A vote prior to the election would put those members on the record about controversial legislation where the SALT provision, Trump or both are unpopular.

House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady released a framework for the second round of tax cuts in July, and held listening sessions with members in August. In addition to making the individual changes permanent, the package of bills would make changes to retirement savings accounts and create special tax breaks for startup companies.

Brady, a Texas Republican, probably doesn’t want to strip the SALT provision from the 2.0 bill because it would open the floodgates for members to start requesting tweaks to other tax breaks that the 2017 law scaled back and which are set to expire in 2026, such as decreasing the cap on the home mortgage interest deduction.

SALT Into Wounds

Lance, along with 10 other Republicans from New Jersey, New York and California, voted against the tax bill over concerns that the SALT limit would raise taxes on their constituents. Some high-tax-state Republicans, including Representative Tom MacArthur of New Jersey, voted for the bill even though the SALT provision was unpopular in their districts.

Another concern about holding the vote before the November elections: many property tax bills are issued or due in October, including in some states hit hardest by the SALT cap. Reminding voters that they can’t deduct those levies as their taxes are due -- almost literally, rubbing SALT into their wounds -- would be a “huge gift” to Democrats, said Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster.

Still, the SALT cap is a non-issue in many solidly Republican districts of low-tax states, where most voters didn’t generate a tax bill high enough to exceed the $10,000 cap.

Messaging Tool

The phase two tax bill has always been viewed as a political messaging tool to help House Republicans since it has a slim chance of moving through the Senate. Last year’s tax law passed without any Democratic votes through a special process called reconciliation.

The tax overhaul is the Republicans’ signature legislative accomplishment since Trump took office. After failing to pass health-care legislation and amid a string of controversies in the White House, GOP lawmakers saw tax cuts as the issue that would resonate most with voters this year.