Trump sets sights on tax reform in weekly address

In his weekly presidential address on Friday, President Trump focused his attention on tax reform, a campaign promise his administration has set its sight on accomplishing in the coming months.

“Our current burdensome tax code is a massive lead weight against the American economy,” Trump said in the address. “It costs us millions of jobs, trillions of dollars and billions and billions of hours wasted on paperwork and compliance.”

“My administration is working closely with Congress to develop a plan that will deliver more jobs, higher pay and lower taxes for businesses of all sizes and most importantly for middle-class families all across America,” Trump said. 

The president’s remarks follow the passage in the House of a bill funding the government into December and providing emergency aid to the cleanup of Hurricane Harvey. The bill was part of a deal Trump stuck with Democrats to tie the Harvey relief to the debt-ceiling and government funding. 

While Trump has long promised tax reform, he has begun to push the matter more aggressively in recent weeks, holding events in Missouri and North Dakota to pitch his overhaul proposal. 

In Springfield, Mo., last week, Trump warned members of Congress not to disappoint him on tax reform.

“This is our once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver real tax reform for everyday hardworking Americans, and I am fully committed to working with Congress to get this job done, and I don’t want to be disappointed by Congress,” he said.

Trump also tweeted on Friday pressing lawmakers to immediately begin working on tax reform, which has been a central promise of both the Trump campaign and the Republican Party since before the election. 

The White House and lawmakers have yet to announce a specific tax-reform plan, but Trump continued to emphasize in his Friday address that future reform would meet a longtime Republican goal of simplifying the tax code.

“Our plan is pro-jobs, pro-worker, pro-family and pro-American,” Trump concluded.