On Thursday, November 2, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) unveiled the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, H.R. 1. On Friday, Chairman Brady released an amendment in the nature of a substitute (ANS) that made some changes to the original text. The bill is the first real attempt to overhaul and simplify the tax code since the Tax Reform Act of 1986. The release of the text and the amendment are also only the first steps in the process.

On Wednesday, the "Bix Six" -- Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas), Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) -- unveiled a unified framework for fundamental tax reform. There are still many details that need to be provided, but the framework overhauls and simplifies the tax code, promoting economic growth, job creation, and fairness.