Article snippet: Senate Republicans breathed a collective sigh of relief early Saturday morning when a $1.4 trillion tax bill that had teetered on the brink of failure passed with only one GOP defection.Senate Republican Whip MORE (R-Ohio), two of McConnell’s advisers on tax issues. Cornyn negotiated the deal that secured the votes of Sens. MORE (D-Fla.) to set up reinsurance pools for high-risk patients.McConnell also pledged that he would not allow a $25 billion cut to Medicare mandated by “pay-as-you-go” rules in 2018, something Collins said would have been a deal breaker. Collins touted the assurances when she met with reporters Thursday morning at a breakfast sponsored by The Christian Science Monitor and sounded hopeful about voting for the tax overhaul.Conservatives in the House have voiced opposition to the proposals, arguing they would prop up ObamaCare. But some House Republicans see a scenario where the proposals could be added to the bill to prevent a government shutdown and ultimately be approved. Portman’s biggest contribution was to handle the technically difficult task of transforming the U.S. tax system for corporate profits earned overseas into a territorial one.The former U.S. trade representative’s expertise came in handy when GOP leaders were trying to find a way to pay for increasing the deduction for pass-through businesses. They ultimately decided to increase the tax rate on corporate profits held overseas.Portman explained to colleagues the concession wo... Link to the full article to read more