A wild card expected Wednesday could put the Senate GOP tax bill in jeopardy
Senate Republicans are pushing an aggressive timeline to vote on a major overhaul of the U.S. tax code by Friday, but Congress's official tax scorekeeper is racing, too, and that could pose a problem for the GOP.
The nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation plans to release a final estimate of the Senate bill's impact on the debt as early as Wednesday night. And when it does, the deficit hawks who hold the bill's fate in their hands will be watching closely.
“To me the big issue is how are we dealing with debt and deficit? Do we have realistic numbers?” Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said Monday. Lankford is one of at least four senators who have expressed major unease with how much the tax-cut bill will add to the nation's $20 trillion debt.
If the report shows a hefty addition to the debt, a few Republican senators might abandon the bill or demand major changes. Republicans can't afford to lose more than two GOP senators, an extremely thin margin.
Even without the tax bill, the United States' debt is expected to balloon to $31 trillion by 2027 as baby boomers age and the government pays out more for Social Security and Medicare.
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