Senate leaders set to begin debate on tax cuts

Democrats defy Obama, oppose tax deal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Angry Democrats in the House of Representatives defied President Barack Obama on Thursday and rejected a deal he struck with Republicans to extend low Tax Rates that are set to expire in three weeks. While unlikely on its own to derail the tax plan, the House Democrats' rebellion gives Obama another political Headache just over a month after he took a beating in mid-term Elections. In a raucous, closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill, mutinous Democrats chanted "Just say no!"...

Democrats defy Obama, oppose tax deal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Angry Democrats in the House of Representatives defied President Barack Obama on Thursday and rejected a deal he struck with Republicans to extend low Tax Rates that are set to expire in three weeks. While unlikely on its own to derail the tax plan, the House Democrats' rebellion gives Obama another political Headache just over a month after he took a beating in mid-term Elections. In a raucous, closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill, mutinous Democrats chanted "Just say no!...

Lawmakers, WH clear way for tax cut bill passage
Sen. Bernard Sanders, D-Vt., heads for the Senate floor for Cloture votes... WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House and key lawmakers in both parties cleared the way Thursday night for swift Senate action to avert a Jan. 1 spike in income taxes for most Americans, agreeing to renew expiring breaks for Ethanol and other forms of Alternative Energy. Tax provisions aimed at increasing production of hybrid automobiles, biodiesel fuel, energy-efficient homes, coal and energy-efficient household appliance...

WH, lawmakers clear way for tax cut bill passage
Sen. Bernard Sanders, D-Vt., heads for the Senate floor for Cloture votes... WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House and key lawmakers in both parties cleared the way Thursday night for swift Senate action to avert a Jan. 1 spike in income taxes for most Americans, agreeing to renew expiring breaks for Ethanol and other forms of Alternative Energy. Tax provisions aimed at increasing production of hybrid automobiles, biodiesel fuel, energy-efficient homes, coal and energy-efficient household appliance...

Rep. Gary Ackerman: Tax Cut Deal Is GOP's 'Wet Dream Act'
© Huffington Post Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-New York) used a crude play on words Wednesday, when he described what he saw as Obama's gift to the GOP in the recent Tax Cut deal as the "Republican Wet DREAM Act" -- apparently no relation to the actual Dream Act. "Members of the Democratic Caucus are saying 'why should we take this vote, we're gonna get blamed for adding to the Deficit,'" Ackerman told MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan in his analysis of the potential political consequences of passing Obam...

Items added to tax cut bill to draw support
WASHINGTON — As Democrats in Congress battled in public over a proposal to extend Bush-era Income Tax cuts, a group of Democratic lawmakers are pushing to make subtle changes to help sweeten the pot. The agreement worked out between President Obama and Republican lawmakers would extend the expiring cuts for all Taxpayers for two years, continue jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed and cut Social Security Payroll taxes next year. Many Democrats have balked at the Compromise, particu...

Senate sets up cloture vote for Monday on tax bill
Senate Democrats are moving ahead with a package to extend the Bush Tax Cuts for two years setting up a Cloture vote for 3 p.m. Monday.  A draft bill is still expected to be released soon with Senate Democrats ironing out the final details of the package, that extend the Bush-era Tax Cuts for two years and federal Unemployment Benefits for 13 months. The House has balked at the plan and said they will wait to see what the Senate does before determining whether they'll bring up the bill.  Hou...

House Dems Hoping To Include Zadroga Act In Tax Cut Bill
The US Senate failed to pass a measure that would allow debate to begin on the 9/11 Health Care and Compensation Act. The bill, which has already passed in the House, would provide $7 billion in aid to First Responders and their families. However there are efforts to resurrect the Legislation and include it in the Controversial Tax Cut bill. Rep. Carolyn Maloney was among the members of Congresses disappointed with the outcome of Thursday’s vote. She’s actually one of the sponsors o...

House Democrats say Obama caved on tax-cut deal. Are they wrong?
By one analysis of the deal on extending the Bush Tax Cuts, Obama got more than the Republicans did. The measures he sought cost three times more than those the GOP sought. But can that help him change the minds of Democrats on Capitol Hill?...

