Key Vote YES on the Senate Amendment to H.Con.Res. 71, the Budget Resolution for FY 2018

On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to vote YES on the Senate Amendment to H.Con.Res. 71, the budget resolution for FY 2018. Although the Senate’s budget numbers are not ideal, the passage of the Senate amendment to H.Con.Res. 71 would avoid a conference committee and save several days on the legislative calendar, giving the House Ways and Means Committee a head start on fundamental tax reform.

It has been more than 30 years since Congress passed fundamental tax reform. Since that time, the tax code has become riddled with carve-outs that benefit politically connected special interests. Today, there are more than 74,000 pages in the tax code. According to the Tax Foundation, Americans spent 8.9 billion hours and $409 billion on tax compliance in 2016.

Congress has a generational opportunity to reform the tax code by consolidating and lowering tax rates, broadening the tax base, and promoting job creation and international competitiveness for American businesses. This will make the tax code fairer and simplify the filing process, allowing the vast majority of Americans to file their taxes on a postcard.

There is no doubt that 2017 has been a frustrating year for conservatives. Failure on fundamental tax reform is not an option. Passage of the FY 2018 budget resolution is the first step in this process.

FreedomWorks will count the vote on Senate amendment to H.Con.Res. 71 on our 2017 Congressional Scorecard. The scorecard is used to determine eligibility for the FreedomFighter Award, which recognizes Members of the House and Senate who consistently vote to support economic freedom and individual liberty.