Collins Raises Tax Reform Concerns On Sunday Circuit

Sen. Susan Collins said she would like to see changes in the Senate tax reform bill, such as getting rid of a provision that would repeal the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, but didn’t say how she would vote on the measure. Speaking with George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday morning, Collins repeated earlier criticisms of the Senate tax measure she made when it came out last week. She said she liked parts of both the Senate and House reform bills and wants to see where negotiations go before making up her mind whether to support the final proposal. Asked by Stephanopoulos whether she could vote for the Senate version as it is now written, Collins said, “I haven’t reached that conclusion yet.” Collins said she is working on a bill that would mitigate the impact of changes to the Affordable Care Act in the Senate bill and she hoped that the Senate would vote on that before passing tax reform. Collins also repeated her concerns that tax cuts for the middle class in the Senate bill would expire while the corporate tax benefits would be permanent.