Alaska Congressman Don Young will have a hand in deciding what’s in and what’s out for the sweeping national tax bill.
Young was one of nine Republican House members named Monday to the tax bill conference committee. That’s the panel assigned to hash out the differences between the House and Senate bills. In a statement, Young said he would do everything in his power to ensure that opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling is part of the final version.
The bill the Senate passed would open the refuge. It’s not in the House bill. The Senate is expected to name its conference members this week and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, as chair of the Energy Committee, will likely be among them.
The bill itself would lower taxes for corporations and many families. In the Senate bill, the corporate tax breaks are permanent while those for households would expire in 2025. The congressional Joint Committee on Taxation says the Senate bill would add $1 trillion to the national debt.
Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.
