The Hill News

Assistant Democratic Leader Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) echoed an optimism by House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) that Democrats and Republicans could agree on tax reform legislation before the next election.

"I really was impressed with Congressman Ryan this morning I watched him, I listened this morning and I think he's right," Clyburn said on MSNBC. "For us to have a tax code that deals, in effect, a rate of somewhere between 14 and 18 percent for wealthy people and then having the middle income having to pay 25 to 30 percent â€"that's the kind of unfairness that I'm talking about. So I wouldn't mind seeing a reform that would say the rates come down so that the income will go up and there is, I think, a magic formula for doing that."

Thursday morning, Ryan said that he thought Republicans and Democrats had a real chance at coming to an agreement on reforming the tax code.

"I think we have a shot at this," Ryan said on MS! NBC. Ryan said that President Obama as well as both Democrats and Republicans appear to see eye to eye on the need to first removing provisions benefiting special interests in the tax code.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on the same day urged the deficit-reduction “supercommittee” to lay the groundwork for an overhaul of the tax code.

“It’s probably not realistic to think the joint committee could rewrite the tax code by Nov. 23," Boehner said.
 
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) expressed pessimism that tax reform agreement could happen soon.

"We may not be able to get the job done in the next few weeks," Pelosi said Thursday.