Senate Just Passed The Tax Bill
With exception of Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee, all other Republican senators voted for this Tax bill early this morning, while no Democrats voted yes. Sen. Corker voted no because he believes the bill will worsen the national deficit. Susan Collins who traditionally has questioned the attempts to defeat the health care bills written by the Republican administration, “claims she was successful in pushing for leaders to preserve the state and local property tax break up to $10,000, lower the threshold for claiming the deduction for high unreimbursed medical expenses and permit catch-up contributions to retirement accounts for certain public employees.” She was looking for deal to change her vote to yes.
Source: Democrats Decry ‘Illegible’ Handwritten Tweak: Tax Debate Update, Bloomberg at https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/democrats-decry-%E2%80%98illegible%E2%80%99-handwritten-tweak-tax-debate-update/ar-BBFZASG?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhp
The bill, approved just before 2 a.m. today in a 51-49 vote, next heads to conference, where House and Senate negotiators will work out the differences in their bills. As noted Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) was the only Republican to vote no on the measure. The House bill also passed with no Democratic support last month. It’s hard to say whether those differences can be worked out. Republican Conservatives have differed from others when it came to passing legislation that their constituents opposed. This bill is not popular and legislators didn’t even have time to read what was passed in Senate last night.
The legislation was officially released shortly before the vote, giving the public little time to examine the final details. Democrats were outraged, asking for more time to review the measure. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) claimed she was handed the amendments to be included in the bill not by any of her colleagues, but by a lobbyist. Lobbyists, her comment implied, saw the bill before Democratic members.
Senate Passes Sweeping Tax Overhaul by Kathryn Watson CBS News, December 2, 2017, 12:58 PM Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tax-bill-senate-passes-sweeping-tax-overhaul/
The Senate version includes the elimination of the Affordable Care Act health care mandate which one thought might give cause to Senate Republicans who were opposed to repeal of Obamacare this earlier. Apparently, the promise of tax cuts to the middle class, although not enough to compensate for loss of other benefits including anticipated cuts to Medicaid and Medicare, might be holding back resistance by large groups of people.
Highlights of Life Science Events in Bay Area Week of Dec. 3, 2017
- Bio2Device Group, Tuesday Morning, Dec. 5, 2017, Topic: “From Condoms to Brain Implants: Protecting Patient Safety Across the Device Spectrum Through Biological Assessment”
- WIB, Tuesday Evening, Dec. 5, 2017, Event: WIB-San Francisco Bay Area’s Holiday Party: Recapping a Successful Year!
- Rosenman Institute and QB3, Tuesday Evening, Dec. 5, 2017, Topic: “How to Build a Commercially Valuable, Unassailable Patent Portfolio,” Speaker: IP attorney Adam Schoen, Brown Rudnick
- ASQ Biomedical, Wednesday Evening, Dec. 6, 2017, Topic: “Modern Approaches To Assessment Of Bio-Compatibility – ASQ Biomedical NCDG December 6, 2017 Roundtable,” Speaker: Audrey Turley, B.S., RM(NRCM), CBA(ASQ), Technical Consultant, Nelson Laboratories, LLC, Moderator: George Marcel, ASQ NCDG
- Xconomy EXOME, Wednesday Afternoon, December 6, 2017, 1:30 – 5:30 pm, Topic: “What’s Hot in Bay Area Biotech”
- BIOMEDevice San Jose, Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 6 – 7, 2017
- Silicon Valley PCA, Thursday Evening, Dec. 7, 2017, Topic: “Genomic Testing in Prostate Cancer”
You can download the details for the upcoming events this week and those through April 2018 with Audreys Picks Dec. 3, 2017. Also see Jobs That Crossed My Desk Through Dec. 3, 2017.
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