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).
The Treasury Department pushed for the requirement to help close the tax gap in the crypto industry by forcing better IRS reporting, but legislators on both sides of the aisle argue that the language is too broad and could curb innovation in the space.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits plummeted last week to the lowest level in more than half a century, another sign that the U.S. job market is rebounding rapidly from last year’s coronavirus recession.
Federal officials said Monday they are seeking more than $160,000 in fines from eight airline passengers over incidents involving alcohol.
President Joe Biden is ordering a record-setting 50 million barrels of oil released from America's strategic reserve to help bring down energy costs.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele says his government will build an oceanside “Bitcoin City” at the base of a volcano.
President Joe Biden announced he’s nominating Jerome Powell for a second term as Federal Reserve chair, endorsing Powell’s stewardship of the economy through a brutal pandemic recession.
From Wall Street to Silicon Valley, these are the top stories that moved markets and had investors, business leaders, and entrepreneurs talking this week on Cheddar.
Kyle Rittenhouse has been acquitted of all charges after pleading self-defense in the deadly Kenosha, Wisconsin, shootings that became a flashpoint in the nation’s debate over guns, vigilantism and racial injustice.
A sharply divided House has approved the Democrats’ sweeping social and environment bill, a big victory for President Joe Biden.
A rare first printing of the U.S. Constitution has sold at Sotheby’s in New York for $43.2 million, a record price for a document or book sold at auction.
