Without getting into specific criticisms about the Republican push to overhaul the tax code – and there are plenty – the GOP’s preoccupation with this particular piece of legislation has relegated issues we consider more pressing to the back burner.

Instead of reauthorizing the Children’s Health Insurance Program for low-income children, which expired Sept. 30, or finding a solution for the undocumented immigrants brought here as children, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are locked in a partisan battle over whether tax reform benefits the wealthy or the middle class. And they’re doing so under an artificial deadline.

There’s no reason to hastily jam this kind of far-reaching legislation through Congress – especially if it means stalling progress on issues that either already have a hint of bipartisan support or are crucial to keeping government up and running.

Read more at The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.