McConnell sees Senate vote on tax reform the week after Thanksgiving

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Monday that the Senate plans to consider tax-reform legislation on the floor the week after Thanksgiving.

He also said he hoped the Senate Finance Committee would be able to finish the markup on the tax bill that it will begin on Monday by the end of the week.

“Hopefully by the end of the week we’ll have a Senate version of tax reform out and onto the floor ready to be considered the week after Thanksgiving,” McConnell said in a press conference in Kentucky after meeting with business owners.

McConnell’s remarks follow Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn’s prediction on Thursday that the Senate floor vote would likely be pushed until after Thanksgiving. The Texas Republican had earlier predicted that a vote would come before the holiday, but cited challenges with the Senate’s budget rules as reasons for the delay.

The House is expected to pass its own tax bill this week. If the Senate could finish its bill the week after Thanksgiving, the two chambers could work in December on a compromise bill that perhaps could be done by year’s end.

The House and Senate bills have a number of differences, including the number of individual rates, the start date for the corporate tax rate cut and the treatment of the deduction for state and local property taxes.

McConnell said that the two bills have some different details but are “similar conceptually.” 

The majority leader said that the goal of tax reform is to boost economic growth.

“What we’re trying to do here is to make, on the corporate side, on the business side, make America competitive globally again,” he said.

McConnell added that on the individual side, the average taxpayer in every income group will see lower taxes.