Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is pushing to keep alive the idea ofincluding a repeal of Obamacare’s individual mandate in thetax overhaul plan, even as House Republicans struggle with how toaddress an issue that threatens to complicate the tax debate.

At a news conference Tuesday, Cruz said it’s vital to use thetax legislation to end the mandate that all Americans have healthinsurance or pay a penalty. If nothing else, he said, doing so willin effect be a tax cut for the 6.5 million Americans who now pay apenalty because they don’t have health insurance coverage.

“I think it’s critical to make this end,” he said of themandate.

House Speaker Paul Ryan told “Fox News Sunday” that theGOP was considering adding the mandate’s repealto the bill. Republicans have some incentive, because doing so isestimated to raise $416 billion over a decade, which could be usedto offset tax-rate cuts. Repealing the mandate would result inincreasing the number of people who are uninsured, thus cuttingfederal spending on subsidies for insurance coverage, according tothe Congressional Budget Office.

Yet adding the matter into the tax debate could be combustiblejust a couple of months after a drive to replace the AffordableCare Act blew up in the Senate.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady said at ameeting of the panel on Monday that he didn’t plan to include arepeal of the Obamacare mandate in his version of the bill. Yetthis morning he told talk radio host Hugh Hewitt that GOP leadersin the debate are listening to other lawmakers about it and thatit’s still on the table.

Asked about the president’s position on repealing the mandate asshe stood near Cruz Tuesday morning, White House counselorKellyanne Conway said that “we respect the fact that the process isongoing.” She added that it’s time for lawmakers to weigh in on thepolicies that will be in the tax bill.

For his part, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin insisted thereis solid early momentum toward a broad tax plan.

“Nothing is more important to the president’s economic agendathan tax reform and tax cuts,” Mnuchin said. He added that theadministration “couldn’t be more excited about where we are,” andthat Congress appears likely to send President Donald Trump a final package by year’s end.

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