Friday, November 19, 2010

Baby Steps...

These are good noises:
Steny Hoyer, the number two in the House Dem leadership, told Democrats at a caucus meeting this morning that they would get to vote this year on just extending the Bush tax cuts for the middle class, a senior Dem aide tells me, signaling support for a confrontational move towards the GOP that liberals have been pushing.

Asked if Democrats would definitely get a chance to hold this vote, the senior aide responded: "Definitely."

Hoyer's declaration comes as Democrats have been debating the way forward on the Bush tax cuts, and another aide tells me that "more than half" of the Dem caucus supports this course of action.

The move indicates that House Dems are growing more resolved to draw a hard line on the Bush tax cuts, forcing Republicans to choose between supporting Obama's tax plan and opposing a tax cut for the middle class. However, the way forward still remains murky. Even if such a measure were to pass in the House, it's unclear whether the Senate will agree to such a vote, and the White House has not endorsed the approach.
This is such a no brainer... you can do it guys!

2 comments:

  1. So would this raise the cut off as far as who gets extended tax cuts and who doesn't? If so, what would it be?

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  2. The level will change because I'm sure this gets resolved in some complicated compromise.

    But as of now I think it would be that the tax cuts would continue as if nothing changed for people who make under 250,000 a year, while the tax cuts revert to pre-George W Bush rates for anyone who makes more than that.

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