A little more than a month ago, the White House and tax-writers in the House and Senate rolled out the Unified Framework for Fixing Our Broken Tax Code. The goal of the framework was to provide a sign to both members of Congress and the American people on the direction that the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee would take when they began work on this crucial effort.

When Congress passed a budget for fundamental tax reform last week, ten big-government Republican Congressmen from New York and New Jersey protested. These members are upset that Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) is expected to introduce a tax plan this week that eliminates the state and local tax deduction (SALT), a shield that protects rich liberals from high taxes.

The House and Senate are in session this week.

Coming off a week-long recess and without any significant legislative victories this year, the pressure is on the Senate this week to pass the FY 2018 budget resolution, S.Con.Res. 25, which provides reconciliation instructions for fundamental tax reform. The House passed its own version of the FY 2018 budget, H.Con.Res. 71, on October 5 by a vote of 219 to 206.