How Illinois lawmakers voted on House tax bill. But there is a snag.

By Lynn Sweet

WASHINGTON – Illinois lawmakers voted on party lines as the GOP authored Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was approved Tuesday on a 227-203 roll call. This was supposed to be the final House vote.

Turns out it is not.

The House has to vote again on Wednesday. The Tuesday celebration by GOP House leaders was premature.

Even a little embarrassing, perhaps.

That’s because the measure hit a snag in the Senate. A violation of what is known as the Senate “Byrd rule” which details what fiscal matters can go into legislation that needs only 50 votes to pass instead of the more usual 60 votes. With only 52 Republicans, it was all they could do to muster a majority.

As Vermont Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders summed up in a release about the glitch, “The Senate parliamentarian advised Tuesday that three provisions in the Republican tax bill violate the Byrd rule, including a provision allowing for the use of 529 savings accounts for home-schooling expenses, the short title: “The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” and part of the criteria used to determine whether the endowments of private universities are subject to the legislation’s new excise tax. These provisions may be struck from the conference report absent 60 votes.”

So what will happen in the House on Wednesday in House speak: “an additional procedural vote on the Motion to Concur is expected in the House tomorrow morning before the bill can advance to the president’s desk.”

The Tuesday House vote for the measure found the tax measure passed only on the strength of Republican support.

Republicans

227 -yes

12 -no

Democrats

0 – yes

191 -no

2 members not voting

The 12 GOP no votes came from members from high tax states – New York, New Jersey, California – with one anti-tax member from North Carolina also against the bill. Though Illinois is also a high tax state, all the GOP members from Illinois were no

THE ILLINOIS VOTE

DEMOCRATS NO

1st district: Bobby Rush

2nd district: Robin Kelly

3rd district: Dan Lipinski

4th district: Luis Gutiérrez

5th district: Michael Quigley

7th district: Danny K. Davis

8th district: Raja Krishnamoorthi

9th district: Jan Schakowsky

10th district: Brad Schneider

11th district: Bill Foster