Posted on 12/16/2010 9:30:45 PM PST by Second Amendment First
The House late Thursday gave final approval, 277-148, to a temporary extension of the George W. Bush-era tax rates, delivering a significant but politically bruising victory to President Obama.
The $858 billion legislation now heads to the president’s desk for his signature. It extends the Bush tax cuts across the board for two years, slashes the employee payroll tax by 2 percent for one year, renews the estate tax and extends unemployment insurance benefits for 13 months.
The president argued the deal was the best he could get from Republicans who refused to budge on extending tax cuts for the highest-earning Americans, which Democrats wanted to end. The action by Congress prevents a broad tax increase from taking effect when the current rates expire at the end of the year.
The last votes Thursday capped a fractious three-week debate after Obama abandoned his Democratic allies in the House to cut a deal with Senate Republicans. House Democrats revolted over the pact, decrying the president for capitulating on one of his party’s signature domestic priorities: ending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.
“This basically concedes the argument to the supply-side Republican failed economic policies,” Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said.
Other Democrats denounced the bill for exploding an already soaring federal budget deficit. “Wake up and listen to the sirens,” Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.) said on the House floor. “I can’t believe you talk about this bill as fiscal sanity. It’s fiscal insanity.”
The House Democratic Caucus held a non-binding vote to reject the Obama-GOP deal a week ago, but within days the Senate overwhelmingly approved the bill and Pelosi moved ahead with a vote.
House liberals made one last stand on Thursday, forcing the Speaker to pull the tax bill from the floor for several hours because of objections to the amendment process.
While the Democratic leadership decided to allow one attempt to amend the Republican-favored estate tax provision in the Senate-passed bill, liberals complained that the procedure party leaders crafted would not have allowed them to register their objections directly on the legislation.
“The original rule did not allow members to have a clean up-or-down vote on the bill,” Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said.
After a huddle with members on the House floor and a hastily scheduled meeting in her office, Pelosi agreed to rework the process, allowing separate votes on the estate tax amendment and the underlying legislation.
Pelosi herself did not lobby members on the tax bill, leaving the White House to rally support for a deal it alone had negotiated with Republicans. Vice President Biden delivered a personal pitch to House Democrats, and Obama called lawmakers himself in the days leading up to the vote.
And while lawmakers predicted the Senate bill would pass once it came to a vote in the House, the Obama administration was concerned enough to whip votes against the estate tax amendment in the final hours, a House leadership aide said, not wanting a last-minute change to send the legislation back to the Senate and unravel the accord.
House Republicans broadly backed the measure, some of them reluctantly. Like many other GOP lawmakers, Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) said he wanted to see the tax rates extended permanently, but his top priority was preventing a tax hike on January 1. “In this legislation I see the glass half-full,” he said on the floor. He acknowledged conservatives who said the GOP could have held out for a better deal. But he concluded: “Personally I am not willing to take a chance. I am going cast the aye vote. I am going to stop the job killing tax increases.”
In a floor speech Thursday night, Pelosi endorsed the estate tax amendment but pointedly refused to explicitly back the underlying bill. The GOP-favored inheritance tax of 35% for individuals worth more than $5 million, the Speaker said, “is not good policy. It does have not have a favorable impact on the deficit. It does not create jobs, It does not grow the economy.”
As to the overhaul compromise, Pelosi said, “Members will have to make their own decisions.”
“I applaud President Obama for his side of the ledger,” Pelosi said. “I’m sorry the price that had to be paid for it is so high.”
THERE ARE NO TAX CUTS!
Now really cut taxes!
Lower corporate taxes, lower ALL individual taxes, eliminate the capital gains tax, eliminate entirely the inheritance tax and lessen government regulations and restrictions.
Then stand back, further back or the American economic bull will trample you.
The only problem is this obvious solution, even though it works, does not empower the government.
True.
is the full of pork and subsidies,
Different bill, there was a standalone tax cut extension plan (passed), and a tax cut extension plan wrapped into an Omnibus spending bill (defeated and abandoned by Reid).
it is only temporary,
True.
it allowed a vote on don’t ask don’t tell,
Completely different bill.
the ratification of the start treaty,
Completely different bill.
and potential passage of the dream act.
Completely different bill.
It was frozen shut by Global Warming.
Those savings could be in the form of investments which will help drive the economy or as deposits which become incremental capital for the banks to lend. Unless the "affluent" stuff all of their savings in the mattress. Even then, I'd rather have it stuffed in a mattress than given to Congress to spend on such economic "stimulus" as African junk washing.
$68 billion in lost revenue.
With that logic, some must think all the money and property out in the private sector economy that the government does not take is “lost revenue”.
The money in my wallet is lost revenue to the government.
It is my money, earned money, that best kind.
uh you understand that there is only so much time in a lame-duck right? And that the rats could not move on to other items unless they got a deal on taxes?
I agree. While I would prefer to NOT extend the unemployment benefits, the tax cuts need to be kept in place or better yet, lowered more! But it’s a start
Bush's fault -- he's still driving the lefties nuts.....
“Democrats have no idea as to how wealth is created.”
Socialists think wealth is immoral.
Trollses there are on this thread, yess.
[Michele Bachmann and Joe Wilson vote NO!]
So did Moran, the Senator-elect from KS! That is exactly how I would have voted.
Not nearly as close as we were led to believe from the so-called outraged democrats.
Pussies. LOL!
I noticed his name, also. I looked twice,because of the other guy from VA with same name. How is it that he’s already seated?
Yeah, I’d say that’s more like a paper cut.
I didn't write or even think that it is a good deal. It is however, probably the best deal available with the current minorities in both houses of Congress.
Ronald Reagan was successful in politics whereas Barry Goldwater was not, even though there philosophies were very similar. Until neoconservatives learn to be more persuasive with their arguments, they will forever suck hind teat.
This mess will never get straightened out until we go into a full depression and everyone living on credit iw wiped out!
I would, but that 2% combined with the first raise my husband has gotten in three years will just about cover the 75% increase in insurance costs we’re facing for 2011....
Big Whoop. It will now be subject to the Fed and State ax.
As a small business owner and one of the "evil RICH people" (even though I'm not a millionaire) this will help my business which is already taxed to death. If taxes go any higher I'm going to A) lose customers B) shut down.
So for me this was a good bill. Yay for the evil rich 1%!!!
Good...then you won’t mind if conservatives work for a 10% across the board tax CUT in 2011, would you? Eliminate the death/estate tax, as well?
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