Top Republicans

on a key Senate panel reach a tentative agreement on a tax plan that would add about $1.5 trillion to the government’s $20 trillion debt over 10 years.

WASHINGTON — Top Republicans on a key Senate panel have reached a tentative agreement on a tax plan that would add about $1.5 trillion to the government’s $20 trillion debt over 10 years, according to congressional officials.

Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, a member of the chamber’s dwindling band of deficit hawks, said on Tuesday that Republicans have “potentially gotten to a very good place” on agreeing to how much the upcoming tax measure might cost, once the Senate’s tax writers have blended together rate cuts, additional revenue raised through curbing tax breaks, and the beneficial effects of what he called “pro-growth tax reform.”

“We’ll have something for you a little bit later today,” said Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., a participant in the negotiations from the party’s more aggressive side on tax cuts.

Corker didn’t offer a number, but officials familiar with the Senate Budget panel’s internal discussions said the allowance for the tax measure would amount to $1.5 trillion.

The figure would allow deeper cuts to tax rates than would be allowed if Republicans followed through on earlier promises that their upcoming tax overhaul wouldn’t add to the deficit.

That would represent an about-face for top Capitol Hill Republicans such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who had for months promised it would not add to the budget deficit, currently estimated to rise to about $700 billion this year.

Corker said he’s willing to be flexible with revenue estimates and said, “I’m all for pro-growth tax reform but over a decade it needs to pay for itself per valid models.”

The divide between the Senate GOP’s deficit hawk and “supply side” wings has to be overcome before action on this fall’s tax measure can commence in earnest.

Republicans preached a hard line on the deficit while Barack Obama was president but are taking a more lenient approach now that President Donald Trump is occupying the Oval Office.

Unlike the House, Senate Republicans aren’t planning to pair the tax measure with spending cuts.

The work of the budget panel is critical since Republicans need to agree on a Capitol Hill budget plan in order to pass a follow-up tax bill that’s a top priority of Trump and a centerpiece of the party’s fall agenda.