Scoop: Top Senate finance Dems press Schumer for tax vote
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Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) speaks at a press conference on March 1, 2023. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Key Senate Democrats agreed in a closed-door meeting Thursday that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) should force a vote on a bipartisan tax package that includes a potentially powerful Democratic election-year messaging tool.
Why it matters: Schumer is now facing pressure from multiple facets of his caucus — including several vulnerable Democrats — to allow a vote on the package, which includes an extension of the expanded Child Tax Credit.
- Finance Committee Democrats — led by Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) — agreed Thursday that the package should get a vote as soon as possible, two sources familiar with the conversation told Axios.
- The package, which has already passed the House, includes the expanded Child Tax Credit, which advocates say could lift half a million children out of poverty.
The big picture: Boosting the Child Tax Credit is a top priority for Democrats, and would be a policy that vulnerable Democrats could trumpet on the campaign trail.
- Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) — all of whom are in tough races — told Axios earlier this week they're urging Schumer to put the measure up for a floor vote.
- Top Senate Republicans, however, are opposed to the deal. They may be content to run out the clock on this Congress instead, wagering they'd be better off taking a stab at their own tax package if they are in the majority next year.
- Schumer said this week that he still sees a path to passing the bipartisan tax package. That could explain why he hasn't sought a floor vote so far, even as he has used failed votes on immigration and reproductive rights to amplify Democrats' pre-election messaging on those issues.
Zoom out: While the Senate is the final hurdle to the tax package reaching President Biden's desk, a lack of Republican support could tank the measure if Schumer puts it on the floor without securing a yet-to-be negotiated compromise with Republicans.
- But Democrats are pushing for a vote that would force Republicans to go on record before November in opposition to extending the expanded Child Tax Credit.
The bottom line: The ball is in Schumer's court, and it's unclear if he will bow to increasing pressure.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
