time to end the status quo in washington, d.c. americans deserve a fair and flatter tax code, once that closes loopholes and ends special interest the duction so americans can keep more of what they earn and their paychecks can rise and our businesses can compete and win anywhere in the world. especially at home in america. it is time jobs come back to america, rather than watching them go. research and manufacturing, patents, headquarters, that your is over. over. is it starts with hr1. we will continue the debate tomorrow and deliver tax reform and tax cuts to the american people. with that, i reserve. >> today on c-span, washington journal is next with your phone calls. live coverage of the house as they debate and vote on the

republican tax reform bill. on washington journal, your reaction to the bill, join the conversation with your phone calls, you males, tweets, and comments on our facebook page. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016]] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. isit ncicap.org] host: good morning, it's tax day on capitol hill and the house is slated to vote on the republican plan from that chamber. and over on the senate side, it is they four for for senate finance committee as they continue to work on the republican's proposal in that chamber. if republicans can get their different plans out of their respective chambers, two sides have to come together and vote again. we'll get into the differences between the two bills and give you the latest on the vote while getting your thoughts on the republican's push. democrats, 202-748-8000,

republicans, 202-748-8001, and independents, 202-748-8002. also you can go to twitter at twitter.com/cspanwj or join the conversation on facebook.com/cspan. throughout the morning, john macarthur will be with us to track the debate and give us other news of the day. where does the vote stand in the house? guest: there is 434 members of the house. that means for the republican tax boil pass today, they'll need 218 votes. they're not expecting to get any democratic vote. so the whip count will be important today to watch. several news organizations tracking the whip count. matt fuller is the reporter there. c-span viewers will know him as a winner of the dickerson award for distinguished award for

tracking the freedom caucus in his reporting. so here what is he had to stay on the whip count right now. house republican looked like they're headed towards passing their tax professionalism on tuesday but last-minute concerns is suddenly making leadership a sweat a little bit. this uncertainty is coming as a bit of a surprise to those leaders on his twitter page, he tracked the various people 10 ng yes, no, and he has hard no's.

one other source with "cbs news" also had 10 hard no votes. peter king also included on that list of no's and chad noting a comment from a republican comment saying if this passes could lose all the seats in the northwest. everybody could be in a tough race. this is an unforced error, talking about the tax bill. we're doing this to ourselves. we know this will be an issue that we're creating to ourselves. a bit of warning from one of those republicans set to vote no today. host: over on the senate's side, you have the votes not locked up either. the g.o.p. voiced op suspension doubts. one of them is from ron johnson, small business owner who says that the corporate tax cuts favor big companies over smaller

ones. so he is casting doubt on whether or not he can vote for this. and susan collins who is not pleased at the individual mandate under the affordable care act in their proposal over on the senate's side so much the senate finance committee working through the republican plan over there. it difference from the house. the house is set to vote today on the floor, and of course, we'll have gavel to gavel coverage here on c-span. and they'll be coming in around 9:00 a.m. eastern time. you tune in to c-span3, you can watch the senate finance committee work through amendments on their proposal and a lot of the debate happening over there on that individual mandate repeal. we want to know your thought. jimmy, a democrat, you're up first, jimmy. good morning. caller: good morning, america. we have to understand this is a wrong time for tax cut in mench

we have $22 trillion in debt and our republicans want to push for this tax cut but they don't understand when obama took office, we were in wars in all over the world, afghanistan, iraq, syria, dealing with north and dealing with iran everything that he tried do to try to help the american people. our republican congress and senate blocked everything. but we have to understand this tax cut is not about middle class and the common person. this takes about rich folks which no people who had the opportunity to make good money for their families. it is not about being against the rich. it's always -- if you help the middle class and the small or the common person, everybody

wins. it's a win-win when the common and the middle class is helped. so that's all just push through this big tax cut just to say we join a tax cut. we need to come back to the table and take our time as republican and democrat to talk and use strategies that will work for the american people. thank you, america. host: jimmy, do you think democrats should any democrats vote for the republican proposals whether it's in the house or the senate? caller: the way i structure it right now, no in republican or democrat or independent should vote for this because this bill was not thought through very well. and if we can come back to the table as american people, as republican and democrat and independent, we can get a good bill. host: ok. i understand your point. by the way, political reporting from the leadership office for the house democrats that they

believe no democrats will vote today in the house for their tax reform proposal over there. josephine, good morning to you. what do you make of tax reform? caller: good morning. t me just remind people in 2004, george w. bush did exactly the same thing. he convinced corporations and said i will lower your taxes and if you can bring the money back and create jobs. guess what happened? nothing. nothing. we went into higher unemployment. apple, let's just take apple as an example so people understand what this is all about. apple ploys -- employs 700,000 chinese, 50,000 americans. where they now headquartered, they were headquartered in ireland where it was low taxes. what did they do because the european union said you're an

embezzler and you owe us? they moved to the isle of jersey where they pay no taxes. do you honestly believe corporations are going to bring jobs back? then you are naive. and worst of all, the idea and i'm sorry i'm bragging, ma'am, languishing on this issue, when yesterday, they added in the mandate, they now officially kicked the pre-existing condition to the curb. how in the world can anybody believe what they're doing is for the middle class? they're giving us a bang over our heads. host: where did you read that they're kicked in the pre-existing condition to the curb? caller: if you don't have a mandate, you can't pay for the pigs in the condition. everybody knows that. and remember one thing -- medicare is mandated. social security is man dated. -- medicine dade. it doesn't work until you have a mandate on it!

period! host: all right. well, to josephine's point, hears "politico." under obama care, americans have to obtain health insurance or face a fine. in this senate bill, they appealed it. host: let's go to brad. good morning to you. go ahead. caller: well, good morning to you. i'm sitting back and we're just starting the conversation on the whole of this but i kind of reflect back and think about the time when we had the bush tax cuts which are no longer bush

tax cuts, through obama tax cuts. hey're extended twice. obama got them extended twice. so they're the obama tax cuts now. striking part of it all is how much more revenue we bring in because of. and so i think the little nearby in democrat should just quiet their mouths and stop stupidity ecause they're done. they don't have another chance to maybe another 10 to 15 years. so, i don't know. host: brad, with a gives you that confidence? caller: well, just look at the past. the past like -- just look at new pendulum and you look at between like 1955 and 1995 for

40 years straight, the democrats control basic through the house. they control everything. so it's their problem that we got to fix. they did the obamacare. it's their problem that we got to fix we got to keep fixing their problems. this is no easy answer, i'll tell you that right now. host: over in the senate finance committee where they continue today to work on their republican proposal, there was debate about republicans' effort to tie the affordable care act that individual mandate this tax reform legislation. ere is the exchange. >> so let me see if i get this straight. you're taking $43 billion and you're saving people extensively, your argument is, making less than $50,000 a year.

you're saving them $43 billion? and then you're turning around on the other hand and you're cutting $185 billion from those same people. wait, i'm not done. then, you're cutting, i believe, and you can correct me if i'm wrong, $179 billion from medicaid. now, i'm pretty sure those people don't make $50,000 a year. so, in order to save these poor people $43 billion, you're cutting $364 billion -- >> if you would just hear me for a second, there are no cuts for medicaid in this bill. >> this is a c.b.o. score, mr. -- mr. chairman. >> well, there are no cuts. >> that's where the money is coming from where do you think the $300 billion is coming from? is there a fairy that's dropping it on the senate? >> what? >> the money that you're sending

is coming out of medicaid and subsidies to people who make less than $50,000. so you're trying to shock this baby like you're giving a $43 billion saving to people who make $50,000 a year? >> just so, you know, cbs said that that's people who are leaving medicaid. >> mr. chairman you're -- >> -- what thaw estimate is going to happen. >> you are spending $318 billion to make tax cuts for corporations permanent. that money is coming from the very people you say you're saving by eliminating $43 billion in tax penalty. now, i'm from missouri and i'm just telling you. i was not a great student in math. but i will tell you this is not a good deal for people who make less than $50,000 a year. and on top of that, all of the

middle class people that are actually taking personal responsibility and buying health insurance because here's the thing. all these people that lose that aren't going to get their insurance now, you know what's going to happen? they're going to get sick. they're going to get a cancer diagnosis. and who, in fact, is going to pay that bill? host: the senate finance committee today, continues their work on the republican proposal. you can watch that debate if you tune in to c-span3 at 10:00 a.m. eastern time or go to c-span.org. you can also get the free c-span radio app to watch there. back to john mcardle for more on this tax reform debate. guest: as the tax is taking the floor, the senate vote that will come after the finance committee debate, not expected until after the thanksgiving recess and a reminder on the math there, republicans have 52 members of the united states senate. they can only lose two. and then they would bring in the

vice president to break a time as you noted earlier, congressman senator ron johnson of wisconsin, the first republican senator to break with republicans over the tax bill. the "politico" story from yesterday noting that he sent a statement that he reject to the bill's treatment of businesses through pass-throughs through the individual side of the tax code if you want it in his own words. here's his statement from yesterday. we have an opportunity to enact paradigm shifting tax reform that makes business globally competitive -- guest: that's part of his statement yesterday. though the republican whip in the senate, that's john cornyn

of texas trying to walk back the statement by ron johnson yesterday with a tweet of his own saying senator johnson will work with colleagues with a goal of improving the bill to a form that he can support. as you noted earlier, another key member to watch is susan collins of of maine. she's back in the spotlight. reuters reporting as crucial swing vote here as she raises questions about how combining a republican tax cut plan with a partial repeal of obamacare will affect middle class americans. here's one tweet yesterday from senator chris murphy of connecticut. it's not a tax bill anymore, he where is. it's a health care repeal bill. time to mobilize like now. and from the minority leader in the senate chuck consumer, g.o.p. tax bill raises premiums on average american's health care by 10% so they can give the

healthy a tax cut. sound familiar, he asks? remember trump care. we'll keep an eye on all the happenings today on the finance committee and the house floor. host: yeah, and the house coming in at 9:00 a.m. eastern time for that vote. president trump yesterday phoned senator ron johnson according to the "washington post" to discuss his doubts about this tax reform pro. they report that it was not immediately clear whether trump assuaged any of johnson's complaints but he held out hope of voting for the bill if it was fixed. some other republicans to watch, senator bob corker who expressed concern about the tax bill's potential impact on the deficit and senator john mccain declined to say whether he would vote for a tax bill that proposed change for the affordable care act. steve, from illinois, an independent. hi, steve. caller: good morning.

i would first like to say i think that the tax is -- there should not be a penalty for that. but on the other hand, these major corporations that are bringing billons or trillions of dollars back over here, are they really going to create jobs in the united states or are they just going to buy back -- take back loans at a low interest rate? host: and steve, you said you are for repealing the estate tax. is that what you said? caller: yeah, the death tax -- debt tax. i can see and understand that because a lot of people around here do that. but my friends -- friend is hour and her an husband is a farm hand.

they're 55 and 60. and they're living paycheck to paycheck, trying to make a mortgage payment. they don't get any extra pay pensions besides what they're paying on the 1099 and on the w-2. $2,000, to pay an extra $3,000 because the mortgage payments out here in the country are like the house of maybe $50,000. so it's just not worth it. how are they going to retire? host: ok. steve's point there in illinois. sarasota, florida, tony's watching there, a democrat. hi, tony. you're on the air. caller: good morning, greta. i agree with the caller at the university that trump cut reforms. it's going to be good for corporations and this corporation and the 1% are going

to take their jobs to another country to countries that pay $1:50 appear hour. and the trickle down, the reagan, the trickle down if you look back at history, it's not going to work. then i have a second question. when trump say he wasn't going to touch social security, medicare and medicare, this is exactly what's going to happen. millions of americans is going to lose their social security, medicaid and medicare or they're going to cut in half. so that means in 10 years, millions of americans, they're going to die and it's not a joke. close to three million, we're going to die, including myself. -- it's sad that people they're the worst of the worst. thanks to them, we had the first depression if you look back at history. we need to stop trump and what he stands for this country -- host: well, tony, what are you

going to do? what are you going to do to stop this tax reform? caller: we need to call like what i'm doing right now. we need to vote for republicans and i can't even get my driver's license because i need to get my real birth certificate. i'm american. i mean even here -- i was born in texas. i've been -- i'm an american and they want -- i lost my birth certificate. i had to travel to texas to get my real birth certificate because they consider that i'm an illegal alien. and i mean, that's voter suppression. i probably have to travel to another state to get an i.d., a blue state because the red state, that's voter suppression. i cannot believe that. host: all right, tony. c.j. in baton rouge, louisiana, independent. tony, what do you make of what's happening here on capitol hill? this push change the u.s. tax

code? caller: well, i'm for it. i'm thinking back of the toews of remember, joe the plumber? when me questioned president obama about his tax increase and obama laughed at him, laughed in his face and said ha, ha, you don't make $175,000 a year. so you don't have to worry about it. guess what? i made $60,000 a year and my taxes went up 4.5%. and they did that because they wanted to give people free freaking cell phones. why do people need free cell phones? o make drug deals? host: in "politico," to replace senator jeff sessions. here is "the washington post"

with the headline. "two more women accuse moore of pursuing them." dena richardson said she was a high school senior working at the men's department in sears when a man approached her and said was roy moore. asked her where she went to school for her phone number which she said she declined to give telling her father would ver approve -- host: "the washington post" said that encounter went on to her being forcibly kissed by mr.

moore. she never wanted to see him again "the washington post" reporting this on top of the al.com, the alabama media group noting another woman came forward and said that when she was under 18, that she was pursued by mr. moore as well. and then the "new york times" says his on their front cover, four more women accuse more of -- moore of misconduct." and mr. moore's campaign sharply questioned the credibility of another accuser. the women who came forward wednesday ranging in age from about 18-28 at the time of the encounters complained of being groped, forcibly kissed or subject found wanted advances -- so that in the "new york times." and then "the washington post" says g.o.p. senators look to trump to resolve the moore

upheaval. the president declining to answer questions about it when he was abroad for his asia trip yesterday. he did not say anything about it. he did hold a news conference about that trip to asia. we covered it here on c-span. "politico" has this headline though, with g.o.p. leaders weigh drastic plans to save the alabama senate seat to move one of several long shot options would seek to trigger a new election with less than four weeks until the special election and not sign of the party's nominee will exit the race. tchell trubisky -- mcconnell asking appointed senator to resign from his seat in order to trigger a new special election. you can find that on politico."com.

trump can't get rid of jeff sessions, attorney general, won't replace roy moore in alabama senate race. back to our discussion on tax reform this morning. go to cornell in waterford works, new jersey, a democrat. cornell, good morning to you. you're on the air. what would you like to see in this tax reform legislation? caller: i would like to see 80% go to the bottom. nd then the 20% go to the top. this tax reform is top heavy, which 80% of the benefits are going to go to the top. 1%. and that's unheard of. especially when they've got away from hearing historically when any tax legislation or anything as big as this was done, they had hearings.

and also another thing is when the republicans come up with a plan, they caucus amongst themselves. they tone let any democrats in and then they put a plan out there and the reason why they they want us to vote on it quick is they don't want us to see the small details. what's really in the plan. of it's sinful because half the senate are republicans and yet they have no input. -- it's ess is not close enough that if we had hearings, i think that we could get something done. host: that was one of the complaints by senator ron johnson, republican of wisconsin who says he's not sure you can vote for this and that is that not all the senators good say in what was put forth in the legislation. now, the senate finance

committee has held as we said, this is day four, of marking up this legislation off democrats can offer amendments. they also then have the managers' mark. that is the chairman and the republican leadership deciding ultimately what's in the final package through the managers' amendment and they will be debating that and voting on that as well. that kicks off at 10:00 a.m. eastern time and you can listen to it and watch it on c-span3, c-span.org or get the free c-span radio app. let's listen to ways and means ranking member, ways and means committee, that is the committee that has jurisdiction over the tax code. here is richard neal, the ranking democrat on that committee from massachusetts and house -- how people will be affected by the current tax code. >> when they talk about taxly indication, take a look at the phase in and the phase outs of this measure. that's hardly simply indication.

