Austin American-Statesman: In tax reform fight, Austin’s U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett to play key role

Will this be Lloyd Doggett's moment?

After years of relative obscurity, the Democratic congressman from Austin is about to have the spotlight shining on him — and the issues he cares about. With the signature tax reform bill of President Donald Trump and the GOP ready for a marathon session starting Monday in the House Ways and Means Committee, Doggett, a senior member of the panel, is ready for action.

The veteran lawmaker, first elected to Congress in 1994, said in an interview that he was preparing a dozen amendments to shape the bill, which the GOP has dubbed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

"I'm concerned about the way this bill is going to explode debt and impair our economy to the tune of about $1.5 trillion," he said. "This bill will incentivize the outsourcing of more American jobs. There is disparity in the bill. In the meetings with Trump and the Republicans with all the smiley faces, they said the benefits were going mostly for the middle class when, in fact, the benefits do not go mostly to the middle class. They mostly go to corporations."

And that is Doggett's clarion, focusing on what he sees as some of the bill's failings: the debt increase, the effective push offshore by not taxing foreign profits, and the hit on education deductions, which he says will cost taxpayers $65 billion between 2018 and 2027.

"The tax bill will without question … thrust Congressman Doggett back onto the national stage," Rice University political scientist Mark Jones said. "For at least the immediate future, Rep. Doggett will be living in the limelight.

"As the ranking Democratic member of the Ways and Means Committee's Tax Policy Subcommittee, Rep. Doggett will be on point for the Democratic Party as it attempts to either obtain significant modifications to or block the proposed GOP tax reform legislation."

A few weeks ago, Doggett went to the White House and met with Trump and other lawmakers from both parties to talk about the bill. But he said what was just released by Republicans late last week is not what he considers good tax policy.

The massive bill is designed to cut tax rates across the board, increase the standard deduction and reduce the corporate rate to 20 percent from 35 percent. It also eliminates or reduces some household tax breaks for those who itemize, including limiting the mortgage deduction and capping the property tax deduction.

The debate in committee will start at noon Monday and is expected to finish by Thursday when Congress will break for the Veterans Day holiday.

One proposed elimination of a tax break affects Texans directly: the deductibility of state and local income tax, which includes an option that allows taxpayers to choose to deduct state and local sales taxes. Texas lawmakers fought for years to make that option permanent in the tax code since the Lone Star State is one of seven states with no state income tax. In a concession, GOP tax writers decided to limit the property tax deduction to $10,000 instead of eliminating it.

Protecting those tax breaks might create alliance opportunities with Republicans in states such as New York, New Jersey and California with high state income taxes.

But Doggett is nothing if not realistic about his chances. The Republicans on the panel, he said, have always had a pact not to vote for any Democratic amendments.

The other Texan on the subcommittee, Kenny Marchant, R-Coppell, has praised the bill as being pro-business.

"In keeping a promise to my constituents," he said in a statement Thursday, "we are seizing this opportunity to create a more competitive tax code for local businesses in North Texas and a simpler, fairer tax code for the families and individuals I represent."

Still, the GOP's desire to show bipartisanship might help Doggett.

"They're so eager to have a bipartisan gloss to what has been a partisan bill that some amendments may pass," he said.

Doggett sees the real goal as dissecting the bill and explaining it to the public even as the House, with a substantial GOP majority, probably will approve it. The legislative faceoff would come later in the Senate.

"It's a lot like what happened in health care," he said of the Democratic playbook that ultimately kept the GOP from repealing the Affordable Care Act.

U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, R-The Woodlands, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said in announcing the bill Thursday with House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., "With this bill, we will grow our economy by delivering more jobs, fair taxes and bigger paychecks to Americans of all walks of life."

Describing the existing tax code as broken, Brady said taxpayers, especially those with low and middle incomes, would keep more of their money under the bill. "For a middle-income family of four making $59,000 year, as the speaker said, this bill delivers a tax cut of nearly $1,200."

With lower rates and a higher standard deduction, Brady said, most Americans will receive the benefits of a streamlined tax system. The tax writers eliminated or reduced some advantages to taxpayers who itemize, while tilting the benefit more to taxpayers who use the standard deduction — the majority of filers.

According to the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank, only 30 percent of filers itemize. Brady brought Trump a postcard-size tax return that he held up at a White House meeting to show how simple the bill would make returns for taxpayers.

As for Democratic criticism, Brady told Neil Cavuto of Fox News on Thursday, "I believe that we can gain Democrat support. We will work to do that. But I know this. Man, I would hate to be standing there, saying, ‘What we have for a tax code is just fine,' because it's not."

Referring to his own committee, he said, "Our Democrats have good ideas in tax reform. They stayed at the table to talk to us. So, I think it's early for them. We're going to keep the door open and keep discussing with them."

"This is a great opportunity for Doggett," said Norm Ornstein, resident scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. "The problem is that being a House Democrat, the ability to affect political reality is almost nil."

But there's an opening: "The tax reform issue is one the Republicans know they can get and desperately need to put some legislative wins on the board," said Brandon Rottinghaus, professor of political science at the University of Houston. "Republicans need a deal, and Democrats can use that as leverage to work a better deal."

During his 22 years in Congress, Doggett has served with a Democratic Congress and a Democratic president for only two years, from 2008 to 2010.

Matt Angle, director of the Lone Star Project, a Democratic political action committee, said Doggett's knowledge of the tax code and legislative skills will make a difference and ultimately help shape the messaging for the midterm elections.

"He's not a warm and fuzzy guy, but he's an outstanding member of Congress," Angle said. "If you're in a fight, you want somebody who's smart and fearless. You want Doggett on your side."