GOP tax cuts should not have to pay for itself, says House Freedom Caucus' Jordan
- House Speaker Paul Ryan needs to give up his push for a border tax on imports, Rep. Jim Jordan says.
- "We shouldn't operate in this revenue-neutral tax policy world," the House Freedom Caucus member says.
House Speaker Paul Ryan needs to give up his push for a border tax on imports to help pay for the GOP package to lower taxes, Rep. Jim Jordan told CNBC on Wednesday.
"We shouldn't operate in this revenue-neutral tax policy world, because that's just a fancy way of saying the tax burden is going to stay the same. We're going to shift around who pays what," said Jordan, a member of the hardline conservative House Freedom Caucus.
"In that scenario, what always happens in this town is the connected class get a good deal and the middle class families get a bad deal," the Ohio Republican argued on "Squawk Box," while urging GOP lawmakers to "just lower the rates, design a good tax system that's conducive to growth, and move from there."
Revenue-neutral is Washingtonspeak for legislation that pays for itself.
"Let's cut spending" instead, Jordan said.
Republicans leaders are trying to make their tax cuts revenue neutral in hopes of getting the support of GOP lawmakers concerned about raising the budget deficit and Democrats who won't even consider a bill that doesn't pay for itself.