No Deal!
Posted on 12/12/2010 7:56:49 PM PST by Qbert
The assistant to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Sunday that President Obama's tax compromise with Republicans will come to the House floor, despite House Democrats vowing to block the deal in a heated caucus meeting last week.
But Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said on "Fox News Sunday" that, even though the White House has said that the deal to extend the Bush-era tax cuts isn't open to negotiation, House Democrats are still going to make an effort to lop out at least one controversial provision: the estate tax.
"This bill will come to the floor of the House in some form," Van Hollen said. "...Most of us agree with most of what the president negotiated." He insisted that Senate Republicans, in striking the deal with the president, had not insisted on a provision of setting the tax of 35 percent on estates over $5 million as a "central portion of this deal." Many Democrats are furious about the rate and want a 45 percent levy on $3.5 million estates and greater.
And as Democrats have long accused of Republicans of holding middle-class tax rates "hostage" while trying to broker a deal that included extensions for all income levels, Van Hollen accused the GOP of holding all of the tax-cut extensions "hostage" to keep the estate tax provision.
"I don't want to get into who is the hostage taker here," Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the incoming chairman of the House Budget Committee, countered on the same program.
Ryan accused Democrats of holding up the tax breaks and vowed that if they don't pass before the 111th Congress adjourns, Republicans will pass the tax rates retroactively as the first order of business in the new Congress.
"We're not interested in changing this deal," he said. "We're interested in passing this through... we don't think there should be an estate tax."
When asked whether the House would vote on the bill after it passes the Senate as expected, Van Hollen still left the door open for lawmakers to press changes by saying the "form it takes is yet to be decided."
"There will be an opportunity for the House to work its will," he said, adding he was "confident" that come January there would be no tax hikes for any income levels. "We're not going to hold this thing up at the end of the day," said Van Hollen, who will be the ranking Democrat on the Budget Committee in the next Congress, as he steered back to the "essential" question of the estate tax. "We're going to make sure that question is put to the test."
Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday, House Democratic Reps. Elijah Cummings (Md.) and Jim McDermott (Wash.) indicated they think the bill will pass but without a lot of Democratic support.
"I think it's quite possible the tax cut extension will be passed, but not with my vote," Cummings said.
Cummings and other Democrats have railed against the White House handling of the compromise, saying Obama shut Democrats out of the negotiations and gave Republicans too much.
Ryan said that the standoff between House Dems over Obama's deal with Republicans didn't bode well for the prospects of working bipartisanship in the next Congress, where Republicans will take over the House majority. "I think if the president actually bows to this pressure... how well will we be able to reach agreements that stick?"
He pushed backed against criticism of the deal from some on the right, admitting "there are parts of this bill I do not like."
"But the worst thing we can do is hit the economy with an across the board tax increase in January," he said. "If we don't pass this then we will have damage."
Ryan also brushed aside the notion that the tax deal is a second stimulus. "Only in Washington is not raising taxes considered a tax cut," he said. "If we are actually cutting tax rates then we'd have a stimulus."
Van Hollen said that the president was "outnegotiated" on the tax deal and that the form the bill will take when it comes to the floor is "something that's being discussed."
Ryan said "we might be able to move forward here," but cautioned Dems against "scuttling" the deal.
"Class warfare might make for good politics but it makes for rotten economics," he said.
Sam Youngman contributed to this report
-Is he putting words into their mouths, or is this true?...
He pushed backed against criticism of the deal from some on the right, admitting “there are parts of this bill I do not like.”
“But the worst thing we can do is hit the economy with an across the board tax increase in January,” he said. “If we don’t pass this then we will have damage.”
Paul Ryan and the rest of the Republicans still don’t have a clue.
This whole bill stinks to high heaven. The Republicans, it looks like, haven’t learned a thing in the last election. They ar about to pass a bill that is nothing more than give away the treasury for the next 50 years. The spending attached would demand that taxes go up just to pay for it. I would be more than pleased if the bill were defeated or dropped and they started over again next year.
Fine, scuttle it. Give the country a taste of higher taxes and expired unemployment benefits for 3 weeks, then start over on Jan 21st when they’ll be clamoring for even MORE tax cuts - and deep spending cuts to go with it!
No Deal!
By the time this cold front makes its way from the Ohio river valley to Foggy Bottom, the Democrats might have to stick their hands in their own pockets.
(**baddaboom**)
Agree
This doesn’t have to be done today. In January they can make everything retroactive. It has been done before. Instead they are terming this as a ‘crisis’ that has to be done now, even if the deal stinks.
Same old, same old.
Why don’t they eliminate the estate tax in 2011 instead of 2012.
There shouldn’t have been an estate tax. People were taxed when they made the income.
The estate tax is disgusting. You work hard your whole life to leave something for your kids and the greedy politicians want to take it from them!!
Never let a crisis go to waste.
No kidding...between the estate tax, federal & state income taxes, sales tax, insurance costs, lawsuits, federal & state regulations, etc....is it any wonder that there are very few people wanting to start new businesses...what's the motivation? If the government is going to take well more than half while your alive and dead...why bother?
No deal until 2011. We won and it can all wait a few more weeks and let our guys take care of all of that after they office. The rats have had 2 tears to address all of this and now they want to hurry up and shove a whole bunch of unrealated crap in with their proposals.
“Paul Ryan and the rest of the Republicans still don’t have a clue.”
::::::::::::::::
The Republican leadership does not know how to fight. And they do not understand what is at stake here — we are fighting for our very freedom!...from a totalitarian government. In some ways, it is like the November election never happened....
I hope it fails. The GOP can do better next year without running up the deficit. This has become TARP2
It’s just damn confounding to me as to how a political party could be so dedicated/addicted to sticking it to people by using taxes.
They would have no problem at all giving unemployment checks to someone indefinitely, but feel that the government should step in and CONFISCATE what’s left of someone’s life’s work when they die and leave it to their children. It’s truly sick!
I can’t even begin to put myself in their place.
Let’s face it. Through their actions, it’s obvious that the democrats and liberals HATE anyone that succeeds and becomes wealthy. They punish the successful with their policies. Where they are shortsighted is they NEED wealthy people for taxes to fund their programs. Eventually they are going to keep this shit up until they kill their golden goose. Capital flight is going to be a bitch for them.
“Paul Ryan and the rest of the Republicans still don’t have a clue.”
What really gets me lately is that since the original “deal” was made between Obama and the GOP leaders, all this pork has been added on...and not a single Repub (to my knowledge) has demanded any spending cuts in return. You don’t let the other side dictate the additional terms to an offer like this, and sit there desperately clawing onto the original “deal”...
Do the Repubs know anything about basic negotiating?
If there is gridlock on the death tax, the Feds will get 18% of the first dollar of inheritance graduated up to 55% at five million. There are a lot of progressives that want just this. This will be higher once the states get their mitts on your folkes hard earned and already taxed money. From each according to their ability, to each according to their need.
I'm with you there. People work hard their entire lives. They pay taxes on every {expletive} dime they make. Then when they are gone, they would like to leave something to their offspring so that they can have a better life... Yet the government wants to step in and tax them again on assets that have already been taxed, and taxed, and taxed.
I believe the estate tax should be eliminated, period.
“I would be more than pleased if the bill were defeated or dropped and they started over again next year.”
Yep. And IIRC, Jim DeMint pointed out in opposing this deal that even with the proposed lower 35% estate tax, over 800,000 jobs will be lost in the next ten years.
Just say no.
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