Hatch on Chairman Baucus’ Release of Tax Reform Discussion Drafts

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement today on Chairman Baucus’ decision to release tax reform discussion drafts:

“Unfortunately, the bipartisan desire to overhaul our tax code has become mired in the partisan desire by some to raise taxes under the guise of so-called tax reform in the budget conference negotiations.  After discussions with my Republican colleagues on the Finance Committee, I told Chairman Baucus that we would prefer to hold off on releasing any discussion drafts until after the budget conference concludes in order to ensure that tax reform doesn’t become a victim of this partisanship.

“While I disagree with the Chairman’s decision today to release these drafts on his own, it is his decision as Chairman to make and one that I respect.  My staff worked alongside the Chairman’s for months, but the fact is that significant policy differences remain between both sides and a final agreement was never reached.  I hope that once the budget conference negotiations have concluded that we can renew our discussions to determine whether we can find common ground to overhaul our tax code.”

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