d the corporate rate is made -- consider this. 13 million people will lose their health insurance based upon what republicans are doing in the united states senate. they're going to lose their health care to pay for a tax cut for people at the very top. now let me just walk through through some of these provisions because i think that they deserve our attention and the magnifying glass of critical analysis. so we are being asked tonight to for w $2.3 trillion to pay this tax cut. these are from people who regularly lecture the electorate on the need for fiscal austerity and balanced budget. when barack obama's president

the budget should be balance but in the intervening period of time, we don't have to balance the budget. $2.3 trillion is being added to the debt and deficits. so we are witness what they are attempting to do because they are going to scale back the tax benefits for buying a new home to $500,000. that is going to lower home values. host: congressman richard neal on the floor yesterday. he is the top democrat on the ways and means committee. the house kicked off debate yesterday. they'll continue when they come in for legislative session at 9:00 a.m. eastern time and then they are expected to vote today. so you can watch all of that on c-span. throughout the morning, we're getting your phone calls, your thoughts on republicans push for tax reform. john mcardle is also with us this morning to give us the lay of the land. john, go ahead. guest: i tweet about 15 minutes ago from congressman steve

scalise. he is the majority whip in the house. he is the man who is responsible for knowing what the vote count should be before the vote actually happens, tweetings just this morning, big day in the house today. and it's going to be a big day, especially because not only the vote but the president of the united states coming up to the hill to push republicans to join in this effort to pass this tax reform breitbart noting that president trump is going to be meeting with house republicans for that final push ahead of the tax reform vote. expecting the vote around 10:00. so the president going to be meeting with the concerns before that bloomberg quoting spokesperson for the white house saying that president trump plans on speaking to the conference about the need for tax cuts to boost the economy and make business more competitive, although as we said, 10 hard no votes right now is the expectation. republicans expose 22 members of their conference and still pass this legislation.

so as this "politico" headline points out, g.o.p. leaders are confident they will pass the bill today without needing much help from president trump. although president trump along with meeting members this morning tweeting about the vote last night, a couple of tweets from the president saying why are democrats fighting massive tax cuts for the middle class and business jobs? the reason, obstruction and delay and one other tweet from the president last night. why are democrats -- that's the other tweet from the president, on the same issue. two tweets from the president. adamship who is head of -- who is the ranking member of the intelligence committee reapplying to that -- replying from that tweet paid for by tax increases on students, teachers and homeowners and health care cuts for 13 million? basic fairness, i suppose is what the democrat wrote.

the president has a couple of tweets although both were focus on the ucla basketball players arrested for shoplifting in china. this is the time of the day that he president often tweets. host: james, good morning. you're on the air. thanks for waiting. what do you think? caller: i think it's time for democrats to take over. because republicans been jiving around. they ain't going to pass nothing. they're letting all these tax people get in office. it is time for the truth to come out. i want to say something, ma'am. when i was a little boy, i used -- ar my mother say [indiscernible] nd that guy needs to say that,

these people having sex with these young girls but back then, they did that. host: all right, we want to stay on topic. al, your thoughts on taxes from virginia. caller: good morning. my thoughts is pretty much the democrats and the republicans, you know they need to get it together. this tax for companies, i understand that we do need to give the companies some kind of a break, but it has been proven to be useful to the people of america. if we want america to actually become a country that's going to compete in the future, then we have to give the people the skill. and all i hear about is giving money to companies, but a company can't run without people that have skills. and if americans aren't skilled, therefore the job's going to go out of the country.

host: all right. caller: so no money is going to train the skilled americans or anything like that. host: gary, in illinois on our line for devpls gary, you're ext. caller: my comment is the republican party, i don't see where they care about the american working class at all. if they don't care about your health care, keep your alive, why in the world would the people think that they would care about your finances to keep your head above water so you could have a halfway decent life? i worked 53 years of my life and i've seen a definite change when ronald reagan got in there. and it's been downhill ever since. these corporations are not going

to bring jobs back. if they do, they'll be low paying jobs. they'll be no benefits to it. i live in an area where it's been devastated because of manufacturing's been gone for year. my father worked as a manager in manufacturing around here and when they sold out to the japanese, my father was just sick about that. so i hope everybody gets and voices their opinion about the way things are in this country. it's pathetic. if you don't help the massive people in this country, you won't have a country. the best, the most precious asset this country has is its people. and the republican party has not help that situation at all. host: all right. let's hear from linda, who is a republican in danville, alabama. good morning to you. caller: good morning.

what i was coming bark, to me,en there's no difference in republicans and democrats. they're all politicians. that's all they care about. is their jobs, their under the table pay, all this kind of stuff and they sure don't care about health care. if they had, they would left it alone like it was. because all these democrats talking about these people losing their insurance, they losing it anyway because they can't afford that mandate. they can't afford all this deductible. they can't afford, you know, what they got to pay. so they're losing their insurance so much what they need to do is just start listen to the people and doing what the people needs. not the democrats or the republicans. host: all right, linda. scott, wichita falls, texas, a republican. caller: good morning. how are you doing this morning, ma'am? host: good morning, scott. your thoughts on tax reform.

caller: yam -- yes, ma'am, tax reform. if they can be bipartisan about roy moore, you know, like within a couple of days, i don't see why they can't be bipartisan about giant tax cuts to help the american people. now, donald trump has done just about everything he possibly can to turn down -- to turn around obama era rules and regulations and now he's on tax reforms and health care. wouldn't this congress, the senate, the rest of the republican party going to back this man? i'm a black person, to be honest with you and i live in texas. and i'm for dusm that's how -- that sounds crazy to a lot of people. i've seen this man put his heart and soul into this country. he's not even getting paid for christ' sakes. and what donald trump is trying to achieve, i see too many people trying to stop him. and especially in his own party.

let's stick together, americans. host: what if republicans today don't get the votes to pass this tax reform proposal out of that chamber and then of course, you have the senate's bill, which is different from the house. they have to pass their own version zhesm the two sides have to come together and reconcile their differences before this even goes to the president's desk for his signature. caller: that sound insane, doesn't it? host: well, that's how congress works but if they can't pass something that gets to the president's desk, should he then turn around and try to cut some deals with democrats? caller: oh, god, that's like -- i mean, come on. when you look at nancy pelosi, that just gives me the creeps. i mean, why? why did we have to make a deal with democrats? host: ok. dave in cincinnati, democrat. hi, dave. caller: hi, greta, good morning. i love the dress you're wearing this morning, greta, very

pretty. host: thank you. caller: the cocoa brothers, take a look at where the money comes from that the republicans get for their campaigns. that's where this is directed back towards. this is a sweetheart deal not just for the rich but for the super, super rich. and my republicans -- why republicans do this is pretty simple, greta. i mean, they scratch the back of the people that gives them all his money. republicans are for the rich, by the rich and of the rich. which always confuse me -- let me finish my thought, greta. host: sure. caller: what always confused me is why working class people vote republicans? it's beyond me. i just don't understand. it's not in their best interest. go ahead, greta. host: in these tax reform

proposals, the house and the senate, where do you believe the wealthy benefit? because the tax code for the very wealthy stays -- the tax rate stays the same. but where do you see them enefiting? caller: corporations have to loyalty to our country anymore. they just go where they could make the most profits. i understand that. that's what they're going to do. host: and dave, this is a sentiment we've heard throughout the morning so far that we've been talking to folks here, and that is that people calling in and saying i don't trust these corporations. i don't think they're going to bring this money back and reinvest in our country. let's look at the corporate tax rates on the top corporate rate

of 35% applies to taxable income over 10 mall year. there are three corporate tax brackets. 15, 25 and 34% in the senate bill, they want to cut the corporate tax rate to 20% one year after passage. the senate would levy the rate after a one-year delay. in the house bill, cut the corporate tax rate to a permanent 20% immediately. the house proposals a 20% corporate tax rate that would go into effect in 2018. let's go on to john -- excuse me, don in tennessee, an independent. good morning, don. go ahead. caller: good morning, greta. how are you doing today? host: doing well. what do you think about what republicans want to do with taxes? caller: i wish i could speak intellectually but i have no idea what they intend to pass which is one reason i'm calling

today. this is the reason i'm an independent because you can't tell as the lady in alabama said, you can't tell the difference between democrats and republicans. once again, we're going to go through this. we've got to hurry up and pass it to time out what's in it. just like nancy pelosi said. host: yeah. but you can't follow the debate on c-span. c-span3, we've been covering the senate finance committee mark-up. we'll continue today when they start up at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. they're expected to go out there today, possibly into the evening as well. we covered last week's ways and means mark-up. and now, the vote in the house floor will, of course, be on c-span when our gavel to gavel coverage picks up at 9:00 a.m. eastern time. caller: well, that would be nice and it's great if i can watch it but i got work today. so -- [laughter] host: i understand, i understand. well, you can also, you know, go to c-span.org at the end of your day, if you have some time and look through our video there.

