Murray, Cantwell on conference committee for tax legislation

Washington Democratic Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell were appointed to the GOP Tax Bill Conference Committee on Thursday. The Senate voted to go to conference Wednesday, which forms with the explicit intent to reconcile the bills. Murray and Cantwell join five other Democratic senators on the committee to negotiate the Republican tax plan.

“I am proud to work to bring the many concerns of Washington state families directly to this conference committee alongside Senator Cantwell,” Murray said in a statement. “I am going to be urging Republicans to listen to their constituents and finally begin a transparent, bipartisan process that actually puts workers, families, patients, and the middle class first, rather than just paying them lip service.”

The Republican tax bill was approved in the Senate 51-49 early Saturday morning after hours of debate. The final version of the 479-page bill was distributed mere hours before the vote and included pages of handwritten notes. The House passed its own version of the bill last month. The two chambers will now have to reconcile the bills in conference and approve the consolidated version.

The House version of the bill has fewer tax brackets than the Senate version, with the top rates at 39.6 percent and 38.5 percent, respectively. Both bills, however, propose lowering the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent.

“Washington state families are paying attention to the details of the Republican tax plan, from the elimination of the state and local tax deduction that would affect hundreds of thousands of families in our state, to the back-door attempt to open up the Arctic refuge to drilling,” Murray said. “It’s not too late for Republicans to walk away from their appalling, lopsided plan to raise taxes for the middle class while giving big corporations and the rich a massive tax break — and if they step back from the precipice, I am ready to get to work.”

Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Tom Carper, D-Del., are also on the committee.