The House of Representatives and the Senate returned to Washington on Jan. 6 after a holiday recess, but nontax issues like unemployment insurance and poverty are likely to dominate debate in Congress at least in the near-term.
Tax reform, which appeared to gain momentum in November after the release of three Senate Finance Committee staff discussion drafts, was quickly stalled after President Obama nominated Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus, D-Mont., to serve as the next ambassador to China. Baucus, who was set to retire at the end of his term in 2014, has spearheaded reform efforts in the upper chamber of Congress. He released a fourth discussion draft on energy tax provisions in December, and is expected to release a fifth on infrastructure very soon.
But reform efforts are greatly complicated with Baucus' presumed confirmation to ambassador — a vote that could take place soon. Senate Foreign Relations Chair Robert Menendez, D-N.J., has said that he anticipates the committee could take up the nomination before the Senate breaks for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Jan. 20. Finance Committee member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is expected to take over the committee upon Baucus' departure.
In the House, Ways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp, R-Mich., has vowed to continue with his own tax reform plan, in spite of Baucus' retirement. Wyden, who would have to work closely with Camp to pass a full reform bill, has not indicated how he would approach the matter. Most recently, one Republican on the Ways and Means committee said that early versions of Camp's bill were not received well among other Republicans on the committee.
Still, Camp has said he will push on with his chairman's mark, which could be released publicly in the next month or two. Camp has also dismissed the idea of addressing the recently expired "tax extenders," preferring instead to focus on tax reform. Although retroactive extension of the expired provisions remains a possibility if enactment of tax reform does not occur this year, Camp's statement suggests that consideration of such an extension could at least be delayed until later this year.
Camp's Republican colleague on the committee, Jim Gerlach, R-Pa., announced on Jan. 6 that he would not run for another term. Gerlach's district is a competitive one, and it is possible that his successor could be a Democrat.
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