let's go on to larry in tennessee, democrat. caller: hello. i have a few things. one is i think it's -- i'm 70 years old and i have children and grandchildren. and i think it is irresponsible -- today's government to tax my children and grandchildren on bills that i've incurred during my lifetime and r us to increase the debt $2 trillion this criminal. it's criminal on people that -- on my grandchildren. they can't vote. they're too long to vote right now. we don't have any problems on our age to put that on our

children. that's one point. another point is it disagree with you that the rich don't get tax break, don't get a tax break. for one example of that and that inheritance. inheritance tax removed. from that group. that's the tax break. but to go back to the tet, increasing the debt, we should be paying our debt off. we should be paying our debt off so it's cheaper to run government, not increasing the debt where it's going to be more expensive. host: got it, larry, a democrat. let's listen to the ways and means chairman, kevin brady,

republican of texas and he talk about why republicans are making this push. >> today with the tax cuts and job tax, we change all of this. with this bill, we have an opportunity to deliver the most transformation tax overhaul in the generation. so make no mistake this bill is not about us. it's not about congress. this bill is about for the first time in decades, providing the american people with the simple and fair tax system, so much so nine out of 10 americans will be able to file using a simple postcard style system. it's about finally rewarding hard work, growing jobs and paychecks and allowing americans to keep more of their hard earned money to use on whatever is important to them. so if you're one of the millions of americans who is sick of today's tax code, you're going to see a remarkable difference. you'll see a standard deduction doubled, increasing to protect more of every paycheck from

taxes. you'll have a larger child tax credit, providing more support as you raise a family and care for your loved ones and more americans will get help raising heir kids. jewel peace of mind when it comes to some of life's most important investment because this bill preserves tax benefits to help you afford your home, to pay your property taxes, and puts your kids through college. so if you're a typical middle income family of four making $59,000 a year, you're going to get a tax cut of nearly zhrr00. more than that, you're going to enjoy the benefit of a strong, healthy and growing american economy. you're going to see more jobs on main street. with this bill, our small businesses will finally have low tax rates and a fair tax code that works with them as they grow and create jobs. you are going to see our larger businesses, our iconic american

brands and major manufactures win throughout the world and create new good paying jobs right here at home. because with this bill, we're going to have one of the most modern and one of the most competitive tax codes on the planet. that includes lowering our corporate rate from 35% to 20% which beats many of our international competitors. not only are we going to see jobs stop leaving the united states, you're going to see our nation become a 21st century magnate for job creation and business investment. with the jobs, the american people will see and help lead the way in launching a new era of made in america innovation. host: do you agree with the ways and means committee, chairman there, republican of texas, kevin brady, that of republicans' goals? that's our discussion with all of you this morning on this thursday. it's tax day on capitol hill as house republicans get ready to

vote on the house floor and their proposal and the senate republicans are continuing to work on their legislation on the committee level. the senate plans to vote after thanksgiving the two sides will have to come together. we want to know what you think about republicans' push on tax reform. andy in highland, maryland, a republican. good morning. caller: i'll just start by saying i recently retired, 20 years in the military as an enlisted person. and i'm fortunate enough to have been able to walk across and transition into a normal job. and i saw a net pay increase and this is great. however, the first thing that i've been told by many of my counterparts, my coworkers, is just wait until tax time. put aside as much as you can because you are going to be paying a lot of taxes.

and when it comes to negotiating wages, you have to be careful. if you accept a little bit more than -- sounds like a great deal upfront, but then you end up being punished come tax time. that's been the norm for a long time. i, as a service member, i was fortunate enough to kind of be sheltered from some of that due to our own non-taxable income. but now that i understandably can't benefit from that anymore and i shouldn't benefit from that anymore, i have to be considered -- i have to consider these things, come tax time. host: ok. caller: but as a republican -- i'm sorry, but as as a republican, i will say that i agree with don, your independent caller from earlier. he said that he hadn't heard enough about this. you know, right now, it's getting a lot of play. and we are hearing a lot about it and yet, c-span has a lot of information on the site and i'm tracking so much that and i'm

looking at it. but i do believe that this is being rushed and i do believe that this should happen. that we should simplify the tax code. but i do think we need a little bit. we can slow our role a little bit to use the vernacular. we can slow down just a little bit and really digest this. and listen. i have been listening the last few days to all sides on this. and there is room for change. host: and know the nitty-gritty. we know the key differences but it takes a while to get to the nitty-gritty. what is in these proposals and the house proposal of 400-plus pages. and by the way, we have links to these bills on our website if you want to go there. john mcardle with us throughout this morning in this discussion about tax reform as well and other news of the day. john what, do you have? guest: you just played that clip of ways and means chairman kevin brady and he is on fox news 15 minutes ago this morning. did want to know what he said

there. "we zro the votes for this tax bill. this is a historic step but it is not the last step" is what kevin brady said in that interview. he later said they are on schedule get the tax reform bill to the president's desk by the end of the year. again, that vote scheduled to start around 10:00 today. we'll see what happens. about 10 no votes right now. republicans can lose 22 members of their conference and still pass the legislation. as we talk about tax reform not the only issue going on in washington today and this week, a very busy week in washington as our c-span viewers know. the embattled director of the consumer financial protection bureau announced wednesday he will leave the agency at the end of november. this reporting from the n.p.r. story on cordray who has been a tough regulator and a frequent target of republican lawmakers. congress killed a rule by the

bureau that louse consumers to bring las lawsuits and cordray was confirmed as head of the agent two years after he was nominated by president barack obama. some reaction on twitter yesterday from various members of the senate. dianne feinstein, under richard cordray, she wrote they fought to return nearly $12 billion to consumers across the america. richard, i thank you for your service and can't wait to hear what's next for you. from minnesota, al franken where is "the cfbb, richard cordray has worked tirelessly by protecting consumer rights and holding big financial institutions accountable. also a thank you from al franken. and then from the republican's ide of the isle -- aisle, mike brown. product of dodd-frank, the

cfpb, writing harmful new regulations that unnecessarily limit the financial choices available to consumers. while i continue to believe that they would best serve consumers, i look forward to this opportunity to chart a new course at the agency. that's just some of the reaction yesterday from that announcement from richard cordray. host: and what's next for richard cordray? the columbus dispatch asks. will he run for governor of ohio? the former ohio attorney general richard cordray's decision to leave the federal consumer watchdog agency he helped found creates uncertainty in that agency future and perhaps high drama in the race to replace governor john kasich. bob in oxford, pennsylvania, independent. bob, back to our discussion on taxes. good morning to you. caller: america has a wonderful program as c-span always does have. i've been sitting here listening to all these conversations. a lot of them have already take

en some of my funder. the guy from illinois's kind of really hit it on the head. nd i know that ronald reagan was the start of the working man's downfall. one of the first things he did when he got into power was to fire 100,000 union workers and we've been sliding downhill ever since. and bill clinton has to take his part in it too and the republicans, when they sent our jobs overseas. wasn't -- there wasn't for free trade, it was for corporations avoidfind slave labor and our ind of laws to protect environment. and people have said they don't see the difference between republicans and democrats, and i agree to a certain extent in today's democrats, they do get

most of their money just where the republicans do. but i do think as you watch congress and they span the camera over congress and the republicans' side, you see 90% white men and a few women. on the democrats' siding you start to see america. you see a little bit of every race and all different peoples coming from all different parts of life. so i think that's one of the differences between the republican party and the democrat party. host: ok. caller: the republican party party definitely are -- and i don't think they mean harm if they do, it's a shame. but they kind of want to watch out for the big guys thinking it's going to trickle down to the little possesssant. host: mary in washington, washington. what do you think about republicans' earths to change the tax code here? caller: i think the effort of

nothing. this is the same tax plan that reagan put in, bush put in and unfortunately, who i love, barack obama did extend it. but i'm sure he didn't want to because he didn't have too much help from the surrounding people. this is a tax cut for aledson, for the koch brothers. i don't think a republican wrote it. this has to be written by the n.r.a. and kevin brady looks like a person giving a speech. and if you watch the interaction between warren hatch and claire mchaskell and he could not answer her. he looked like little boy with a popsicle and it doesn't make any sense. and you know what i wish that you all would do? that you would let goodman go through every politician and donors. we got to know where they're

