Warner weekly wrap-up: “Swamp 101”

Hours after House Republicans passed their 400-page tax bill without a single hearing or any Democratic input, the Senate Finance Committee pushed-through their own version after rejecting dozens of Democratic amendments. The Senate plan’s most pronounced differences from the House bill include provisions to delay a corporate tax-rate cut by one year and to make various individual tax breaks expire by 2026. The Senate version also repeals the individual mandate, the centerpiece of the Affordable Care Act, which will leave 13 million people without health insurance and drive up premiums for many others. An analysis by the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation reveals most middle-income taxpayers actually will see their taxes increase beginning in 2021 under the Senate plan.

For a comparison of the House and Senate tax bills, Bloomberg has a handy chart here.

The House and Senate tax plans were designed by the GOP in secret without any collaboration with Democratic members. Sen. Warner, a member of the Finance Committee, said he was “personally offended” by the partisan process, and called the Senate legislation “Swamp 101.”

WHAT’S NEXT? It is likely that changes will have to be made to the Senate bill for it to get across the finish line. Since Republicans control only 52 votes in the chamber, they can only afford to lose the votes of two members.

RIGHT-SIZING BANK REGULATION: Sen. Warner was a key driver of this week’s bipartisan agreement on community bank regulatory reforms. Sen. Warner and Tim Kaine are two of nine Democrats serving as original cosponsors of this legislation, along with nine Republican cosponsors.

The Virginia Bankers Association praised the legislation: “This legislation provides meaningful reforms that will enable many banks – especially community banks –  to expand their lending and investment while, most importantly, reducing the red tape borrowers face when seeking credit under the current regulatory structure… It is great to see movement toward a more balanced approach to financial regulation and we appreciate the leadership of Senators Warner and Kaine.”

LONG READ: The Washington Post had a moving story this week about a Northern Virginia family whose four-year-old daughter received spinal tap and chemo treatments at Inova Fairfax Hospital until their insurer, Anthem, decided not to sell individual policies next year in their part of the state. We talk a lot about “bare countries” and “narrow networks,” and the story of the Briggs family of Purcellville demonstrates why it matters.

WEEK AHEAD: Both the House and Senate are in recess next week for the Thanksgiving holiday.