Paul Ryan pivots to tax code rewrite, welfare overhaul
WASHINGTON — Amid a Senate GOP impasse over healthcare, Speaker Paul D. Ryan is trying to pivot to two other major priorities: rewriting the tax code and overhauling welfare programs.
“Welfare reform and tax reform are the two big things” Republicans need to get done this fall to complete their agenda for the year, as well infrastructure, Ryan said Wednesday on “The Mike Gallagher Show.”
Notably, a welfare overhaul and an infrastructure package were not among the priorities Ryan outlined at the GOP retreat in January when presenting the agenda for the first 200 days. The speaker has previously said both welfare and infrastructure were more likely to be addressed in 2018.
Speeding up the timeline to overhaul welfare programs comes as House Republicans are trying to adopt a budget resolution that includes reconciliation instructions for a deficit-neutral tax overhaul and $203 billion in mandatory spending cuts over 10 years, some of which is expected to come from welfare programs.
“One of the reforms that we think that is important that we’re advancing this year, in addition to tax reform, is welfare reform,” Ryan said on “The Jerry Bader Show.”
Many welfare programs currently deincentivize work, he said, noting Republicans are looking at adding work requirements and time limits to existing benefits.
“What we don’t want to do is create a poverty trap where it pays not to work,” Ryan said.
Ryan’s pitch for overhauling the welfare system is important because he will need to convince the Senate to add it to their agenda for the year too.
Senate Republicans have not yet drafted their own budget resolution or indicated that they are interested in addressing mandatory spending this year. If the Senate does not pass a budget with matching reconciliation instructions, the House agenda for the rest of the year will be derailed.
Like he often does when speaking to the media, Ryan spent part of his radio interviews Wednesday touting the bills the House has passed so far this year, like repeal of the Dodd Frank financial law and the National Defense Authorization Act.
The speaker appeared vexed that House-passed measures often stall in the Senate, blaming procedural hurdles that are unlikely to change.
“The fact of the matter is the Senate will not revoke the filibuster for legislation. That’s frustrating to me probably more than anyone else,” Ryan said.
President Donald Trump, however, is probably more frustrated by the legislative filibuster as he’s only just started to understand the implications of it, whereas Ryan’s seen it for years.
Trump has gone a step further in calling for an end to the filibuster. He has tweeted about it on multiple occasions, most recently on Wednesday after Senate Republican leaders failed to whip up enough support for their health care bill.