Both Congress and President Obama say they support tax reform in theory. But tax reform should not inflict another tax hike on Americans, especially in a period of continued economic weakness.

Unfortunately, it might be impossible under the present legal circumstances to do the one without the other. This is why House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, who retires in January, is making a final push during the lame duck Congress to transform some of the 55 temporary tax breaks into permanent law. His laudable aim is to set them up so they can be sorted out as part of a broader reform process when his successor takes over the committee.