GOP/HEALTHCARE/TAXES: “Congressional Republicans plan to use the next four weeks away from Washington making a public case for a sweeping rewrite of the tax code, an ambitious legislative undertaking they hope will heal divisions that opened when the party’s signature health-care bill collapsed.
But at home in their districts, they face pressures that could make it hard to focus on taxes. Many of their constituents and party activists blame Congress, more than President Donald Trump, for the health-care stalemate and are pressing them to find a resolution. And before they can do anything, lawmakers face a load of time-sensitive fiscal business: hashing out a budget, funding the government and raising the federal debt limit.
The result is a party sent home for a month-long recess to face mixed messages from voters and an uncertain path forward in the fall…
How Republican lawmakers respond to such frustration—and whether they move past the health defeat or get swept back into that fight—will determine whether the GOP-led Congress returns as a unified force. August is the longest recess of the year, and constituents can both energize and draw energy from lawmakers who appear at town halls and other meetings.”
-Siobhan Hughes and Janet Hook, “Congressional Recess, Full Plate Keep the Heat on GOP Lawmakers,” The Wall Street Journal online, Aug. 6, 2017 07:08pm