President also agrees to extend debt limit, government funding to December 15

In a September 6, 2017 speech, President Trump said, "[W]e are going to get into great detail over the next two weeks" on tax reform plans, hours after agreeing to a Democratic request for a debt limit fix and government funding extension, both lasting until December 15 and combined with hurricane relief funding.

"We had a very good meeting with Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. We agreed to a three-month extension on debt ceiling, which they consider to be sacred — very important — always we'll agree on debt ceiling automatically because of the importance of it. Also on the CRs and also on Harvey … " President Trump said aboard Air Force One en route to give a tax speech in Bismarck, North Dakota. "So we have an extension, which will go out to December 15th. That will include the debt ceiling, that will include the CRs, and it will include Harvey … "

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who was at the meeting, said he would add the items to the House-passed bill to provide $7.85 billion in hurricane relief funding, mostly to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. "As I think you now know, in a meeting down at the White House, the President and the Senate and House Democratic leadership agreed to a three-month continuing resolution and a debt ceiling into December," he said. "I will be adding that as an amendment to the flood relief bill that's come over from the House on the floor, and I will be supporting it, and that'll be the biggest item, obviously, for the week."

Republican leaders had argued for a longer-term solution to the debt limit issue, possibly to last beyond the 2018 midterm elections, and Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) earlier dismissed a three-month approach and accused Democratic leaders of playing politics with hurricane relief funding.

Democratic leaders Pelosi and Schumer released a joint statement saying, "In the meeting, the President and Congressional leadership agreed to pass aid for Harvey, an extension of the debt limit, and a continuing resolution both to December 15, all together. Both sides have every intention of avoiding default in December and look forward to working together on the many issues before us." They had earlier suggested the debt limit proposal would ensure prompt action on that and the hurricane relief funding, "while both sides work together to address government funding, DREAMers, and health care."

Tax Reform

Republicans also want to act by the end of the year on tax reform, for which President Trump continued to advocate, again choosing a state he won in 2016 that has a Democratic senator, Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), up for re-election in 2018. As he did in Missouri last week, the President said of those who vote against tax cuts or tax reforms, "you have got to vote against them and get them out of office."

Regarding the expectation of great detail on tax reform over the next two weeks, the President said, "We are working on it with Congress now and coming up with very exacting numbers." He listed the same four principles from his speech last week, which essentially call for simplicity, lower taxes for the middle class, tax relief for businesses of all sizes, and facilitating repatriation of the foreign earnings of US companies.

Trump described the current system as an "offshoring model" that encourages companies to move their operations and jobs overseas, and said that he wants a new "American model" that reduces the burdens on businesses as long as they do business in the United States. The President also spoke more specifically than in his speech last week about switching from a worldwide tax system that encourages companies to keep funds offshore to a territorial system that encourages them to bring money back to the United States.

He said the high business tax rate is a "crushing tax on every product made in America" and promised to reduce the tax rate on US businesses so they can keep and create jobs in the United States, which will result in higher wages for workers. "It is finally time to give the American worker a pay raise," he said.

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