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NYT
WASHINGTON
A group of Republican lawmakers tasked with merging the House and Senate tax bill signed a final version of the legislation Friday, a key step that will allow the full text of the bill to be released later today and voted on early next week.
The bill was finalised with a last-minute change to expand the child care tax credit so that it benefits more low-income Americans, a move intended to win back the support of Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who on Thursday said he would not vote for the bill without a more generous provision.
"The conference committee has come together and we have delivered for the American people," Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, told reporters around midday, adding that the final tax bill would be made public later Friday.
A late change intended to shore up Rubio's support would allow 70 percent of the $2,000 per-child tax credit to be refundable, up from 55 percent in the original draft of the bill, according to lawmakers and those briefed on the change.
The change would allow families with no tax liability to claim up to $1,400 in tax refunds per child, up from $1,100 in the version that passed the Senate earlier this month.
Rubio wanted to raise the amount that is refundable above 55 percent by what he calls a meaningful amount. Whether the 70 percent now contained in the bill will be enough to gain his support remains to be seen.
The bill had not been released publicly as of Friday morning.
But the text was scheduled to be viewable by Democratic and Republican negotiators from both chambers as of 10 a.m., in a room closed off to reporters and even the lawmakers' own staff.
Even if he were to oppose the final bill, Rubio would not by himself stop the legislation from making its way to President Donald Trump's desk, as Republicans hope to do next week; the bill passed the Senate with one Republican vote to spare, and if Rubio were to defect, Vice President Mike Pence could still break a tie in the bill's favour.
