Dave Reichert defends Republican tax bill

The Senate finally passed their version of tax reform over the weekend in a late night vote.

Rantz: Everyone loses in Trump’s ‘Pocahontas’ insult

Even though the 2 a.m. passage featured crossed out pages and handwritten amendments, Congressmember Dave Reichert told 770 KTTH’s Jason Rantz it’s unfair to call the process rushed.

“This has been, for me, eight years of tedious work looking at the tax code line-by-line,” Reichert said. “This wasn’t done in the dark.”

Reichert points out that they held more than 40 hearings where they consulted experts and economists. He even considers work they did during the Obama administration as preparation for this bill.

Before the passage, Senator Angus King claimed no one knew what was in the bill, but Reichert says if he wanted to know he could’ve just looked at the House bill which senators used as a framework for their legislation.

“The blueprint has been out for months and months,” Reichert said, “and the bill has been out for quite some time too.”

Some analysts describe GOP tax policy as a transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich, but Reichert believes it’s going to be a positive thing for the middle class in Washington state and across the nation.

“If you live in Derek Kilmer‘s district, for example, and your median income is in the $80,000 range, you’re going to get an additional tax break of almost $2,000,” Reichert said. “In the 8th District the median income is a little higher, it’s $112,000. Your tax break will be about $3,300.”

Now that both chambers have passed a version of the tax bill, the reconciliation process to iron out differences begins in the House.

Follow @https://twitter.com/jasonrantz