A very possible alternative in today's legislative environment is making some or all of these tax provisions permanent without offsets such that they become part of the baseline. (Indeed, this is the substance of some Republican amendments to the bill). Then, any attempt to "pay for" them later would be shouted down by a chorus of "You're raising taxes!" The current procedure, while a far cry from ideal, at least forces this Congress to consider the costs of its actions and try to find offsets.