In the News

House Republicans are preparing a package of tax cuts they could take up soon after Congress gets finished with its debt ceiling crisis.

Taking up the tax legislation would represent a reversal of Republicans’ recent focus on reducing the federal budget deficit since more tax cuts would further deplete government revenue.

“Obviously, we got to get through the debt ceiling,” said Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.), a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, where tax laws are written. “But we’re prepared to move forward with an economic package that I think will be reflective of what we’ve talked a lot about.”

LaHood said that Republicans would consider how to “continue with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” their landmark tax reform bill from 2017 that slashed corporate and household taxes by more than $1 trillion, as well as revive various business tax breaks that have expired or are currently phasing out.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) described it as “a big economic package that we’ve been putting together, locking in tax cuts, addressing some of the regulatory issues that are holding our economy back.”

Republicans used a budget trick to hide the total cost of their 2017 tax cuts by making some parts of the legislation temporary, sunsetting them at the end of 2025 with the expectation of a later extension. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that extending those cuts would cost another $3.5 trillion over a decade. It’s not clear if Republicans intend to try to reauthorize all of the expiring provisions.

“For folks who are talking about fiscal responsibility right now, they’re holding this ’til after we get through this crisis,” Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) told HuffPost. “We need to get through this crisis, but they’re already talking about tax policy and big tax cuts.”

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has called the national debt the greatest threat to the U.S., insisting that Democrats agree to spending cuts in exchange for agreeing to let the federal government continue borrowing money. If Congress can’t reach a deal, the government could fail to pay its bills in the coming weeks, potentially damaging the economy.