Corker says he had no role in tax provision

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bob Corker asked a top Senate Republican on Sunday to explain how a provision that will provide a tax break to people with large commercial real estate holdings ended up in the final version of the tax reform package that Congress is expected to approve this week.

“Because this issue has raised concerns, I would ask that that you provide an explanation of the evolution of this provision and how it made it into the final conference report,” Corker wrote in a letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

“I think that because of many sensitivities, clarity on this issue is very important and hope that you will respond in an expeditious manner,” said Corker, a Tennessee Republican.

Corker's request followed a published report that said he would benefit financially from the provision.

Corker’s office said he is not a member of the tax-writing committee and had no involvement in crafting the legislation. He requested no specific tax provisions throughout the months-long debate and had no knowledge of the provision in question, his office said.

According to a report by the International Business Times, Republican leaders added a last-minute provision to the bill that would reduce taxes on income from real-estate LLCs. Corker, who owns a large amount of commercial real estate, made up to $7 million last year in such income, according to the paper.

Democrats complained that the provision would produce a windfall for people like President Trump and some Republicans in Congress.

Corker told the paper he was not aware that the provision had been included in the final bill, which he said he had not read. He said, however, that he had received a two-page summary on the bill but had not seen the actual text.

Regardless, #CorkerKickback was trending Sunday on Twitter.

Hey @SenBobCorker - maybe instead of writing a letter to Hatch asking questions, write a letter to yourself asking yourself why you abandoned your principles? #CorkerKickback — Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) December 18, 2017

How is “I had no idea what this bill even says” a better defense than “I’m a money grubbing bribe taker”? #CorkerKickback — MeganInSoCal (@MeganNsocal) December 18, 2017

Well, I’m no fancy Senator from Tennessee or Texas, but in real America flyover country, this is called a bribe. #CorkerKickback @JohnCornyn — Jazzy Minx (@JazzyMinx) December 18, 2017

Corker, the only Senate Republican to vote against the original version of the tax bill, reversed course on Friday and announced that he would vote for the final package pieced together by negotiators for the House and Senate.

Corker said that while the bill is less than perfect, he considered it a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to make U.S. businesses more productive and internationally competitive.

The final vote is expected this week, possibly Tuesday.

In his letter to Hatch, Corker said he went through the bill in detail on Sunday “since this issue has never been discussed with us by committee or Senate leadership.”

Corker said it’s his understanding from talking to Republican leadership staff that a version of the provision was always in the House bill and that it remained in the final bill after the House and Senate versions were reconciled.

Appearing Sunday on ABC's This Week, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, defended the GOP’s decision to include the provision in the bill.

“Picking out one piece in a 1,000-page bill and saying, well, this is going to benefit somebody, I just think that takes the whole bill out of context,” said Cornyn, the Senate’s No. 2 Republican.

Cornyn dodged when asked if Republicans added the real-estate provision to Corker’s vote.

“Well, the particular provision you're talking about, honestly, is just one piece of a 1,000-page bill which is going to grow the American economy,” he said. “And what we are seeing is that American corporations and businesses are not competitive in the global economy because we have the highest tax rate in the industrialized world.

“All we did is adopt ideas that people like Barack Obama and other Democrats have proposed when it comes to the business tax rates and should try to get our businesses more competitive, to increase take-home pay and to grow the number of jobs available for working class families.”

Read Sen. Corker's full letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah: