Obama signed the bill that extended the tax cuts before. He can't do it unilaterally without Congress. He has said that he will not extend the tax cuts for everyone again.
And Obama only wants to extend the tax cuts for the middle class, not the "rich." This is the sticking point. If the Reps agree to extend the tax cut for only the middle class now, then there is no way they can pass a tax cut for the remaining 2% later. They are effectively voting to increase taxes on the 2%, something they said they would not do because it would hurt small business and cost 700,000 jobs.
“...something they said they would not do....”
Yeah just like the senior George “read my lips” Bush. I wish the Republicans would talk about how Obama extended the bill before so as not to hurt the economy back then - why can’t he extend it again so it won’t hurt the economy.
Or perhaps I’m missing something that makes him not able to extend it - you made it sound like it needed a vote. (Or is the vote only needed if he changes the bill - which of course would make it a new bill and require a vote). Sorry if I’m being dense!