Tax cuts anytime soon? Don’t hold your breath.

White House wants action; Congress has other plans

Washington — The White House’s push to quickly pass a major package of tax cuts through Congress is facing a fall calendar full of legislative land mines, potentially delaying a key part of President Donald Trump’s agenda into at least 2018.

The Trump administration sees tax cuts as an achievable victory after a string of failed attempts to pass other parts of the president’s legislative agenda, as well as a proposal that could unite a party fractured over Senate Republicans’ failure last week to vote through a repeal of parts of the Affordable Care Act.

Trump touted the tax proposal Tuesday in a meeting with business executives, saying his team was “pursuing bold tax cuts” to help companies grow.

“We’re unleashing a new era of American prosperity perhaps like we have never seen it before,” he said at the meeting.

Republican leaders in Congress, however, face a pair of deadlines that are delaying any action on taxes. The current budget is set to expire at the end of September, and unless Congress approves new funding, there will be a partial government shutdown that will close national parks and put hundreds of thousands of federal workers on unpaid leave.

Congress’ most immediate concern, however, is the debt ceiling, which the Treasury Department says must be raised by Sept. 29 to ensure that the government can pay its bills. Failing to raise it could spark a global financial crisis, leading to a stock market crash, a spike in interest rates and a potential economic recession.

The Senate and House are scheduled to be in session together for just 12 days from now until the debt ceiling deadline, giving them little time to focus on tax cuts.

“September will be a month when the Trump administration faces its most significant test on Capitol Hill,” said Brian Gardner, a policy analyst for an investment banking firm.