Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is encouraging other nations to advance Pillar 2 of the OECD-led global tax deal, the focus of which currently is the potential for an international agreement on a side-by-side system that would exempt US multinationals from most Pillar 2 global minimum tax rules. "The path forward on Pillar 2 is clear, and I would urge all remaining holdouts to join the consensus on the path forward for this critical issue," Secretary Bessent posted on social media after meeting with EU ambassadors to the US. The Bloomberg Daily Tax Report (DTR) said this morning that Poland was expected to drop its opposition to such an agreement "following meetings with the US and other countries throughout the past week."

Meanwhile, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer posted a statement warning the EU about digital services taxes and regulations, saying in part, "If the EU and EU Member States insist on continuing to restrict, limit, and deter the competitiveness of U.S. service providers through discriminatory means, the United States will have no choice but to begin using every tool at its disposal to counter these unreasonable measures. Should responsive measures be necessary, U.S. law permits the assessment of fees or restrictions on foreign services, among other actions."

IRS — New this morning are IRS final regulations regarding the base erosion and anti-abuse tax (BEAT), related to how qualified derivative payments with respect to securities lending transactions are determined and reported.

Health care — The House is scheduled to vote today on a Republican health package, the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act (H.R. 6703), that would allow employers to offer workers tax-advantaged funds to pay for individual health insurance through custom health option and individual care expense (CHOICE) arrangements; fund cost-sharing reduction payments; enable small employers to form association health plans to offer coverage; and increase transparency for pharmacy benefit managers. The bill doesn't address enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits (PTCs) expiring at the end of this month, and the House Rules Committee last night did not allow for any such amendments to be offered during floor consideration.

An editorial in the December 16 Wall Street Journal, "The GOP's Better Healthcare Ideas," was supportive of the bill's provisions, saying in part, "The GOP bill would make it easier for small businesses to escape the ObamaCare regulatory morass. The bill would expand so-called association health plans that let small employers unite to sponsor group health plans. These plans would reduce premiums by expanding risk pools and give small employers more leverage with insurers."

Some moderate Republicans, including Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Jen Kiggans (R-VA), and Mike Lawler (R-NY), wanted votes on proposals to extend the enhanced ACA credits. Talks related to the moderates' ACA amendments broke down over the weekend and remained stalled this week as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and other Republican leaders required the moderates to offset the cost of proposals, which the members refused, Punchbowl News reported.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) confirmed that the enhanced credits are likely to expire at the end of the month, saying after the regular Tuesday policy lunches, "We're not going to pass anything by the end of this week, but I do think there is a potential pathway in January if Democrats are willing to come to the table" and consider proposals "that actually will drive down the costs of healthcare."

During his post-lunch news conference, Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said of the ACA credits issue, "Look, after January 1st, the toothpaste is out of the tube. Millions of people will have lost their healthcare. Many more will have changed their policies and signed policies. And, so, the bottom line is we always want to work with people who will lower healthcare costs, but if the Republicans want to do something, they have until January 1st to pass the one bill that can get it done, our bill."

Appropriations — Politico reported that the Senate may overcome some Republican holds and, before breaking for the holidays later this week, consider a minibus appropriations package encompassing the Labor-HHS-Education, Defense, Transportation-HUD, Interior-EPA and Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bills. Those are among the nine of 12 annual appropriations bills for which funding runs out January 30, with the other three having received full-year funding with the November continuing resolution.

Cryptocurrency — While Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) and other Republicans have pushed to mark up a bill this week establishing a regulatory market structure for digital assets, Committee consideration of the bill is likely to slip until next year, Bloomberg Law reported December 15. "Senators will likely take up the issue again once they return to Washington from the two-week recess, and would face a limited window to reach a bipartisan compromise before political campaigning ramps up before the mid-term elections," the story said.

President Trump is scheduled to address the nation tonight at 9 p.m.