Mitch McConnell expects Senate tax plan to resemble House version

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday he expects the Senate tax bill to look very similar to the House’s plan.

“First the Senate Finance Committee will be doing the same thing,” Mr. McConnell, Kentucky Republican, said on Fox News. “They’re going to develop their own proposal. But they’re doing it in coordination with the House. We expect the bills to look similar.”

He said that Democrats’ characterization of the bill is “almost entirely inaccurate” and that the final bill will focus on economic growth. 

“It reduces taxes for the middle class — also reduces business classes,” Mr. McConnell said. “But there’s a reason for that. It’s to prevent our jobs from being exported to other countries. That’s the core of the bill.”

He said that the past two quarters have seen healthy amounts of growth, a trend he says will continue with the final Republican plan. House Republicans passed their plan on Thursday and now the Senate will move ahead on their version to try and keep to the Thanksgiving deadline. It is possible tax reform will be delayed to the end of the year, but Republicans have said they are determined to complete this work by the end of 2017.