We're not quite there yet. The Senate vote late Friday on the tax reform bill was necessary but not sufficient. There still isn't a tax bill for President Trump to sign.
I realize many of you know this either because you studied it in school or - even better - because you watched Schoolhouse Rock. But let's just hit the highlights so we're all on the same page:
Before a bill can become a law, it has to be passed in identical form by both the House and the Senate and then signed by the president. The House and Senate have each passed their own respective tax cut bills, but they are not identical, so the differences need to get ironed out in a House-Senate Conference Committee. Once the Conference Report is complete, both houses have to vote to approve the Conference Report and only after that has happened can President Trump sign the bill into law.