House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said at a Ripon Society event on Wednesday that Congress was likely to pass tax reform legislation this year.
“I’m…a firm believer we’re going to get tax reform,” McCarthy said. “You may all laugh at me, but when you sit down and listen to members, it’s the one thing they get excited about.”
A divided government should not be an excuse for not accomplishing tax reform, according to McCarthy.
“Reagan, Tip O’Neill and Rostenkowski, Ways and Means had all the power,” McCarthy said. “And what did they do? They reformed the tax code … I do believe that divided government can still achieve things. I’m not one who says we wait for the next election.”
The current state of Congress has divided chambers. The House has a strong Republican majority while the Senate has a smaller Democratic majority.
Despite the political status of the two chambers, immigration reform also has a chance of passing this year, according to McCarthy, who said the Senate wants to legislate it as much as the House.
“I believe we’re going to get immigration reform,” McCarthy said. “Why? Because everybody is ignoring the president and we’re actually working it out ourselves.”
McCarthy was elected to Congress in 2006 and secured his position as Majority Whip after serving four years in the House. Before he began his career in public service, McCarthy managed his own delicatessen to help pay for his college education.