On December 15, the House and Senate negotiators, known as a conference committee, released a conference report for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, H.R. 1. The report outlines the final agreement that will be voted on by the two chambers the week of December 18.

On December 7, Reuters published an article, subsequently shared by The Drudge Report, that is a quintessential example of why many on the right label mainstream media outlets as “fake news.” The article is titled “Millions would lose mortgage, gift write-offs under U.S. tax bill: study.” What this headline suggests is patently false. The actual text of the article is not much better, spinning the reforms to common tax deductions in the pending House and Senate tax reform bills to a nausea-inducing extent.

The Senate passed its version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, H.R. 1, on December 2. On December 4, the House moved to enter into a conference committee with the Senate to resolve differences with the Senate version. Although there are similarities in the versions of the bill that passed both chambers, there are key differences that have to be addressed, including individual tax rates, the treatment of pass-through businesses, and when the 20 percent corporate tax rate will begin.