getting their money. that's democrats, republicans and independents. i'm a democrat but i'm a bernie sanders democrat, not a hillary clinton on. therefore, we need to change some things. and may i also say if you want to take care about the lives about health care, please put some navigators on. that's how i get my information, through navigators not the website which is screwed up. host: ok. caller: but the tax plan? no. and we're going to fight really hard to make sure it doesn't go through because they don't have the votes right now. and putting the mandate in, really? have a good day, greta. host: mary, we do have those discussions here on the "washington journal" about fundraising. you can also go to opensecrets.org and plug in a member's name and see where they get their money, according to their f.c.c. files. gloria, a republican. gloria, you're on the air. caller: i just wanted to state that the wealthy get the same

tax cuts as the middle class does. the bigger cut is just on the money they make over and above what the middle class makes. secondly on the penalty on the health care plan, you don't pay a penalty if your health care would cost you more than 8% of your income. and thirdly, there was a republican who said that if they don't get this passed, the donors have said they're going to pull out. so this is not for the people of the united states. this is for their donors and their donors only. host: all right. ken in washington, d.c., an independent. hi, ken. your turn. caller: good morning. i'm sure you have a relative in your family during the spirit of the holidays that wants to share a recipe with you on how to make something. so it's like this tax bill is similar to your grandmother giving you a recipe but not

obviously not telling you what the ingredients are but not telling you the measurements that go with it. i have no trust in someone that's pushing this agenda when donald trump won't even show his taxes. i thought i thought this is what is about. it is about taxes, you would think someone is honest enough to share texas. i think trump last year said there would be consequences for companies that leave the country. a carrot inngling front of them to drawback the companies, but not necessarily the jobs. beyond that, when you are talking about stemming the tide, he also said he would no longer allow companies to leave -- there would be serious punishment for them -- but companies still leave on a monthly basis. there are 350, 400, or more, that left during his

administration. you cannot trust the people in office that play together, see together. you have to make changes. host: ok. we continue to get your thoughts here on this thursday morning on "the washington journal" on tax return -- tax reform. begin more debate at 10:00 a.m. the president is expected to go to capitol hill around 11:00 a.m. eastern time and talk republicans behind closed doors. on the senate side, the senate finance committee is working on their own legislation over there. it is day four of their markup amending the legislation and debate that is taking place. we have covered it all. go to c-span.org for more. we are getting your thoughts on the push for tax reform through today's "washington journal."

we have another hour left. if you are just joining us, dial in -- host: you can also go to twitter, or facebook. we'll go to robert in athens, alabama. a democrat. high, robert. caller: good morning. good morning, c-span, and america. person, anded here's a situation i think is happening here. ais is a tax cut but it is great tax cut if it has stipulations. if you are going to give incorporation a 20% corporate tax rate tied to them expanding business here in the united states, or building a new business here in the united states. stipulation tout

at on corporations is just big, huge tax cut for every filthy, wealthy person in the united states. make them earn the tax cut. don't be a fool. we are being played by these people. they just want to increase their wealth without helping anyone but filthy, rich people. host: ok. caller: make them earn it. host: robert in alabama. more detail on the timeline -- the house comes in at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business. they will do morning speeches, etc. they will go on to debate over the tax reform bill, and likely they break to meet with the president around 11:30 a.m., then pick it back up after they meet with the president. a vote on this final passage is no earlier than 1:30 p.m.

continue to watch c-span today. if you don't have a computer and it television, you can always listen on our free c-span radio on your phone. more coming up, but first back to john mcardle. host: we mentioned the expectation among republicans in the house at the have the votes to pass us. "hill"s with the newspaper. happen,about what will saying it is unlikely there will be another rose garden victory lap. instead, president trump will hold what republicans call a pep rally on the hill before the big game. that is what we have been talking about -- the president talking to the republican conference before the house vote. also watching the senate side -- the senate finance committee continues to debate their tax proposal. on theecting a debate

senate floor until after the thanksgiving recess, but one of the key issues that has come to the forefront is this proposal to repeal the individual mandate in the affordable care act in the senate legislation, and senatoro" pointing to tom cotton as one of the key members of the senate to push for that to be included. peg write in their story, ging it to a november 2 meeting with donald trump to how leaders coaxed their leadership into what could be before's errand to try to take down obamacare. "political"e move, writes, they will use the savings to plow into more tax cuts. would be --

host: if you want to read more on the genesis of this been included in senegal, you can go to their website. mark meadows is the house -- head of the freedom caucus in the house. he also gave tom cotton credit on this issue. host: and one more tweet on this inclusion of the individual mandate now in the senate package -- bob casey, the democrat from pennsylvania reportedly telling kyle griffin of nbc --

host: a lot happening on both sides of capitol hill. we are covering it on c-span. host: let's see what our viewers have to say. harold in florida. a republican. caller: hi. i definitely believe in this tax reform. i think anything that has 88,000 pages in it has to be reforms and we have to keep doing this every so many years just like the annual census. this is crazy. it is so bad that you have people who were totally honest like ronald reagan say he only made two movies a year because in the late 1940's after he made the second movie it cost him more money to make the movie, whatever his job was, then he would get. the government got it all. this is nuts. we have -- we live in a country that have tax bills that have provisions for just one company, and we call this legal. it is crazy. we have corporations that instead of making decisions

based on economics and business plans, they make it based on tax avoidance. they have law firms and advisers hired just for tax avoidance. it makes absolutely no sense especially when you consider under the law if you call in to the irs and they give you an opinion and tell you what you can do, you cannot hold them to it, and legally, it is not an excuse in court. you cannot rely on it. that is insane. host: you might be interested in this piece in "the new york times."

host: again, this is "the new york times" reporting on tax gifts for select few. dave in new york. independent. hi, dave. caller: good morning, greta. host: good morning. caller: i had a different take on this thing. i think this has become so obvious that the republicans have one deity in life, and that is to travel cash to the wealthy. daughter -- i had a that needed -- it came in right in time, otherwise i would be in

the poor house now. it saved my skin. if you look at all the deductions we are losing -- you know, we're going to reduce your tax rate, but they are taking away all the deductions on top of it, which actually increases the tax rate. i just don't see how this bill can be sold, and i am going to go on an active campaign against my representative if he votes on this. i am going to do everything i can to make sure he does not enjoy another term in the congress because this is just horrific, and it is so obvious. -- what was his name, daily i think, that was on earlier -- the way he sold it, it sounded like you for -- euphoria. the guy talked about 88,000 pages of tax code -- we are adding to those pages.

we are not subtracting. when donald trump was campaigning and held up the little card and said this is all you need, folks, a postage side postcard and you can do your taxes on it. well, i don't know about that. this has become a very -- i .on't know, deceiving deal that is all i have to say. i don't relieve it, i don't like it, and i'm going to be very angry. host: dave, a couple of things -- that was kevin brady you are talking about, a republican from texas, chairman of the chairs and means committee -- ways and means committee. hill", if you go to "the website, they have a running with list of where republicans stand on the tax reform bill. all the democrats are planning to vote against this is what we are learning this morning from "politico" and other capitol hill newspapers. if you want to find out where

they are on this bill, go to thehill.com. let's hear from shane, a democrat. caller: if you could give me a moment to make a couple of points, it would be great. i love c-span. i have been watching for a couple decades, it seems like. this whole thing that is going through feels like just what i 90's when the late-19 the republicans pushed through all those chinese trade bills, getting them into the wto and everything. the promises are very similar. everything is going to be great, great. another point, if you let me, real quick -- once upon a time our congressman all used to be protected by something called the hidden ballot. at the end of the day, they would go in and they would make their votes on bills, but nobody would know about it, and that

way they could vote their conscience. that is something people don't realize also. second make one more point -- people need to pay attention to the value of their money. everyone is so obsessed with how much of a tax cut they are going to get, really they are taking their eye off the ball. when i was a kid, my dad made busn dollars an hour as a driver, and as a kid we had a new house and a new car every five or seven years. our money used to be worth something. everyone is obsessed with this number. wives are working, our kids are working -- it takes three or four people to pay the bills in houses. it blows my mind what i have seen in my lifetime. host: shane in florida there, a democrat. more your calls coming up on tax reform and what you want to see from congress as republicans are pushing forward with two

proposals -- one in the house, one in the senate to change the tax code. in other news this morning, "the new york times" has this story about roy moore and that senate sets -- special election. accuse moore of misconduct. says ithington post" talks to one of these women, and the alabama media group talks to another woman that says roy moore pursued them. the ages range from 14 to 28. you can read more in those newspapers. also, the senate republicans, led by mitch mcconnell, the majority leader, looking to somehow replace roy moore, and reporting they are looking to trigger another special election by having the

current sitting senator stepped down. washingtonarassment, post -- "lawmakers are pushing in thee protections workplace. it is a direct response to the groundswell of claims about unwanted sexual advances. "roll call" reported that jackie sphere-- reported over the years members of congress have paid out $10 million to claims. signs thatimes" russia you social media to sway the brexit vote.

