House Speaker Paul Ryan on Thursday threatened to keep members of Congress working through the winter holidays if they haven't finished a tax bill by then, Roll Call reports.
"We're going to keep people here until Christmas if we have to," Ryan said during a speech at the Heritage Foundation. "I don't care. We have got to get this done. I mean it's that important."
The speaker said that Congress is "on track" to pass a tax reform bill before the year ends, and that the House approved a budget resolution with guidelines for tax reform last week, while the Senate is preparing to pass a measure before the end of the month.
Ryan predicted that the House would send a tax bill to the Senate sometime in November.
"That gives us time to get this thing done in law," he said, adding that if the changes are made before 2018 begins, then the U.S. economy could increase by at least 3 percent.
"The difference between a 2 percent and a 3 percent economy is trillions," the speaker said. "It's higher wages, bigger paychecks, more take-home pay, and growth and opportunity abound. It really is that big of a difference."
"And that's why we have to get it done now, so that we can have a very good 2018."
Ryan also defended the need for a tax overhaul, according to Politico, saying, "an army of lobbyists will come to protect special interest provisions and to derail tax reform. When it does, we must be able to count on the foot soldiers of the conservative movement to see this through."
He added, "under our plan, people in the middle get real relief. We are lowering rates so people can keep more of what they earn."
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