Portman asked to number-crunch tax bill

Show us the math. That’s what we asked the office of U.S. Sen. Rob Portman last week — to explain why he does not believe the virtually unanimous conclusions of independent, nonpartisan analysts that the sweeping tax revamp that congressional Republicans are likely to pass this week will increase the deficit by at least $1 trillion and will not benefit the middle class as promised.

Portman, after all, was President George W. Bush’s budget director for a time, and as recently as February 2015 was criticizing an ever-growing deficit under President Barack Obama that “hangs over (the) economy like a wet blanket, smothering opportunity, making it harder to create an environment where good-paying jobs can thrive.”

But the Republican from Cincinnati now says projections from the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation — both independent bodies set up by Congress itself — have it wrong.

“CBO’s (deficit) score is based on very conservative estimates of just 1.9 percent (gross domestic product growth) over the next 10 years. I believe we can and will do much better than that because of the pro-growth reforms in this bill. By getting to just 2.1 to 2.2 percent growth, still far below the average GDP growth of 2.5 percent over the last 30 years, we will generate sufficient revenue to cover the cost of this bill,” Portman said.

As far as calculations showing the middle class eventually will face higher taxes, Portman says he doesn’t think the expiration of individual tax cuts as called for in the GOP’s bill will be allowed to actually happen.

“The Joint Committee on Taxation has confirmed that every income bracket receives tax relief under this bill. The only way this middle-class tax relief won’t continue is if Democrats block efforts to extend those tax cuts in 2025. In 2012, on a bipartisan basis, Congress extended and made permanent the middle-class tax cuts enacted by President Bush, and I expect Democrats to join us in extending the middle-class tax relief under this bill as well.”

Satisfied?

Is fracking in parks on way?

Gov. John Kasich plans to fill all vacancies on the Ohio Oil and Gas Leasing Commission by the end of the year.

Why should you care about full membership on an obscure state panel? Because that means fracking is likely on its way to Ohio state parks and other public areas.

For years, Kasich in effect declared a moratorium on oil and gas drilling in the parks by refusing to appoint members to the commission, which meant nobody could get permission to drill.

But the GOP-dominated legislature, extremely friendly to the oil and gas industry, passed an amendment to the state budget this year effectively forcing Kasich to either fill the panel or step aside and let legislative leaders do it. Kasich vetoed the proviso; the House easily overrode it, and the Senate threatened to do so as well unless Kasich got moving to end his moratorium.

Kasich spokesman Jon Keeling said two members already have been chosen, and the governor hopes to fill the remaining three vacancies by Dec. 31.

Dispatch Reporter Jim Siegel notes that, when asked about the commission last week, House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger said Republican lawmakers are keeping an eye on whether Kasich is following the legislature’s wishes.