so, if you're registered in that, you can read more in "the new york times" on that. in international news, quickly here, "the financial times," the army takes over in zimbabwe, four-decade grip. . john mcardle, you have an update happening inat is capitol hill -- on capitol hill. host: if all of that was not enough for our viewers, it looks like there is more news to, the

issue of gun control. a tweet yesterday some of our viewers might have seen from senator chris murphy of connecticut -- a member of congress who very much has been pushing for increased gun control. he represents connecticut and he has been outspoken on this issue, especially since the sandy hook shooting. newseeted yesterday -- big , super close to breakthrough on gun legislation, stay tuned. nothing released just yet, and questions from reporters yesterday after the tweet came out. this story from "the washington post" following up on it saying that senator chris murphy and john cornyn, the -- republican from texas, are the main forces behind legislation that includes senator richard blumenthal. they are expected to pull more republican support before formally releasing it. it is now in focus, reiterating the requirements that federal agencies report infractions to

.he criminal background check the deficiencies in the database have come into sharp focus -- host: we will look for legislation and news on that. john cornyn tweeting out last night a hint of what is to come -- "we're not doing enough to patch up the nics background check system." host: let's go to georgia and florida. a republican. george, good morning to you. what your thoughts on tax reform. tax reform -- progressive taxation kills me.

it is a double jeopardy. if you divide the difference between civil maintenance, which i use the roads, and everything else, and entitlements and giveaways, the democratic party wouldn't exist. that is why they are all voting for the is this side of things -- business side of things to fund them, and that is who funds them. the more i pay, the less i am able to take in any other programs, but that is not what i wanted to say. what i wanted to say is there has to be tax reform. socialism is dead worldwide. it lasted 100 years and that is it. china is capitalistic. we're just going to have to get in there and realize that the investment in the united states is not staying in the united states. we're just going to have to

realize that we are going to have to join the international community when it comes to business, and especially when it comes to competitive taxation. so, your biggest lobby in the country is the people that get a free social security check after a certain age and they donate to the democratic party. wait a minute -- one more thing -- it is not just one side. you talk about corporations, greedy corporations, you have an entire industry of activist corporations that pay nothing but take grants. are your colleges and universities greedy corporations? thank you very much. host: keith. independent. what you think? caller: i am retired military and i am a small business consultant. most of my clients right now are scared to death at worst and concerned at best about this in one of the big reasons why is my

first point is that this thing was done basically in the dark. it was drafted in the dark. it was manipulated in the dark, and now they are coming out at the very last minute to let everyone know what the details are. not enough time for the cbo to really score this. my clients are really concerned standpoint,company as well as an individual standpoint on their taxes. course, you know this went through the light of day, and it took a wild. it was not rushed like it is now. the other point i want to make is i know everybody is concerned about this. we are a point now where we have to look at the result that has passed. we hold anyone accountable that has a part in dispute what we do is if it does not work out, they don't say anything -- in this. what we do is if it does not work out, they don't say anything.

if we like what happened, keep him in the job. if we don't like the result, we need to go to the ballot box, and have a list. everyone that supported it, they have to have a new job, but it won't be where they are. comments. i am sure time. host: all right. keith. we go to brooklyn. lee is watching on the line for democrats. caller: i want to say first about the farmers -- they are not going to benefit from this tax bill. there has been a push that this is to benefit small farms. no it isn't. ime third -- i am a third -generation farmer in north dakota, minnesota, south dakota, and my family is not going to benefit. host: why do you say that before you go on to other thoughts? to havebecause you have a net worth of 20 $2 million if you're going to be a farmer. right now farmers in the midwest

are biggest problem is nafta. he is trying to kill nafta. we have built our markets around it. people that have grown corn used to sell it to mexico. well, mexico is scared to death to buy it because they don't know what kind of tariff he is going to put on it so they are not buying our corn. so guess who is coming to mexico to sell them corn --argentina. that market will be shot forever. the price of corn is going to bottom out. these farmers -- the cost of farming is much greater, even for the small farmer. the trucks are bigger and more expensive, and so are the tractors. it used to be you could be able to fix your own tractor. you cannot do it now, because of reading is computerized. you have to pay for somebody else to come out and reprogram your tractor. some people can't even afford to have a tractor, so they sell

them. debt that about the farmers have to take on every year? caller: it is huge. huge. last year was a bad year. everything could go in one rainstorm, or you get a week in august, and you're ready to harvest, and you get nothing but rain. it just washes away the protein on the kernel of your wheat. host: lee in new york, referencing the estate tax -- tax has anthe estate exemption's up to $5.49 million for an individual, and $11 million for married couples. it is indexed for inflation. in the senate deal they -- bill they want to double the exemption and keep it that way. the senate proposal is to double the exception and continue to index the exemptions through

inflation through 2025. in the house bill, they will propose to double the current exemption to $11 million for an individual, and $22 million for a married couple, but only at first. the estate tax would then be repealed starting in 2025. jim's in halifax, pennsylvania. caller: thank you for hearing me. i see a big difference between the democrats and the republicans. personally i believe the democrats look out for the people, although they would love -- i truly believe the democrats would love to have everyone dependent on the government because they give away so much. they buy these other countries. on the other hand the republicans are out to gouge us just like the democrats -- take all they can to give away. the republicans are there to take our money and give to the rich. here is a prime example.

i am in pennsylvania. we are in a fight to give these big corporations the big -- the most tax payer dollars to bring these companies to the states. there is state wars going on -- who is going to give the most tax dollars to these corporations to come to their state? question is to mr. trump, personally to you, mr. trump -- your income, your wealth has grown from $1 million to $8 billion. -- two $8billionaire billion, sir. you are a billionaire, sir. mr. pat toomey, the same thing as well. his wealth has increased drastically. why do you think there wealth increases leaps and bounds, and i am a working man -- i work at a steel mill. mr. ross bought that for $1 billion.

he sold that for $5 billion. in a matter of a few years, mr. wilbur ross made $4 billion over the sale of a steel mill. now, don't get me wrong, when mr. ross was there, we made wrong, we all prospered. as soon as mr. ross was out of there, we lost money. losing this, losing that. i vote no. no for any cut to the millionaires for them to get more money from the working people. and i heard about reagan a few times, and reagan, when he gave us that tax break, all of a sudden our personal tax, our real estate tax, every tax in pennsylvania went up to make up -- he. reagan's tax cuts shut the mental hospitals down.

that is where we're in this shoot them up, face -- shoot them up phase we are in in this country. people that needed help. host: i will leave it there. talking about wilbur ross, the present's commerce secretary. tom in bethlehem, pennsylvania. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. peoplea problem with the talking about the middle class and the rich. i have never known a middle-class person that works for his life and provides for his family, starting a job, hiring another person, and paying him a salary. i have only known rich people that start a business, need people, and hire them. the is the story between cut for the middle-class man and the cut for the rich man?

i am tired of this. this is ludicrous. if you want to talk about taxes, start talking to the people in the irs --the front-line people who do the taxes. stop talking to these people who don't know squat about it and need their special interest groups to give them talking points. this is getting to be ridiculous. host: all right. caller: have a good day. host: you, too. east syracuse, new york. good morning. caller: good morning. iq for taking my call. i enjoy c-span2 -- thank you for taking my call. i enjoy c-span. i was never wealthy. middle-class, but i watched a hearings on the tax debate -- the hearings on the -- tax debate, and i have to tell you might

blood pressure had to go up 250 over 150 because what i saw, what i heard from the republicans -- yes, let's number one thing -- every time a republican has been in office hour -- our debt has skyrocketed. i do agree with one man when he talked about st. reagan. he created a lot of heartache for a lot of people and left the country in bad shape. i am so tired of everything they revert back to. i actually heard senators -- i don't even know how they can even say the things that they obama isat hate for still going on, and we have this book from in the -- buffoon in the office. i have called everyone i can possibly call. i work on a grassroots level.

