Sen. Bob Corker: Some of the ‘ridiculous’ things in tax reform are just ‘buying off’ lawmakers to pass it – By Berkeley Lovelace Jr. (cnbc.com) / Oct 26 2017
Some of the items contained in the GOP tax reform discussion are just “buying off” holdouts and serve no other purpose, Republican Sen. Bob Corker told CNBC on Thursday.
“Some of the things we’re doing, I’m sorry, are ridiculous,” Corker told “Squawk Box,” though he did not mention any specifics.
“I’m sorry, but we live in a political world,” said Corker, a member on the Senate Budget and Banking committees. Those things are “not going to drive 1 ounce of economic growth. But it’s what you have to do to pass a tax bill.”
Corker described efforts by some lawmakers to pass tax reform as “unfortunate.”
“It’s buying off of people to pass tax reform,” Corker said.
“We could take a lot of this off in the trash can and make it easier and actually do something that grows our economy and increases our wages,” he said.
President Donald Trump and the GOP have been pushing for a major overhaul to the U.S. tax code. They believe tax relief would give the current economy a boost.
House Republicans on Thursday are set to vote on a budget deal, which is seen as a crucial step toward passing tax cuts later this year.
Corker, who has been highly critical of Trump, told CNBC that despite his war of words with the president he’s “all in” on tax reform. Corker is not seeking reelection.
The Tennessee Republican said he wants to “go out with afterburners trying to make things happen.”
PB/TK – Um, hey Bob, ain’t that just about how 99.5% of legislation is passed; bribes? Just look how many times Senators were bribed to get behind the many failed Repeal/Replace fiascos.
