Rep. Blake Moore urges tax rewrite, spending cuts and tougher border measures as Congress readies reconciliation bill

U.S. Rep. Blake Moore, a member of the House Ways and Means and Budget committees, told attendees of a Salt Lake County Republican Party Elephant Club livestream that Congress must prioritize tax reform, spending cuts and border security during the early months of the new administration.

Moore said those priorities will be bundled in a large reconciliation package that Republican leaders hope to pass without a 60-vote Senate threshold. "We have to redo the tax bill," Moore said, referring to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and noting that many of its provisions are set to expire at the end of 2025. "If we fail, it will be the largest tax increase on Americans in the history of our nation because it all expires at the end of the year."

Why it matters: Moore described a narrow Republican House majority and a larger Republican Senate majority as a rare opportunity to advance a major package through reconciliation and the Ways and Means Committee. He also warned that the task will be difficult because the conference spans very different districts — from heavily Republican to heavily Democratic — making consensus on tax changes challenging.

Most important facts first: Moore outlined three pillars he said will dominate the coming months — tax reform, border security and energy policy — and said spending cuts or caps must accompany any debt-ceiling action. He said he took…