Fiscal discipline? Not now, as GOP pushes tax cuts

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Republicans relentlessly complained about big budget deficits during Democratic President Barack Obama’s two terms, but now a growing number in the GOP are pushing for deep tax cuts even if they add to the government’s $20 trillion debt.

President Donald Trump says he is pushing for “the biggest tax cut in the history of our country,” as Congress tries to overhaul the tax code for the first time in more than 30 years.

It won’t be easy. Congressional Republicans are divided over concerns about the government’s debt, and Senate rules make it difficult to pass deep tax cuts without support from Democrats, something majority Republicans are not actively seeking.

Still, the tax cutters are gaining momentum, even though neither Trump nor Republican leaders in Congress are willing to tackle the government’s long-term drivers of debt – Social Security and Medicare.

“If you want to have real tax reform and a robust economy, you have to both reduce taxes and reduce spending,” said Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho. “Now, if we’re not going to reduce spending, I still want to give families their tax cut.”

The push to cut taxes has picked up an important ally in Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who chairs the powerful Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over taxes.

“Franky, I think if we can get a tax reform bill that would stimulate the economy, I don’t think it has to be revenue neutral,” Hatch said Tuesday.

That’s a big difference from the way Hatch talked about deficits under Obama.

“Continued deficits and accumulated debt are a genuine threat to individual liberty, continued prosperity and national security,” Hatch said in 2011 after Obama released a budget proposal.

The national debt grew from about $10.6 trillion when Obama took office to nearly $20 trillion when he left. Some of the debt came from new spending in the aftermath of the financial crisis.