Rep. Kevin Brady Kevin Patrick BradyBusinesses, states pass on Trump payroll tax deferral Trump order on drug prices faces long road to finish line On The Money: US deficit hits trillion amid pandemic | McConnell: Chance for relief deal 'doesn't look that good' | House employees won't have payroll taxes deferred MORE (R-Texas) thinks a long-awaited tax reform measure is possible next year — and says President-elect Donald Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE can be an asset from the bully pulpit.

Brady, as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, could soon be charged with moving the first major tax reform legislation through Congress in more than 30 years.

ADVERTISEMENT

It’s a prospect Republicans have long salivated over and now see as a real possibility, with the party set to control both chambers of Congress and the White House in 2017.

“I’m so excited I can’t sleep,” Brady said in an interview in the Capitol with The Hill. “And it’s because … the American public made it very clear in the election they want change in the direction our country’s going.”

The public is “sick of this tax code so complex they know it’s hurting America,” he said.

House Republicans released a tax reform blueprint in June, and it is serving as the starting point for the legislation that the Ways and Means Committee is preparing. Trump offered his own tax proposals during the presidential campaign.

While Trump and the House GOP plans are not identical, they have similarities, and Brady said he’s confident that lawmakers and the incoming administration will find common ground.

Brady said he’s had conversations with the Trump transition team about tax reform, and the committee plans to be ready with legislation early next year.

“Our best working relationship will be to work with the Trump team, Treasury team and tax team once they’re in place on finding common ground on tax reform,” Brady said. “And then the president-elect as president can play a key role from the bully pulpit in rallying the American public to get behind tax reform.”

Brady said that Trump could play a pivotal role in the effort, just as then-President Reagan did when Congress passed tax reform legislation in 1986.

“Washington by design wants to stop all change. [The] American public and people searching for jobs want big change, and so the president can play a key role,” he said.

Brady said the incoming administration has plenty of time to push for tax reform.

“They deserve the chance to put their team together, lay out their priorities for the first 100 days,” he said. “We’re confident they’ll make the case for tax reform at the right time.”

Even with Republicans in control of Washington, there will still be obstacles to getting tax reform passed, with lobbying around the effort expected to be intense.

Brady acknowledged the difficulties in revamping the tax code but said he’s up for the task.

“I recognize tax reform is hard,” he said. “The ‘don’t touch anything in the tax code’ crowd will always be here and will probably be more energized. But if you get outside of Washington, D.C., it isn’t about what is preserved; it’s about what can be changed in the tax code. So that’s the energy we’ll be bringing to this challenge.”

House Republicans have sought to build popular support for tax reform by holding town halls on the blueprint, and Ways and Means staffers have been discussing the plan with stakeholders.

Brady, who expects to hold hearings on tax reform, said Ways and Means staffers welcome the input from business groups.

“Our request, though, is we get the full feedback, not simply cherry-picking one item that they may not like without examining all the blueprint that lowers rates, grows the economy, jump-starts new business investment here in America and levels the playing field,” he said.

House Republicans say their tax reform blueprint was “built for growth.” It proposes lowering the top individual income tax rate from 39.6 percent to 33 percent, lowering the corporate rate from 35 percent to 20 percent and cutting the top rate for pass-through businesses to 25 percent.

The plan would tax imports and exempt exports as a result of a feature of the blueprint known as “border adjustability.” While some business groups have already raised concerns about the idea, Brady defended it, saying it “helps us eliminate any incentives for any company to move jobs or innovation or headquarters overseas.”

Brady said he’s had “very positive discussions” about tax reform with his counterpart in the Senate, Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch Orrin Grant HatchBottom line Bottom line Senate GOP divided over whether they'd fill Supreme Court vacancy MORE (R-Utah).

He also said he wants to hear ideas from Democrats, since both parties have an interest in giving the economy a boost.

“I’m hopeful we can find some common ground going forward, because I know this: Democrat districts, like Republican districts, all these economies are struggling,” he said.

A 61-year-old South Dakota native who now lives in the suburbs of Houston, Brady was an executive for Rapid City’s chamber of commerce and a Texas state lawmaker before coming to Congress in 1997.

He said that chamber of commerce work gives him a good background for working on tax reform, because both tasks involve helping small businesses and creating a favorable climate for entrepreneurs.

“It turned out I couldn’t have hoped for better preparation leading into this,” he said.

Brady took over as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee in November 2015, succeeding Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanKenosha will be a good bellwether in 2020 At indoor rally, Pence says election runs through Wisconsin Juan Williams: Breaking down the debates MORE (R-Wis.) when he became Speaker.

Brady credits Ryan and former Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), who served as chairman of the committee from 2011 through 2014, with laying the foundation for the tax reform push getting underway.

“I’m so fortunate to be following real policy giants in Dave Camp and Paul Ryan, and we have a Ways and Means Committee group of members who are as talented and intelligent as you can hope for, and we have an incredibly talented team at Ways and Means as well,” he said.

Ryan, in turn, sung Brady’s praises.

“While it’s no secret that rewriting our code won’t be easy, Kevin doesn’t shy away from the tough challenges,” the Speaker said in a statement. “Tax reform is one of our top priorities in 2017, and I couldn’t think of a more qualified person to lead the task at hand to deliver real relief for the American people.”

Ways and Means Committee member Jim Renacci (R-Ohio) said Brady has “been a very thoughtful chairman, somebody who reaches out to members.”

“He’s trying to do the right thing and get the right things done,” he said.