眾議院通過税改法案

The U.S. House of Representatives passed significant changes to the nation's tax code for the first time in three decades and by a comfortable vote margin Thursday, giving President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans a much-needed win after a year of legislative setbacks.

“This is nothing short of extraordinary,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said after the vote, noting that getting the needed number of 218 House members to agree on anything was an achievement.

Ryan's long-held goal of reforming the nation's tax code appeared in jeopardy earlier this year after Republicans tried and failed to deliver on another long-term campaign promise: repealing and replacing former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act.

Republican leadership appeared visibly relaxed on the House floor as the vote totals moved toward passage and earlier in the day after Trump gave a last-minute speech of encouragement at the party's weekly conference meeting.

Despite optimism among House Republicans, the bill now faces a much tougher path to passage in the Senate.

Late Thursday, a Senate tax-writing panel approved its own overhaul bill that will be sent to the full Senate after next week's Thanksgiving holiday. The Senate bill already faces strong opposition from Democrats, who call the bill a tax break for the wealthy.美國國會眾議院星期四以相當多數通過了美國30年以來第一次大規模修改税收的法案，讓連續遭遇立法挫敗的川普總統和國會共和黨人得到了一大迫切需要的勝利。

眾議院議長瑞安在投票之後説：“這的確是一個罕見的成就。”他説，能夠讓國會有218名議員一致同意任何事情都是一項成就。

今年早些時候，國會共和黨人試圖兑現一項重要競選承諾的努力遭受挫折，未能廢除並取代奧巴馬總統執政時通過的平價醫保法案，讓瑞安的長期目標税法改革面臨威脅。

眾議院投票結果接近通過所需的票數時，共和黨領導層明顯鬆了一口氣。此前，川普總統在共和黨每週例會上為最後爭取支持發表了鼓舞士氣的講話。

儘管眾議院共和黨人情緒樂觀，但是在參議院通過改革税法的法案要更為艱難。

參議院一個委員會星期四晚上通過了參議院版本的改革税法草案，下星期感恩節過後將提交參議院全體會議表決。民主黨人反對這項草案，稱之為給富人減税的法案。