Schumer Says Tax Bill Needs Enough Backing to Call Floor Vote

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday that he’d put the bipartisan tax package on the Senate floor if it has enough votes to become law—while GOP Senators continued to demand changes.

“Look I’m all for the package, if there are enough votes to move it forward in the right way, yeah, we’ll try to get it on the floor,” Schumer said, adding that “the sponsors are trying to see if there are enough votes.”

The $78 billion tax package passed the House in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote earlier this year but has been stuck in the Senate due to GOP members pushing for changes to the child tax credit provision. Some Republican support is needed to pass, as there needs to be 60 votes to clear a procedural hurdle.

Republican lawmakers Tuesday continued to defer to Senate Finance ranking member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), who’s led the GOP resistance to the bill, which includes tax breaks for business and an expanded child tax credit. Crapo said Tuesday that the child tax credit measure, mainly the provision allowing taxpayers with no income in a given year to meet the eligibility requirement, has to be modified to get Republican support, though he wouldn’t predict how many GOP lawmakers might support the overall legislation.

“There’s a multiplicity of issues, and until we get, at least, engagement, on the issues, then I can’t make any kind of predictions,” Crapo told reporters Tuesday.

Crapo on Monday told Bloomberg Tax that there weren’t any talks on the tax legislation over recess. Last month, Crapo and Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) had traded offers on changes to the child tax credit provision, but both sides said each other’s offers were unworkable.

Wyden said Tuesday that he’s continuing to make the case for the bill. He added that the Senate GOP offer to change “would not get a single Democratic vote.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said Republicans will follow Crapo’s lead.

“Crapo is negotiating for Republicans,” Grassley said, “and unless there’s some changes made to the child tax credit, to make sure people have income, we’re going to rely on Crapo’s leadership.”

Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who’s been supportive of the bill, also doubted that there’s currently enough Republican support for passage. Senate Republicans want their needs incorporated into the bill, Daines told reporters Tuesday.

“I don’t think there’d be enough votes,” Daines said.