desjardins: in the tax code, not all business is created equal. corporations, defined by the fact that they pay direct corporate taxes, saw the biggest tax cut in the republican law. that led republicans to create a another tax break for smaller companies. >> historic small-business tax cuts and pass-throughs now are made really, really good for the business owner. the small-business tax cut and the pass-throughs are now really incentivizing people. >> desjardins: so, what is a pass-through? first, it's not necessarily small, put that out of your mind. instead, pass-throughs are any of several business-- partnerships, limited liability or sole proprietorships, where the business is not taxed on its own. no corporate tax. instead, profits pass-through to individual owners and they are taxed for those profits as their own individual income. these can be smaller businesses, like local hardware stores and doggy care, or pass-throughs can be much larger high-dollar businesses like sunoco l.p. that's why the g.o.p. tax bill is so dramatic: it gives mill

lisa desjardins begins our coverage. >> if you look at who benefits from this. >> desjardins: in the sharply political senate, today, a meaty, substantive debate. >> the argument again that this is somehow simply a tax cut for the rich just doesn't pass the smell test. it doesn't comport with reality. clearly the numbers tell a very different story. >> desjardins: as republicans seemed to fuse together over a bill that would affect every american taxpayer, they say cutting most business and individual taxes. but democrats argue it's a philosophical shift toward the wealthy. >> if my friends here want to give a tax cut to the middle class, why don't we give a tax cut to the middle class? we do this bill-- if we pass this bill-- big tax cuts for the wealthiest people in this country, we drive a hole in the budget deficit, we come back and make the middle class and working families pay to fill that hole. that's irresponsible, that's morally reprehensible, mr. speaker. >> desjardins: within minutes, texas's john cornyn, the chamber's number-two republican, responded that democrats have n

and i will not be silent on this issue. >> desjardins: and, others on the left. connecticut senator richard blumenthal: >> the president's tweet this morning against senator gillibrand was a disgraceful, sexist slur. >> desjardins: white house press secretary sarah sanders said the president's tweet was in no way sexual. >> i think only if your mind is in the gutter would you have read it that way. he's obviously talking about the political partisan games that people often play. >> desjardins: also on the hill today, a "new york times" report detailed the inner workings of republican representative blake farenthold's office, calling it a "hostile work environment, rife with sexual innuendo." the texas congressman used $84,000 of taxpayer money to settle a sexual harassment claim with a former staffer three years ago. allegations of sexual assault also hit the sports world today. the n.f.l. network suspended three of its analysts after a former stylist, jami cantor, accused them of inappropriate touching and showing her their genitals. cantor claims four additiona

lisa desjardins is at the capitol. >> desjardins: in the senate, last-minute shifts and changes on al that could affect the nation for at least a decade. deficit hawk jeff flake became a day-of "yes." >> we didn't get everything we wanted. >> desjardins: that despite almost no change in the bill's bottom line. why is he a yes? in a statement, flake said he got a deal on two other things he wanted: one, to extend an expensing deduction for businesses. and two, to get him a seat in negotiations over the fate of dreamers-- those illegally brought to the u.s. as children. >> unless we can get started on immigration reform, and that starts with daca, that's the easy-- should be the easy part. and so, i've been talking about that to the vice president quite a bit, and others, and i got a good commitment to work on daca quickly. >> desjardins: but the white house point person on working with congress, marc short, told newshour that while flake will be part of the "daca" conversation, he did not get any other guarantees. for republicans, it was an easy deal to get a breakthrough "yes" vote.

lisa desjardins begins our coverage. (cheering) >> desjardins: cheers as the g.o.p. tax overhaul received final house passage, largely along party lines. it signaled the end of republicans' sprint to get the bill to the president by christmas. minutes before the vote, protesters in the house gallery interrupted the debate several times, with some chanting "kill the bill." but for republicans, like speaker paul ryan, who has long focused on tax policy, it was a day to celebrate. >> this is one of the most important pieces of legislation that congress has passed in decades, to help the american worker, to help grow the american economy. this is profound change and this is change that is going to put this country on the right path. for all those millions of men and women in america who are living paycheck to paycheck, who are struggling to get ahead, help is on the way. >> desjardins: it's the first time the u.s. tax code has been substantially revamped in three decades. the bill slashes the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. individual tax cuts would be more modest, a

