Senate Republicans propose to keep Bush era tax cuts
September 14th, 2010 - 6:55 pm ICT by ANIWashington, Sept.14 (ANI): The Senate Republican leader proposed legislation on Monday to continue all of the Bush-era tax cuts indefinitely, testing the willingness of Democrats to allow a tax increase on the wealthiest Americans in a weak economy and making clear that a partisan fight will extend deep into the campaign season if not beyond.
The proposal by the Senate leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, came a day after the House Republican leader, John A. Boehner of Ohio, suggested a potential compromise, saying he would vote for President Obama’s plan to extend the cuts only for households earning less than 250,000 dollars if he had no other choice.
In part, McConnell’s proposal illustrated the greater leverage that Republicans enjoy in the Senate, where they control 41 seats - enough to filibuster and block any bill.
According to the New York Times, while Boehner cannot stop House Democrats from forcing a vote on the president’s favored tax plan, McConnell made clear that he would have a say and that he wanted to put a handful of wavering Senate Democrats on the spot.
McConnell’s position also served as a political counterweight to Boehner’s statement on Sunday, which suggested that some Republicans wanted to avoid a brawl in which they would be cast as blocking tax relief for the middle class to ensure that tax cuts continued for the wealthy. Senate Republicans, by contrast, seem to relish the fight.
Democrats immediately dismissed McConnell’s plan, noting that he had not offered any way to make up the 700 billion dollars in lost revenue over 10 years that extending the tax breaks at the highest income levels would cost the government.
The White House suggested that Republicans were in disarray and at war with each other.
President Obama, at a town-hall-style meeting in Fairfax, Virginia, said that rich households would still benefit from his plan, with lower taxes on their first 250,000 dollars income, but that Republicans stood in the way.
“We could get that done this week, but we’re still in this wrestling match with John Boehner and Mitch McConnell,” Obama said. (ANI)
- Mitch McConnell Targets President Barack Obama - Nov 05, 2010
- White House threatens veto as Republican House defies Obama - Dec 14, 2011
- House Republican leader open to Obama tax cut proposal - Sep 13, 2010
- Republicans Aim To Repeal Health Care Policies - Nov 08, 2010
- Barack Obama Attacks GOP And Touts Fresh Jobs Program - Sep 09, 2010
- Obama draws battle lines with $4 trillion deficit reduction plan (Lead) - Apr 14, 2011
- Obama to determine whether to extend the Bush era tax cuts or not - Dec 07, 2010
- Obama cuts a debt deal with Congress (Lead) - Aug 01, 2011
- John Boehner Gets Congratulatory Call From President Barack Obama - Nov 03, 2010
- Obama tells Boehner he looks forward to work with Republicans to find common ground - Nov 03, 2010
- State of the Union: Republicans say Obama not doing enough to reduce deficits - Jan 26, 2011
- Obama launches $50 billion infrastructure plan - Sep 07, 2010
- Obama argues against tax cuts for rich - Sep 09, 2010
- GOP speaks in defense of their 'Pledge to America' campaign - Sep 27, 2010
- Republicans cave in, hand Obama big victory - Dec 23, 2011
Tags: billion dollars, campaign season, counterweight, disarray, fairfax virginia, filibuster, house democrats, households, john a boehner, lower taxes, middle class, mitch mcconnell, new york times, obama, senate democrats, senate leader, senate republican leader, senate republicans, tax relief, wealthiest americans