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Article snippet: WASHINGTON — The Republican race to overhaul the tax code broke into a sprint on Thursday, with House members narrowly clearing a budget blueprint that would allow a tax bill to pass Congress without any Democratic votes, and Senate leaders signaling that the bill could be introduced, debated and approved in both chambers by the end of November. Those ambitions are already complicated by difficult math, both in terms of tax revenues and vote counts. The budget vote put those competing factors on display, with 20 Republicans defecting and the resolution narrowly passing, 216 to 212, in part over concerns about the possible elimination of a tax break that disproportionately benefits residents of high-tax states. A potential reduction in contribution limits for 401(k) retirement accounts also appears to be stoking an intraparty fight. Neither the retirement issue nor the squabble over the deduction for state and local taxes was resolved on Thursday, but party leaders vowed to push ahead at an even faster pace than they had previously outlined. Representative Kevin Brady, Republican of Texas, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said his committee would introduce a bill on Nov. 1 and begin amending it on Nov. 6. Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Senate Republican, told reporters that the Senate would follow about a week behind the House. “We need to get the tax bill out of the Senate by Thanksgiving,” he said. Privately, Republican leaders echoed... Link to the full article to read more