. >> sreenivasan: for more i'm joined by the newshour's lisa desjardins. what kinds of last-minute changes were necessary to get this legislation across the finish line? >> there are so many ways to look at this bill. i think if you look at the personalities, who won out, who lost out, and those also correspond to the issues that one and lost, probably the biggest losener this was the deficit and the deficit hawks who felt like this bill is spending too much at the risk for future generations. and bob corker was the leader of that group. in the end, he could not get any changes to the bill. -- he could not get the trigger that he wanted. the cost of the bill remained the same and bob corker, harry, remained the only republican no vote. who did get changes? i think the big winners were susan collins of maine and ted cruz of texas. susan collins was able to get into the bill a change that brought back a property tax deduction. the senate bill completely wiped out all deductions for state and local taxes. now, the house had included a $10,000 deduction for pr

lisa desjardins zeroes in on that. >> desjardins: the house version of the tax bill eliminates the medicaluction. individuals qualify if medical costs exceed more than 10% of income. the senate version goes the other way: it would make it easier for americans to qualify for it. but consumer groups are worried the deduction may be killed as part of the final bill. christina martin firvida is with a.a.r.p., which has taken a position here: they are lobbying lawmakers to keep the deduction. she's here tonight to help walk through how it works and who could be impacted. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> desjardins: let's start with a little bit of history and bring it to current times. how tid this deduction start and what is the house trying to? >> well, since the 1940s, individuals who had very high healthcare costs have been permitted to deduct those from their income while preparing federal income taxes. so this is a deduction that's been in the code for decades. unfortunately we see with the house bill an attempt to repeal the medical expense deduction, and that will affect many,

our own lisa desjardins joins us now from capitol hill, to walk us through what is in this latest versionthe tax bill. so, lisa, i know you've just come from a briefing. this has been breaking late in the day. before i ask you what's in the bill, tell us about the holdouts, who they are and why they came back on board. >> two very big and yes votes for republicans, judy. first senator marco rubio from florida became a yes today after he won gains for child tax credit he wanted. it will now be refundable for lower income people. secondly, bob corker of tennessee, he was the lone no vote on the senate version, now is a yes. he said he was worried about the teff sit, but after talking to people at home, he said in totality he thinks it's better to pass the bill even if it's not perfect. i said, where does this leave us? two undecideds in the senate, susan collins and jeff flake. the republicans could technically lose both the undecided votes and pass with 50 votes, but we have two senators who have been ill. senator john mccain was in the hospital at walter read, treatment related to his can

lisa desjardins begins our coverage. >> hasn't been done in 34 years.ually, really, it hasn't been done because we broke every record. it's the largest tax cut in the history of our country. >> reporter: for president trump and governing republicans, a white house victory lap today after scoring their first sweeping legislative win. >> $3.2 trillion, just think of it, in tax cuts for american families, including doubling standard deduction, and doubling child tax credit. >> reporter: final passage of the tax code overhaul came after the bill hurdled last-minute roadblocks. house republicans first passed it yesterday, but senate republicans had to drop three provisions, which violated the budget rules governing the process. chants of "kill the bill" temporarily drowned out senators as they moved to vote after midnight. it passed with all republicans voting yes, all democrats voting no, and vice president pence presiding. >> the tax cuts and jobs act is passed. >> reporter: senate majority leader mitch mcconnell brushed off the bill's low ratings as tempo