the republicans do not deserve to be in office. host: i will leave it there. thoughts on tax report. we will continue to take your phone calls until about 9:00 p.m. eastern time when the house will gaveled in for the legislative session today, continuing to debate on the tax reform pozo put forth by house republicans, with a vote sometime this afternoon. president trump heading up there to talk to them behind closed doors. keep dialing in. let washington know what you think about the republicans push to change the tax code. in the meantime, we go back to john mcardle. host: as we talked about a lot, the whip lists that republican leadership is keeping -- republican leaders can only lose 22 members of their own conference for this vote, the tax reform bill to pass in the house. the expectation is no democrat will vote for this bill. i want to go back to the whip lists we showed from matt fuller

of "the washington post." among his -- "the huffington post." members are from new york, new jersey, california, new york, new jersey, new york, new york. that stems from the reduction in state and local tax deductions. that is the part of the republican plan that limits the ability to deduct their state and local taxes from their federal taxes. i will show you this chart from "the washington post." it is the share of taxpayers in 2013k the deductions versus trunk/clinton -- vote margins. the public and members voting

no, new jersey, new york, california, where people take the salt deduction much more than the republican-meaning taking this country. one of the members voting no is leonard lance. he is quoted in this cnbc story talking about his concern of -- about the elimination of state and local tax deductions. leonard lance saying the tax reform bill picks winner states over loser states, and that is why he will be voting no. democrats, from the states where deductionthe salt also ringing the bell about this concern. here is a letter tweeted out from a constituent, william in woodbridge ro khanna is a democrat from california, tweeting out

yesterday the republican tax reduction's salt dangerously impact prospective and current bay area homeowners. one more from tom swazi of new out -- keeping -- tweeting "keep your hands off our state and local tax reduction." virale picture that went with steve mnuchin stowing the -- showing the dollar bills that had steve mnuchin's signature on it. that is one of the concerns members that are voting today. host: we go back to calls. gal in texas. a republican. good morning to you. you are on the air. you have to listen to your phone and not through the tv. let's go to david, in anchorage. independent. caller: good morning, greta. thank you for c-span.

thank god. i love c-span, my favorite program, and i love watching the committee hearings so i can get my real facts and news. i would like to respond to the lady -- i am originally from iowa. i would love to talk to the lady about family farms. there is no such animal today in this united states of the family farm. there are family corporations. unfortunately for these folks, they are some of the biggest corporate welfare industry in the country. for example, two thirds of the produced crop today the production of ethanol. the federal government subsidizes ethanol at the rate of $.65 a gallon. that is the taxpayer subsidizing that. there are no family farms. they are big corporations. with that being said, i want to talk about the mortgage interest deduction. i am sitting here and i am thinking, would i rather pay a mortgage company, let's say

$10,000 a year in mortgage interest, and then they could get $2800 back as a tax break, or would i rather send that $10,000 to the federal government to pay down the federal debt? as you know, the mortgage interest industry and the real of theindustry are two most powerful special interests and lobbyists groups in washington, d.c. well, folks, when the standard deduction goes up to $24,000 for a married couple, guess what, you don't need a mortgage interest reduction anymore, and i personally would rather pay down the national debt. host: all right, david, we will take a look at "politico" page this morning. they can do duct up to a combined $1 million. in the senate bill, there is no change.

they would preserve the deduction. in the house, they want to slice it in half. the house proposes taxpayers the depth interest rates for mortgage balance on new homes up to $25,000. that means if you currently have a mortgage, you are grandfathered in. let's go to angelo in new haven. a democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. i would like to share my opinion -- first of all, when president reagan went in, one of the things he did was give us the state and social security taxes. ever since then, we have had these taxes. what is going on with the republicans, i kind of wish everything goes through with republicans, let the country know what is going on with the republicans and the only way they find out is at this tax goes through, we will never vote these people in again. host: you think democrats take

back the house and the senate and the white house? caller: i do. becausehink they will what is going to happen here is people in the midwest, the lower states are going to find out what is really going on, and republicans do not care if they lose their homes because of medical bills. they don't care if they pay higher taxes. more money going to the rich. they don't care right now because what they are hearing is all about handouts given to the lower class people, and going out to other countries. the one thing, republicans have a hand in that, just like the two wars that mr. bush started, for crying out loud? who is going to pay for these disabled veterans? i'm a disabled veteran from the unum. it took me -- from vietnam. to realize i years had a problem. veterans are now admitting they have ptsd. it will happen.

we are losing 22 women and men a day to suicide, over 100,000 since 9/11. andicans have to wake up find out who the real guilty people are here, and republicans are very smooth and the way they present their case. host: let's stick to your point -- angelo is predicted that if tax reform passes and other major legislation on the republican-controlled white house and congress, he is protecting democrats win, the take back the house and the senate, possibly the white house in 2020. speaking of politics in 2020, here is "the huffington post." their banner this morning on the liberal website is "sorry, joe," and if you link to the story is their headline on this is joe is a terrible idea in a post-hiving -- post-weinstein

america. regina in pennsylvania. a republican. good morning. the lady that called in about the debt coming -- bush did give us that under the medicare prescription jog bill which was never able to be afforded, and it -- and drug bill which was never to be able to be afforded. a lot of people are on drugs and they want me to pay for it. obama came in and he doubled the debt. i think it was 10 trillion. that is why we are -- where we are at where we are at. thinkes under people who i have supposed to give them a handout. cotton,o comment tom bless his heart. the man in new york who decided it is my first must like to take care of his daughter -- he wants his exemptions from paying certain taxes.

know, that guy that was on earlier talking about the mortgage -- bless his heart for explaining that whole thing because him giving exemptions from that, if he has money to do exemptions and pay fancy lawyers and attorneys or cpa's to take care of his taxes, why am i responsible for his choice in health care? the choice in health care that i make is my choice, and the decisions i make for a lifestyle is my choice. what his daughter did with her life is his choice. to put that burden on me and my loved ones for people that are too fat and need to be remedied -- explained to me why i have to pay for health insurance that does not service me? that is what obamacare does. host: we heard your point, and you applaud senator tom cotton, the republican from arkansas who

pushed hard for the senate republican tax bill to include repeal of the individual mandate under the affordable care act. listen to the senate finance chairman orrin hatch, republican of utah, yesterday, when the committee was debating this legislation, and while republicans decided to include the repeal. [video clip] mycontrary to what democratic colleagues claimed, the repeal of the individual mandate has not had also collapse of our health care system. in fact, cbo says, and i am quoting from the most recent analysis here, "if the mandate tax were to be repealed, non-growth insurance markets would continue to be stable in almost all areas of the country throughout the coming decade." figures, not distort

and let's tone down the drama and the rhetoric just a little bit. in addition, let's be clear -- repealing the tax does not take anyone's health insurance away. no one would lose access to coverage or subsidies that help them pay for coverage unless they chose not to enroll in health coverage once the penalty for doing so is no longer in effect. no one would be kicked off of medicaid. no one would lose insurance they are currently getting from insurance carriers. nothing. nothing in the modified mark impacts obamacare policies like coverage for pre-existing conditions or restrictions for lifetime limits on coverage. i hope people will stop with the scare tactics that we have heard thus far. the mark simply repeals an extremely regressive tax. why did we do this?

it seems logical to me that taking revenue accrued through the repeal of an aggressive tax on low and middle income families in order to cut taxes for those families is really a good idea. and that is what we have done here. host: senator orrin hatch, chairman of the senate finance committee, republican of utah, leading the committee this week through their changes of the senate republican plan. they will continue their work at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. you can continue to watch it on c-span3, c-span.org, or that the free c-span radio app and listen to the debate there on the senate side. on the house side, they will be coming in and about 15 minutes to can -- in about 15 minutes to continue debating. john mcardle is with us talking about this tax reform bill. what you have? host: as members are getting ready to come in for the day, they are also revving up their twitter accounts for a big day

when it comes to tax reform. both members for and against it. barry loudermilk, a republican from georgia, tweeting out this morning, "a lot has changed since 1986, but our tax code is not one of them. it is time americans should be able to keep more of their hard-earned money." another tweet from brendan boyle of pennsylvania, tweeting out among other things, "i will be no."g hell eric swat cell saying there is nothing more i can do that is more important for my .onstituents then vote no it takes away deductions for local taxes and homeownership. only the 1% do better. members of the senate tweeting out today, as the senate finance committee continues their work -- sherrod brown is a democrat from ohio saying statistics we will lose 11 ohio wins to the

opioid epidemic by the end of today. ohioans want to help, but the gop tax bill makes ohioans pay taxes on donations to treatment facilities. my amendment would fix that." watch the amendment process to the senate bill on c-span2. you can watch all the action on the house for here on c-span. host: harold. california. independent. before the work gets underway on capitol hill, what you have to say to lawmakers? well, i believe this is going to hurt the city, county, state, public workers, because they fall into the category where they will be paying more taxes and stuff, and i believe since they are nonprofit, they have to pay their own taxes, too, and it will cut theirs in half and it won't be too much longer before their taxes won't cover their own benefits and everything.

