Senate Republicans may get a split decision on the firearms portion of their megabill.
There’s a decent chance the House-passed language delisting silencers and suppressors from the National Firearms Act is deemed noncompliant with Senate rules or otherwise won’t be included in the legislation. However, fallback language cutting a $200 tax on silencers is more likely to survive. “We will reduce the tax to zero at a minimum. Our goal is to basically change the policy, admittedly that’s going to be a discussion with the parliamentarian. It remains to be seen,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
Democrats say they will fight the provision with everything they’ve got. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said if the GOP succeeds in putting gun policy changes in the bill, then “maybe the next time we have power we’ll be able to change the gun laws of this country a little bit easier.”