Frequently chased away from his local offices by protestors, Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio could prove to be a impediment to the controversial GOP tax bill from passing. The former GOP presidential candidate told his congressional colleagues on Thursday that he won’t vote for the bill unless it expands the child tax credit he and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) have been championing in the Senate.
“I understand that this is a process of give and take, especially when there’s only a couple of us fighting for it, the leverage is lessened,” Rubio (R-Fla.) said Thursday in the Senate. “But given all the other changes made in the tax code leading into it, I can’t in good conscience support it unless we are able to increase [the child tax credit], and there’s ways to do it and we’ll be very reasonable about it.”
During the initial Senate vote, Rubio and Lee added an amendment to the bill that included the child tax credit, which is aimed at middle-class families, in exchange for a slightly higher corporate tax rate. However, the tax credit was voted down by their Republican colleagues. Rubio is the first of the pair to voice his disappointment with the bill as-is. Lee hasn’t said how he intends to vote.
20.94% Corp. rate to pay for tax cut for working family making $40k was anti-growth but 21% to cut tax for couples making $1million is fine?
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) December 12, 2017
In a tweet from Tuesday, Rubio questioned why the tax bill wouldn’t raise the corporate tax rate for working families, but would do so in order to offer a reduced rate for the nation’s highest earners. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tennessee) is also expected to vote no on the Senate and House’s comprise bill when it reaches the docket, which may come as soon as next week. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump called Rubio “a great guy,” saying he expects his former campaign rival to vote “yes” when the time comes.
(Via Washington Post)