众议院通过税改法案

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.

美国国会众议院星期四以相当多数通过了美国30年以来第一次大规模修改税收的法案，让连续遭遇立法挫败的川普总统和国会共和党人得到了一大迫切需要的胜利。

众议院议长瑞安在投票之后说：“这的确是一个罕见的成就。”他说，能够让国会有218名议员一致同意任何事情都是一项成就。

今年早些时候，国会共和党人试图兑现一项重要竞选承诺的努力遭受挫折，未能废除并取代奥巴马总统执政时通过的平价医保法案，让瑞安的长期目标税法改革面临威胁。

众议院投票结果接近通过所需的票数时，共和党领导层明显松了一口气。此前，川普总统在共和党每周例会上为最后争取支持发表了鼓舞士气的讲话。

尽管众议院共和党人情绪乐观，但是在参议院通过改革税法的法案要更为艰难。

参议院一个委员会星期四晚上通过了参议院版本的改革税法草案，下星期感恩节过后将提交参议院全体会议表决。民主党人反对这项草案，称之为给富人减税的法案。