This week (January 9-13)

Congress in: The House and Senate are in session.

The Senate is expected to resume debate on S. Con. Res. 3, the FY 2017 Budget Resolution that establishes a legislative path for the repeal of the ACA through budget reconciliation. Passage of the budget resolution requires only a simple majority, so Republicans will not need any Democratic votes. However, it will likely follow a lengthy series of consecutive roll call votes on amendments offered after debate time has expired, known as a "vote-a-rama." House consideration of the resolution will follow, and is also likely to occur next week.

Ryan CNN town hall: On January 12 (at 9 p.m.), CNN will host a Town Hall meeting with Speaker Ryan regarding the Better Way agenda and Republican strategy for the first 100 days of the Trump administration.

Last week (January 2-6)

Congress opens with focus on ACA: The 115th Congress opened on January 3, and the following day Vice President-elect Pence was at the Capitol to affirm Republican plans to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and outgoing President Obama met with Democrats to discuss defending his signature law. Tax reform remains a top focus, with Pence saying during a news conference with Senate Republican leaders, "We'll be looking for an opportunity before we get to the spring to pass the tax relief that the president-elect advocated for working families, small businesses, family farms, and really get this economy moving again." Procedurally, the ACA repeal process began with an FY 2017 budget resolution with reconciliation instructions clearing an initial hurdle in the Senate. The resolution does not address tax reform — that is likely to be taken up in the forthcoming FY 2018 resolution — but instructs the two Senate and two House committees of jurisdiction over the ACA, including Finance and Ways & Means, to report legislation by January 27 to reduce the deficit by $1 billion. Republican leaders signaled that not all issues related to ACA repeal had been decided, including the fate of taxes such as the net investment income tax. "We're not sure yet," Ways and Means member Pat Tiberi (R-OH) said, as reported in the Washington Post. "There's just not consensus on this."

Ways & Means working groups: As the Ways and Means Committee continues writing a tax reform bill based on the Blueprint released in June, Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) kicked off the new Congress by saying, "In the days and weeks ahead, we'll move forward on legislation to fix our broken tax code … " Additionally, Ways & Means Committee Republican members are taking steps to assemble informal working groups intended to address some outstanding tax reform issues. The groups appear to be forming to further consider issues left unresolved following a December 14 meeting of Committee Republicans to discuss tax reform. Based on Capitol Hill discussions and press reports, working groups have assembled to address areas that include financial products, pass-through entities, retirement savings, education, energy, and agriculture. A January 4 Bloomberg BNA report cited Chairman Brady as suggesting the formation of the groups responds to the fact that some of the tax issues under discussion during the Committee's December 14 meeting were in need of further consideration. "In some cases, we looked at different policy options and combined or expanded on some of them and said let's go back and do some more work in this area," the Chairman said. Similarly, Rep. Patrick Meehan (R-PA) was quoted as saying all of the ideas under discussion by the groups have a history and, "Some of it is revisiting work that has been done to make sure we don't leave behind good work and good ideas, and seeing if there is a place for them in the tax reform package." Rep. Jim Renacci (R-OH) said the groups are not going back to the drawing board, but seeking to arrive at answers on tax issues that have yet to be addressed. Tax Notes on January 6 cited Chairman Brady as saying they are working groups "not in the traditional sense," and are expected to respond on a tight timetable. "As we're working through what remains of the Blueprint decisions, we asked a couple groups to bring us back recommendations fairly quickly on some items that needed some further thought," Brady said. Politico January 6 reported Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-TX) as saying, "In the retreat, there were points at which we did not have enough time to reach a consensus," and that the groups would be recommending ways to address unresolved issues. Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA) was quoted as saying the House tax reform product will be based off of the Blueprint, but "People will offer other thoughts and ideas — it's not too late to incorporate those."

