Austin News

On July 31, 2024, U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) criticized Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer for forcing a vote on the Wyden-Smith tax bill just before the five-week August state work period. He suggested this move was aimed at supporting vulnerable Senate Democrats ahead of the November elections.

Senator Cornyn expressed his disapproval on the Senate floor, highlighting that "Even though we have almost 100 days until the election, we have just a handful of days which the Majority Leader has scheduled us to be in session." He emphasized that the Senate Finance Committee had not had an opportunity to shape the legislation: "The Senate Finance Committee… has not had an opportunity to even shape this piece of legislation at all."

Cornyn reiterated that "The Senate is not a rubber stamp. It was never intended to be, and it isn’t today." He argued against introducing major tax bills under such constrained timelines: "You don’t put a major tax bill on the floor after waiting six months, the day before we’re supposed to break for August and with very little time left between now and the election."

He noted bipartisan opposition to the bill and advocated for a proper legislative process: "The bottom line is this: Members of both sides of the aisle oppose this bill for various reasons, and there’s one easy way to address those concerns. Move the bill through the committee process, where we can shape the bill in both chambers, and then bring it to the floor and allow for debate and an open amendment process."

Senator Cornyn concluded by asserting that rushing such votes undermines genuine legislative efforts: "The rushed vote on the Wyden-Smith tax bill is not an honest attempt to pass legislation." He expressed confidence in future debates if there were changes in committee leadership: "I can guarantee we will have the kind of debate I’m talking about if Senator Crapo becomes chairman of the Finance Committee and we have a new majority come January."