Ryan: Lawmakers could stay in Washington for Christmas to pass tax bill

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Thursday that he’d keep lawmakers in Washington at Christmas time to vote on a tax bill if necessary.

“I mean, I don’t care. We got to get this done,” the Speaker said at the Heritage Foundation. 

Ryan said that Congress is “on track” to get a tax-reform bill enacted by the end of the year. He noted that the House passed its budget resolution with tax-reform instructions last week, and the Senate plans to advance its measure next week.

{mosads}The Speaker predicted that the House will send a tax bill to the Senate in November. “That gives us time to get this thing done in law,” he said.

Ryan said that if a new tax system is in place at the beginning of 2018, he thinks the U.S. could grow by at least 3 percent next year. The Trump administration has also been calling for tax reform to boost growth to 3 percent.

“The difference between a 2 percent and a 3 percent economy is trillions,” Ryan said. “It’s higher wages, bigger paychecks, more take-home pay, and growth and opportunity abound. It really is that big of a difference.”

“And that’s why we’ve have to get it done now, so that we can have a very good 2018.”