Harry Reid: 'We Are Not Going to Do Anything'

weekly standard ^ | 12/20/12 | d halper

[bestintxas]

Senate majority leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, made his "fiscal cliff" position clear in a press conference today. "We are not going to do anything," said Reid.

Reid added, "We are not taking up anything they are working on over there."

The top Democrat in the Senate was explaining his inaction on the House plan, the proposal put forward by Republican John Boehner, the speaker of the House of Representatives. Boehner's plan is being referred to as 'Plan B.'

"Boehner described his Plan B as a fallback option to prevent a sweeping tax hike when tax cuts from the administration of President George W. Bush expire at the end of the year. Sources said the Boehner measure also would include extending the current estate tax and alternative minimum tax, two steps sought by Republicans," reports CNN.

The 'Plan B' option tracks closely to a proposal put forward by Democrats earlier this year.

But now Reid won't even allow the Senate to vote on Boehner's proposal.

In the past, Reid has indicated he'd be open to compromising. "We are willing to compromise," he said earlier this month, "but we also will not consign the middle class to higher tax bills while millionaires and billionaires avoid all the pain."

Now that Republicans have a serious proposal that would pass the House and would seem to meet the requirements Democrats previously insisted on, Reid won't permit a vote.

[Diggity]

That’s what Reps do.