our lisa desjardins has been studying it too and joins me now. lisa, let's start out with the winners. who's doing well is this. >> you look into this bill and see a lot of different winners. is that righting with corporations. there are taxes -- their taxes cut to 21% from 35%. most families and individuals will see a tax cut temporarily for the first eight years. wealthiest estates might not get as much attention. somebody to give a gift up to $11 million tax free, a doubling. and interesting energy companies, not just because they can now drill in the alaskan wildlife refuge but there is a provision allowing publicly traded partnerships, mostly energy companies some with a lot of money, to take a deduction that used to be considered for small businesses. two more quickly, architects and engineers. those of you out there, you are now be able to get a special ceduction you couldn't in previous versions of this bill, that was new friday. kraft beer brewers will see a deduction on the tax rate they pay per barrel at least for go years. >> woodruff

for that, we are joined by lisa desjardins. lisa, welcome back.this story moved so fast today, we woke up this morning, heard there was another allegation, and through the day, one democratic senator after another saying he should step down. >> that's right. it was rashable. and this was led not just by any group of democratic senators but female democratic senators. first kristen gillibrand of new york posted on her facebook page, a post that simply said, i believe, "senator franken should step down." after that, we saw other female senators, maggie hassan of new hampshire, and then a slew of them, well over a dozen of the 16 members, say this. and, judy, this is a record number of women in the senate right now, and we're showing that they actually seem to be influencing those around them today. >> woodruff: and ending-- or i should say, at some point in the afternoon, the leadership of the party in the senate. >> that's right. >> woodruff: also called for him-- >> that's right. senator chuck schumer, the leader of the democratic party in the sit

for that, i am joined by our own lisa desjardins, who's been following the process closely on capitoll. veronique de rugy, senior research fellow at the mercatus center, a free-market research institute at george mason university. and political analyst and historian, thomas frank. his 2004 book "what's the matter with kansas" explored the rise of populist conservatism in the u.s. lissa you had a long weekend, how are you g? >> i'm doing also. >> o'brien: up late while this was all unfolding. there is lots to talk about as far as differences between the two bills. let's get kind of top line, what are some of the key differences that this so called conference committee, the two sides of capitol hill, as they get together to try and figure out what the bill will be that will go to the white house. >> that's right, that is what he had are doing. the house and senate will appoint select members to join the conference committee part of duking out what ends up being, they hope, the final bill. let's talk about the most important big sweeping parts of this. how about you and i, individuals, w

our lisa desjardins is here to help answer some of the most common questions.a, thank you, and that was your idea to ask people to send them-- >> among others. >> woodruff: to send in their questions. so before we talk about that, though, quickly, what is in this deal? >> right, let's talk about what is happening today. we have broad parameters only right now, the corporate tax rate will land probably at 21% from 35 now. we also understand they will have a decrease in the top rate for the wealthiest americans. other than that, judy, to be honest, i think they have an outline, but they're checking the score, check exactly how much this will cost and making sure they have the votes. we don't have other details yet. >> woodruff: you were telling me it's looking like next week? >> that's right. they're hoping to have details, maybe language this week, and a final vote in the chambers next week is planned. >> woodruff: let's look at these questions. hundreds of them came in. a lot of them have to do with small business. a number of people were concerned about what t

read the answers from the newshour's lisa desjardins at pbs.org/newshour. >> sreenivasan: michael flynn pleaded guilty. the senate passed the biggest tax bill in decades, and president trump has his first legislative victory. and then, the president launched a tweet that sent shockwaves, using language that suggested he knew flynn had lied to the f.b.i. before he fired director james comey. newshour weekend special correspondent jeff greenfield is here to try to make sense of it all. >> you have been saying this for a while. is there a common thread throughout this administration? >> yes, it's like the best of days and the worst of days. you've got an historically unpopular president, in gallup never seen that one. his agenda has to die right? well he's on the verge of getting the biggest tax change in a generation. the senate just confirmed his ninth court of appeals noms nation, that's more than obama got. >> court of appeals is right below the supreme court right? >> right below the supreme court, the bench is redefined, net neutrality, affecting how the internet works, all of this i