Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay told Newsmax TV on Thursday the tax-reform bill passed by the chamber "could have been a lot better" but was written to pass the Senate and "their arcane rules."
"That's why they're having trouble convincing the American people that this good for America," DeLay, the former Texas congressman who spent 2003 to 2005 as majority leader, told "Newsmax Now" host Bill Tucker.
"By and large, it is good for America — but now you get over to the Senate and you run up against something called the Byrd Rule."
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Written by former West Virginia Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd and passed in 1990, the rule allows senators during the budget reconciliation process to block legislation if it could possibly cause significant increases to the federal budget deficit beyond 10 years.
Senators also can declare a budget issue an "extraneous matter," making it ineligible for reconciliation.
"The Byrd Rule was written by Democrats, by Robert Byrd, to make sure there it was extremely difficult to cut taxes and cut spending," DeLay told Tucker. "Now, the Senate is trying to write a bill that will adhere to the Byrd Rule.
"What that means is the tax rates that have come down only last 10 years — and then they go away.
"The point is these arcane rules keep us from doing the best we can for the American people," DeLay said. "They're rules that were set up to make it harder to cut taxes."
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