House passes $78 billion tax bill in bipartisan vote

The House passed a $78 billion tax bill on Wednesday that boosts the child tax credit and reinstates business deductions that were rescinded during the Trump administration, sending the bipartisan, bicameral legislation to the Senate for consideration.

The chamber cleared the measure, dubbed the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, in an overwhelmingly bipartisan 357-70 vote.

Passage of the legislation — which was crafted by House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) and Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) — marks a rare show of bipartisanship in this Congress, which has been defined by bitter partisan clashes and labeled as highly unproductive.

“The numbers speak for itself, it shows that when you’re trying to deliver for the American people, people will join together and that’s what we saw today,” Smith told reporters after the vote, walking into an office with cheering staffers.

It is also one of the few instances this session when a nonessential bill — legislation that is not required to keep the government running — has a chance of being enacted. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday said he is supportive of the tax bill and is working with Wyden “to figure out the best way forward.”