried about whether he would stay on as Appropriations chairman, Cochran seemed confused and just repeated the question," Politico said. When another reporter asked if GOP leaders had pressured him to return to Washington for the vote, he smiled and said, "It's a beautiful day outside." After being guided through a security checkpoint, Cochran started to walk into the wrong room, until a staffer led him up to the Senate chamber on the second floor. And inside the chamber, he voted yes for an amendment, despite his staff telling him to vote no, eventually changing his vote.

More at: http://theweek.com/speedreads/731802...-isnt-retiring

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