While members of the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees are gearing up to craft tax reform legislation based on the GOP unified tax reform framework released Wednesday, lawmakers must first pass a budget.
"In the most immediate term, it's passing a budget that provides our runway to land tax reform," said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, on Thursday at The Heritage Foundation in Washington.
Tax reform "work cannot begin seriously without a budget," Brady said, adding that Ways and Means "will continue to listen as tax reform moves through regular order, taking feedback from the American people and from our fellow Republicans in Congress," along with "participation and partnership of Democrat colleagues."
Greg Valliere, chief global strategist for Horizon Investments, noted in his Thursday commentary that the outline released Wednesday is not "definitive," rather, it "simply begins negotiations on several key provisions that may be altered in coming months."
The big news for the markets: "Tax cuts are very much alive and should clear several key hurdles this fall," Valliere said.
What to watch? First, progress on procedural hurdles, Valliere said, "starting with a budget resolution, then hearings on the tax bill in the Ways and Means Committee, and markup of a bill that could get to the House floor by Thanksgiving."
The House will vote on a 2018 budget resolution next week, House Budget Committee Chairman Diane Black, R-Tenn., said Thursday, as reported by The Hill.
