Dems express interest in working with GOP on bipartisan tax reform

Senate Democrats are urging Republicans to work with them on bipartisan tax reform.

In a letter addressed to President Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Senate Democrats expressed “interest in working with you on bipartisan tax reform.”

“We are confident that, by working together, we could modernize our tax system to increase working families’ wages, improve middle-class job growth, promote domestic investment, modernize our outdated business and international tax systems and put in place sound fiscal policy that raises the revenue needed to meet the needs of our country,” they wrote.

{mosads}Their letter focused on three “key principles” the Democrats said were “prerequisites to any bipartisan tax reform effort.”

The Democrats wrote that tax reform should not increase the tax burden on the middle class or benefit the wealthiest.

It is also important, they wrote, that tax reform legislation “go through regular order and not reconciliation.”

Democrats also want tax reform to provide a “revenue base that meets the needs of our country.” 

“We look forward to working together to write tax reform legislation that provides real relief for America’s working families.”

The letter was signed by Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), 43 of his Democratic colleagues and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

Republicans will be vigorously selling tax reform over the August recess, following the release of shared tax reform principles and the Senate’s failure to pass even a scaled-down ObamaCare repeal bill.

GOP leaders and the White House are hoping to get voters excited about tax reform legislation.