The Hill will be providing live updates on Friday night as Senate Republicans seek to pass their tax plan.

Before they can get to a final passage vote, Republicans need to go through a marathon voting session known as a "vote-a-rama," where any senator can force a vote on any amendment.

Senate passes tax bill

1:51 a.m.

After hours of debate, Senate Republicans passed the tax bill by a vote of 51-49.

The Senate bill will now need to be reconciled with the House-passed bill in a conference committee. Differences between the two bills include the number of individual tax brackets and the timing of when the corporate tax cut takes effect.

Senate nixes measure boosting conservative college after uproar

1:45 a.m.

Senators agreed to nix a provision in the Senate tax bill early Saturday morning that would exempt Hillsdale College, a leading conservative college in Michigan, from an excise tax on schools with more than 500 students or large endowments.

Though several colleges do not accept federal funding, Democrats quickly seized on the section of the tax bill, arguing that Hillsdale College would be the only school that would qualify according to the guidelines set out under the legislation.

Major nonprofit opposes tax bill

12:45 a.m.

United Way Worldwide, the world's largest privately-funded nonprofit, came out against the Senate's tax bill, arguing it wouldn't provide much benefit low-income families and would hurt charities.

“On behalf of those who will be impacted in nearly every community we serve, I am deeply troubled by many aspects of the tax reform bill the Senate is now considering,” said United Way Worldwide President and CEO Brian Gallagher. “Congress is gambling with the lives of millions of people who rely on charitable and government social services by increasing the federal deficit to fund tax cuts."

He added that, "the elimination of the charitable deduction for 31 million middle and upper-middle income taxpayers causes such damage to our ability to help people, we have no choice but to oppose the bill.”

Because the bill increases the standard deduction, fewer people would take the itemized deduction for charitable contributions. The nonprofit sector has argued that this change would lead to a decline in charitable giving.

Charities had pushed for people to be able to deduct their donations regardless of whether they itemize. While some GOP lawmakers took up their cause, a universal charitable deduction was not included in the bill.

CBO: Tax bill increases deficit by $1.4 trillion

12:22 a.m.

The Senate GOP tax plan will increase the deficit by more than $1.4 trillion over a decade, according to a new analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

The CBO score was released as senators were already voting on amendments to the legislation and were expected to pass the bill in the early morning hours of Saturday.



The legislation, according to CBO, would have the largest deficits between the 2019 fiscal year and the 2022 fiscal year.

Pence breaks tie on 529 plan amendment

12:12 a.m.

A similar provision was also included in the House-passed bill. But Democrats expressed concerns that the measure could hurt public education.

GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine) joined with Democrats in voting against the amendment.

Rubio-Lee child tax credit expansion defeated

11:10 p.m.

The amendment would make the child tax credit refundable to payroll taxes, and would be paid for by raising the bill's corporate tax rate from 20 percent to 20.94 percent.

Rubio and Lee have been pushing for a more robust child tax credit for years, and their efforts have been supported by first daughter and White House adviser Ivanka Trump.

A number of conservative groups, as well as the National Association for Manufacturers, opposed the amendment because it would increase the corporate rate compared to the current version of the bill.

Rubio pushed back on the criticisms of his amendment, saying it was "ridiculous" to argue that a slightly higher corporate rate would be problematic.

10:51 p.m.

The amendment would increase the credit to $2,500 for children under the age of 6 and index the credit to inflation.

The amendment would be paid for by increasing the bill's corporate tax rate to 25 percent, terminating the corporate rate cut after 2027 and adjusting the top individual tax bracket. Under the current version of the bill, the corporate rate would be permanently cut from 35 percent to 20 percent.

Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) were expected to follow Brown in offering a separate amendment on the child tax credit. Their amendment would make the child tax credit refundable against payroll taxes and would be paid for by increasing the corporate rate to 20.94 percent.

Brown said his amendment is preferable to the Rubio-Lee amendment because it's permanent and provides more tax relief for children at "the most important time in their young lives.”

Heritage Action to key vote

10:05 p.m.

Heritage Action announced Friday that it would "key vote" in favor of the legislation, urging lawmakers to vote for the overhaul. "The Senate GOP tax reform bill would unleash economic growth, increase wages for American workers, create new jobs, and provide tax relief to all Americans including the middle and working classes, main street businesses, and U.S. corporations," the group said in a statement. Schumer: GOP tax bill a "monstrosity" and "danger to the country" An influential conservative group is throwing its weight behind the Senate GOP's sweeping tax plan.

9:42 p.m.



Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) blasted Senate Republicans as they head toward passing their tax plan on Friday. "In just a short time we'll proceed to a final vote on the Republican tax bill. We understand they have the votes to pass their bill despite a process and a product that no one can be proud of," Schumer said. He added that passage of the tax bill — which he called a "monstrosity" and "danger to the country" — will "mark today as one of the darkest ... days in the long history of this Senate." Democrats are expected to oppose the legislation, though Republicans are holding out hope that they will be able to win over at least one red-state Democrat. Schumer also praised Sen. Bob Corker (Tenn.), the only Republican senator expected to vote against the legislation, saying he is "standing fast by his principles and having the courage of his convictions."

Dems hammer Toomey over proposed college provision



9:20 p.m.