Subcommittee assignments: On January 6, Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL) was announced as Chairman of the Ways & Means Tax Policy Subcommittee. Other members of the Subcommittee are: Dave Reichert (R-WA), Pat Tiberi (R-OH), Tom Reed (R-NY), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Jim Renacci (R-OH), Kristi Noem (R-SD), George Holding (R-NC), and Kenny Marchant (R-TX).

New Ways & Means members: Three new Republican members were named to the House Ways and Means Committee January 4: Reps. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), Jackie Walorski (R-IN), and David Schweikert (R-AZ). They replace three members not returning from the last Congress: Todd Young (R-IN), who was elected to the Senate; Charles Boustany (R-LA), who ran unsuccessfully for the Senate; and Robert Dold (R-IL), who lost re-election. "They are joining our team at a historic moment as we move forward on pro-growth tax reform, repealing Obamacare, and ensuring Americans finally have access to affordable care … " Chairman Brady said. "With a full roster, Ways and Means Republicans are ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work on President-elect Trump's and the American people's top priorities."

The following day, three Democratic members were added: Reps. Brian Higgins (D-NY), Terri Sewell (D-AL), and Suzan DelBene (D-WA). Higgins previously served on the Committee when Democrats held the majority in the House. Two of the additions fill spots vacated by longtime Democratic members Charles Rangel (D-NY) and Jim McDermott (D-WA), who retired. "This is a crucial time for our committee's Democratic Members, as we will be leading the fight in Congress to stand up for working families, develop tax policies that are fair for all Americans and small businesses and promote economic growth, and ensure we preserve the future of Medicare and Social Security for future generations," Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-MA) said. "Under the leadership of Ranking Member Richie Neal, the new Members recommended for the Ways & Means Committee will help shine a stark light on the destructive reality of Republicans' special interest agenda," said Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

At the staff level, Rep. Neal January 4 announced that Brandon Casey was named Democratic Chief of Staff for the Committee. "From tax policy to trade issues, Brandon has gained a wealth of knowledge here in the House of Representatives, and I am confident he will be an effective leader for our committee staff moving forward," Neal said.

Ryan repeats 'no tariffs': House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) repeated that "we're not going to be raising tariffs," as President-elect Donald Trump directed a new series of Tweets warning certain automakers that vehicles imported into the United States would face a border tax. "We think tax reform is the better way of addressing imbalances, leveling the playing field without starting trade wars, without having the adverse effects that you get with protectionism or trade wars," Speaker Ryan said on the Hugh Hewitt radio show January 4. During a January 5 conference call, incoming White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was asked about a potential disagreement between Speaker Ryan and President-elect Donald Trump on that matter and said, "I will tell you that the way that Mr. Trump looks at this is that if American companies stay in the United States and continue to hire American workers to grow our manufacturing base, then there is no tariff. There's no tax." Spicer said he thinks Trump is concerned about American companies who go offshore and then want to sell back to the United States. "And he's going to continue to fight for that and make sure that companies don't get a tax benefit, frankly, to go off overseas that denies — that hurts American workers, and then be able to sell back and profit."

During the interview, Ryan would not comment on the fate of the mortgage interest deduction or other details. "I'm not going to get into the nickety-nack of what's in or what's out of a tax reform bill that is working its way through the legislative process," he said. The Speaker said he did see some opportunity for bipartisanship on the issue. "I think on tax reform, I think Democrats also know that our tax code is just crushing jobs and growth. We are pushing American businesses overseas because of our tax laws," he said. "We've got to reform and overhaul our tax laws. So I keep hearing from Democrats who just come up to me individually and say that that's something they want to work on."

Quote of the Week

"Today is especially exciting for Members of the Ways and Means Committee because we are going to lead the way on the consequential policy issues at the heart of President-elect Trump's agenda. In the days and weeks ahead, we'll move forward on legislation to fix our broken tax code, improve health care, help more people climb out of poverty, deliver strong, enforceable trade agreements, and more. We've got an ambitious agenda and I'm honored to lead our Committee as we deliver real results for the American people." — House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX), January 3

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