Republicans celebrated their first legislative win of the year Wednesday, after both houses of Congress passed a sweeping tax reform package.
But one Democratic congresswoman told Cheddar there’s still hope for constituents who remain opposed to the bill.
“Stay mobilized, let your voice be heard,” Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) said Wednesday morning, after the Senate voted, but before the House reconvened. “Nothing is permanent but death and taxes, and we can do something about these taxes and we can do something about the makeup of this Congress.”
The president and his party leaders gathered Wednesday afternoon to praise the benefits of the tax system overhaul, which drops the corporate tax rate from 35 to 21 percent, nearly doubles the standard deduction for individuals, and lowers the tax rate for most income brackets.
While the GOP says the long-overdue changes will provide a boost to the economy, Democrats dispute that claim and say the bill will largely benefit the wealthiest Americans and balloon the deficit.
The bill does appear to be broadly unpopular. A recent CNN poll found that 55 percent of respondents opposed the legislation, a 10 percentage point increase since last month. Still, it passed the House by a vote of 224-201 Wednesday afternoon, with only 12 Republican naysayers.
Republicans also took to Twitter to cheer the victory. President Donald Trump posted a gif that read “Tax Cut for Christmas”.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/rep-bonnie-watson-coleman-d-nj-says-voters-can-change-the-makeup-of-congress-in-2018).
Indiana's initial estimate for Medicaid expenses is nearly $1 billion short of its now-predicted need, state lawmakers learned in a report that ignited concern over the state's budget and access to the low-income healthcare program.
The IRS said Tuesday it is going to waive penalty fees for people who failed to pay back taxes that total less than $100,000 per year for tax years 2020 and 2021.
Senate leaders announced Tuesday that there will not be a vote this year on a border security package that included funding for Ukraine and Israel.
Criticism is continuing to mount on former President Donald Trump for his comments over the weekend saying immigrants are "poisoning the blood" of the country.
A former Proud Boys organizer was sentenced to 40 months in prison yesterday for his involvement in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Israel reportedly delivered an offer with possible terms for a second week-long ceasefire.
A divided Colorado Supreme Court is removing former President Donald Trump from the state’s primary ballot, saying in a historic ruling that he is ineligible to be president after his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The death of a 5-year-old migrant boy and reported illnesses in other children living at a warehouse retrofitted as a shelter has raised fresh concerns about the living conditions and medical care provided for asylum-seekers arriving in Chicago.
New York State will create a commission tasked with considering reparations to address the persistent, harmful effects of slavery in the state under a bill signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday.
The White House is lending its support to an auto industry effort to standardize Tesla’s electric vehicle charging plugs for all EVs in the United States.
