Mitch McConnell misspoke about Senate tax proposal’s release date

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Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks as Speaker of the House Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and other congressional Republicans listen during a press event on tax reform September 27, 2017 at the Capitol in Washington, DC. On Wednesday, Republican leaders proposed cutting tax rates for the middle class, wealthy and businesses.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell misspoke Tuesday when he said Senate Republicans would release their version of a tax-cut bill on Friday, a spokesman for him said.

It is not clear when exactly the chamber will release its tax plan. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, earlier told NBC News that the proposal would be released Thursday.

The Senate aims to mark up, or debate and amend, the legislation next week, McConnell also said Tuesday.

It is unclear how much the Senate plan will differ from one already proposed by House Republicans. The House is marking up its bill this week and could pass it as early as next week.

Republicans aim to pass legislation chopping tax rates by the end of the year.

The House bill, called the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, would cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent, while moderately reducing household income tax rates. It changes some popular provisions such as the mortgage interest deduction, but leaves others like the 401(k) tax benefit unchanged.

GOP lawmakers are allowing for the bill to add up to $1.5 trillion to the federal deficit over a decade. But they argue that economic growth will boost tax revenues over time, making up for that gap.

McConnell on Tuesday said he “fully” anticipates the final bill will not lead to a federal revenue loss or even cause more money to go to the government. His comment came after Fitch Ratings estimated that the House plan would add “significantly” to the United States debt.

If the House and Senate pass separate bills, they would have to reconcile the plans in a joint conference committee.

— Update: This story has been updated to reflect that McConnell’s spokesman said the senator misspoke about the proposal’s release date.