so, i believe there is a lot to this, and they really have to get it right before it is passed. it is not good. private sector will pay by getting higher taxes on their home to pay for the public sector, which is nonprofit. host: harold, the houseboats today, than the senate will -- the house boats today, than the senate will vote after the thanksgiving holiday. and they will have to come together, reconcile the differences, pass a reconciled, is and then go to the president's desk. john. a democrat. caller: hi, greta. starting offo say that reality is more important than ideas. i am looking at the tax policy center table 1 in terms of expanded cash income. $37,000 decrease

-- so supposedly $37,000 more in their pocket. get $2300. think of housing. generally, housing in our area might be $1000 or less. so you get two months of rent, 3% gethe top 30% get -- 3700 -- $37,100, and tell me, are they going to be contributing charitably, or keeping it? generally, tax cuts have not gone to the benefit of employees. generally, they have gone to shareholders or the ceo's. so, i would say this is a nonstarter. also, along the lines of -- i live in oregon -- i saw your chart regarding state and local

taxes. that is going to affect me and many people in my state. so, again, no. host: john, again, tell our viewers where you are reading from that chart -- tax policy -- what was it? caller: tax policy center. host: ok, just for others that want to go to it. c -- r: so it is tp host: our producer will find it. let's go to lloyd in florida. republican. no pressure on our producer there. [laughter] host: let's go to lloyd. hi, lloyd. caller: good morning, greta. host: how are you? caller: i am good. just want to make a quick couple points -- i have been listening c-span for debate on couple of months, and something

i have not heard anyone mention, theber one, the 1950's to 1970's was the greatest growth america has ever express, and 90%,ersonal income tax was and the top executives made about 42 times with the average worker made in salary. today, that number is about 400 times, whereas worth -- worldwide it is still higher than 42 times, but nowhere near what it is in america. 1970's, wagese for the average worker have been flat when adjusted with -- for inflation. the major point i have not heard anyone mention is when the last tax reform was done in the 1980's there was also a movement in the states to pass a balanced budget amendment, and at the time it had 30 votes, 30 states that already approved it, and it only requires 38.

the bottom line for me is we need a balanced budget amendment and we need a term limit amendment. caller: lloyd in florida. by the way, the website -- the producers on it -- taxpolicycenter.org, and if you look at their analysis, you can find the chart the viewer with talking about -- percentage in and howfter tax income much money people will have left over. you can find that again, taxpolicycenter.org. pat, nebraska, independent. hi, pat. good morning. caller: hi, greta. orrin hatch is full of prudence. the gal who called and dashed overweight people is not understand how insurance works. way,ax reform plan, by the is immoral and it underscores the republican agenda of enriching the very rich and multinational corporations and themselves.

gifts forpolicy of no lawmakers so they cannot be bought and owned. host: ok. randy in iowa. democrat. what you think? caller: good morning, greta. -- three of the main ingredients are deregulation, tax cuts, and globalization. for looking in the past deregulation and tax cuts -- where it led us in 2008, i don't think joe biden is a logical candidate. --k to the point of tax cuts since reagan -- in the last 15 years we have lost 6 billion jobs, and that profit is sitting overseas at $2 trillion or more. after the paradise papers, i don't think we really know how much money is laying off shore.

i don't think the republicans, through deregulation of banks and the off shoring of funds -- that was under george bush -- i think what we are doing is setting ourselves up for another catastrophe. the democrats are going to be sitting there holding the bag on this. they are finally going to give it to them again. the healing process is going to ,ake so long and be so painful and i think after deregulation, tax cuts, and globalization, we are looking at an oligarchy situation, like bernie sanders said. we are looking at a catastrophe in the making, and nobody is really paying attention. we have a lot of white people who think they are the ones being persecuted through fox refreshingand it is to hear people from alabama and

florida and other states that are hard right speak up like average working people. areink the working people the 120 get the short end of the stick here. thank you very much. host: philip. what is your message to washington this morning? caller: they kept saying when the aca was passed there was no republican votes in there, so they should not have passed it, now they try to do this with the tax bill was just them and not the democrats. it is the hypocrisy of it all. we, as americans, when the lady from pennsylvania talked about how she did not want to pay for the guy's daughters's medication. i'm a man -- i don't mind paying for birth control. it is what we're supposed to do as people, decent people.

already.erpopulated if we can do anything to stop that, why not? but to a bigger problem, people need to wake up and understand that when a party puts its members over the population, that is a problem. that is a big problem. to me is starting to stand for russian as opposed to republican. caller: let's stick to tax reform. that is -- host: let's stick to taxi for. that is on the agenda with the house and senate coming to the floor for a vote this afternoon. the president talking to republicans behind closed doors, convincing them they should be voting for this. learning from john mcardle and news reports this morning there are 10 republicans saying they will not vote for it. they can only lose 22. watch what happens on the house

for today. then you have the senate side working on the republican proposal. it is at the committee level right now -- senate finance. they will begin their work at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. go to c-span3 for our coverage of that. let's go to tennessee. republican. good morning to you. caller: good morning, thank you for taking my call. i listened to the crybaby democrats calling in. i live in tennessee, and we do not have an income tax. [indiscernible] no states because their local governments have raise taxes so much. there are only nine states. the rest of the 41 states do not want to pay. let them work off that way. cuts -- i am tax

all for it. i am on a fixed income. it would provide that i pay no taxes from now on. chuck in reston, virginia. a democrat. caller: good morning, americans. listen, we have been talking about getting money out of politics for so long. now is our chance to get started. these catset rid of trying to run their scam that they call tax reform, and make sure we don't put this foolishness through. the people that are tired of giving the money -- are giving the money will get tired of giving the money. you can be sure these money takers, the people that call lobbyists, that is the best way to get started getting money out of politics. a guy called this morning talking about reagan to make --

about how much money it cost them to make movies. the reason was because everything he made was a flop. this is why he never made any money. host: all right, chuck. houston, texas. republican. regarding the tax code, it is 73,000 pages long. there is no person in america that knows the tax code individually. couldobvious donald trump never do his own taxes. who would? who could understand it? that is why there is h&r block for average americans. the reduction from individuals togoing from $6,000 a year $12,000 a year so you don't pay any taxes on the first $12,000 you make, and for couples it is $24,000 before you pay taxes. taxpayers% of income

pay about 97% of all income taxes. so, i mean, there is no transparency in income taxes. you can tell by the emotion people share with you -- people have a lot of emotion about this, but there is no transparency. you don't have transparency because you have too many people in washington, too many politicians who are there for 30, 40 years, loving living among the wealthiest counties in america that surround washington, d.c., and that is not by accident. this is an emotional issue for people, because there is no transparency in the tax code. until you get something that is cleaner and simpler, you are not going to have people react and talk to each other as if they can be factual and take the emotion out of it. i'm emotional. it is upsetting for everyone. host: mike -- caller: it shouldn't be that way. host: mike, you and others some

of you have been watching this debate, and it continues here live here on c-span at the house is about to gavel in for the legislative session and they are expecting to vote sometime today, this afternoon on the house public and tax reform proposal. actual for watching. we will you now to the house floor. the speaker: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by the guest chaplain, the reverend rob hughes, broadway presbyterian church, sedalia, missouri. the chaplain: let us pray. awesome and merciful god, we thank you that we can approach you directly in prayer, fully aware that prayer is not a shield protecting us from all evil but rather a reminder first and foremost that you alone are god, creator, redeemer, and sustainer of all. and we're not. gracious lord, in ancient times