Scalise: 'This is going to be a generational achievement'

WASHINGTON, D.C.— House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) joined Fox News Channel's Fox & Friends this morning to discuss the future of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act as it heads to a conference committee this week.

On the continued work of the tax reform conference committee...

"We’re in a conference committee [right now]. The House and Senate passed two different versions of roughly the same bill that's going to ultimately reduce taxes for families, get the economy moving, and create jobs. The conferees, both in the House and Senate, have been meeting through the weekend, combing through a lot of the final details where there’s disagreement. Hopefully, in the next few days, we’ll see the final framework; get a bill well before Christmas on the President's desk."

On repealing the individual mandate with this bill...

"We’ve passed it in the House many times. The Senate had trouble in the past. The Senate did pass the repeal of the individual mandate in their version of the bill, and we want to keep it. We want to keep it in the final product. That's going to help a lot of families; [it will] improve this healthcare system that's just devolving under Obamacare.People are seeing massive, double-digit increases. Let's get this in the final product of the bill, signed by President Trump."

On cutting taxes for Americans at all income levels...

"In our bill, no matter what tax rate you pay, if you are paying taxes, your tax rate is going to go down and you’re going to see families, on average, get $1,200 more back in their pocket.
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"This bill pushes a lot more tax relief to middle-class families. It works on making our country competitive again. We have the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world, and...that has meant the erosion of the middle class [and] really good $60k, $80k, $100,000 jobs leaving America, going to Ireland, Canada, and other places. In our bill, we bring those jobs back, and we make our country competitive."

On President Trump's commitment to helping pass tax reform...

"President Trump has been incredibly helpful every step of the way. The day we released the bill in the house, the President had us over to the White House and fully embraced the idea of cutting taxes for families. Look, he campaigned on this. He said, ‘I'm going to cut tax rates across the board’, and he’s following through on yet another campaign promise. He has been great to work with, and when this gets signed by President Trump, this is going to be a generational achievement.

"We still talk about the ‘86 tax cuts under Reagan. You’re going to be talking about these Trump tax cuts and how it got our economy moving again. It's going to be something that families are going to really look back on a year from now, five years from now as a great achievement."

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