U.S. House will have to vote again on tax bill

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan (C) speaks during a press conference after the House of Representatives passed the tax bill at the Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., the United States, on Dec. 19, 2017. [Photo: Xinhua]

The U.S. House of Representatives will have to vote again on the Republican tax bill on Wednesday as some provisions in the bill didn't comply with Senate budget rules. 

The Senate parliamentarian has advised that three provisions in the Republican tax bill, which passed the House Tuesday afternoon, violate the so-called Byrd rule, according to Bernie Sanders, ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee. 

"In the mad dash to provide tax breaks for their billionaire campaign contributors, our Republican colleagues forgot to comply with the rules of the Senate," Sanders said Tuesday in a statement. 

"It is our intention to raise a point of order to remove these provisions from the conference report and require the House to vote on this bill again," he added.

While the Senate still plans to vote on the tax bill Tuesday evening, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said the House will have to take another vote on the tax legislation Wednesday morning. 

Overhauling the tax code is a top priority for the Donald Trump administration and congressional Republicans before next year's midterm elections. They insist that the broad tax cuts for corporations, small businesses and individuals will boost U.S. economic and job growth. 

But Democrats have criticized that the Republican tax legislation would mostly benefit the wealthy and large corporations and increase U.S. budget deficit.