PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s two Democratic senators have voted against the tax bill worked out by President Obama and congressional Republicans.
The measure passed anyway, 81-19.
Both Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said before the vote that the bill’s benefits weren’t enough to justify adding nearly a trillion dollars to the national debt.
Wyden favors a tax simplification bill and calls the current tax code a jobs killer. Merkley says tax cuts for the wealthy are among the least effective ways to create jobs.
The measure now goes to the House, where it faces a closer vote.