House GOP's New Rule Allows Republicans to Hide Tax Cuts

By Crystal Shepeard, Care2 | Report

On Tuesday, the 114th Congress’ term officially began with Republicans holding the majority in both chambers for the first time in eight years. After the photo ops of swearing in ceremonies with the Vice President and congressional members’ families, Congress wasted no time to get to work (something that wasn’t done much in the previous session). Most of the day was about finding co-sponsors and votes for bills that would make great press releases for constituents back home. In the House of Representatives, however, a very important new rule was passed that will change how legislation is evaluated.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) provides nonpartisan economic analysis on the costs for any budgets or legislation proposed by Congress. When changes in taxation are involved, the nonpartisan Joint Committee On Taxation (JCT) issues reports regarding the revenue side. These two departments work together to create projections highlighting how a change in current policy would play out in certain scenarios.