House Democrats Defy Obama For the Moment
Remember John Kerry’s most famous flip flop? In October 2003, the year after voting to support the use of force in Iraq, Kerry voted against a supplemental funding bill for U.S. Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. “I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it.” It looks like House Democrats now are going to take an “I voted for it before I voted against it” stance on the extension of the Bush Tax Cuts. (CNN) - Defying President Obama, House De...

House Democratic Caucus Agrees: No Vote on Obama-GOP Tax Deal
Get alerts when there is a new article that might interest you. Defying President Obama, House Democrats voted Thursday not to bring up the tax package that he negotiated with Republicans in its current form. "This message today is very simple: That in the form that it was negotiated, it is not acceptable to the House Democratic Caucus. It's as simple as that," said Democratic Congressman Chris Van Hollen. "We will continue to try and work with the White House and our Republican colleagues to tr...

Senate vote eyed for tax-cut deal
The lame-duck Congress careened Thursday toward a conclusion after lawmakers cleared the nice-but-not-essential bills out of the way and settled down to the serious work on the must-pass tax-cut Legislation. Senate Democrats and Republicans said they have signed off on all the core elements of President Obama's tax-cut deal, and were planning on a Saturday vote on the package, which would extend most of the Bush-era Tax Cuts, extend Unemployment Benefits for the long-term jobless and establish a...

The Eerily Prescient Mr. Brooks
The NY Times is now front-paging the notion that David Brooks floated (as a trial balloon on behalf of the White House?) last week - Obama is considering a re-branding as a champion of tax simplification and reform. I thought, and think, that the idea is absurd, as explained in my earlier post.  Still, here was Brooks imagining a bold declaration from Obama: We will extend the Bush rates for everybody for one year, along with Unemployment Benefits. But during that year we will enact a co...

Senate Republicans keep to stance, block 9/11 first responders health care bill
Senate Republicans stuck by their pledge to not allow any bills to come to the floor before Tax Cut Legislation was dealt with and successfully filibustered a Sept. 11, 2001 First Responders bill on Thursday. The Legislation would have given $7.4 billion in Health Care and compensation to 9/11 First Responders and survivors. It also would have reopened a compensation fund for 9/11 Victims. The bill failed 57-42, with 57 Democrats in favor of it, 41 Republicans in opposition and Senate Majority L...

As Democrats soften opposition, Senate set to begin debate on tax cuts
WASHINGTON -- Senate leaders plan to begin debate as soon as today on a far-reaching tax package as rank-and-file Democrats warm to an agreement between the White House and Republicans to extend a host of expiring Tax Cuts and pump fresh cash into The Economy. Democrats were still angry Wednesday about what they viewed as President Barack Obama's capitulation to GOP demands to preserve cuts for the wealthiest Americans, particularly a deal to exempt estates worth as much as $10 million from a r...

Tax cut highlights
_ Extends, for two years, lower Tax Rates for Taxpayers at every income level, lower taxes on capital gains and dividends, marriage penalty relief, more generous child Tax Credits and education tax credits. Cost: $408 billion. _ A patch that would spare more than 20 million people from a significant Tax Increase from the alternative minimum tax in 2010 and 2011. Cost: $137 billion. _ A lower tax on wealthy estates for two years. Under the provision, the first $5 million of a couple's estate co...

history
Shortly after the 74th Congress convened in January 1935, President Roosevelt sent his "Economic Security Bill" to Capitol Hill. The Administration proposal was transmitted to the Congress on January 17, 1935 and it was introduced that same day in the Senate by Senator Robert Wagner (D-NY) and in the House by Congressman Robert Doughton (D-NC) and David Lewis (D-MD). The bill was referred to Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways & Means Committee. The House Ways & Mean...

Angry House Dem Drops F Bomb on Obama
The unnamed democrat is angry because President Obama has agreed to give all Americans a Tax Cut. They dropped the F bomb on him at Thursday’s House Democratic Caucus meeting. The depth of hatred Democrats have for successful Americans is astounding. It goes against their Socialist world view. The frustration with President Barack Obama over his tax cut Compromise was palpable and even profane at Thursday’s House Democratic Caucus meeting. One unidentified lawmaker went so far as to ...

Senate to Begin Debate on Tax Plan
The Washington Post reports: Senate leaders are planning to begin debate on a far-reaching tax package as soon as Thursday as rank-and-file Democrats warm to an agreement between the White House and Republicans to extend a host of expiring Tax Cuts and pump fresh cash into The Economy. Democrats were still angry Wednesday about what they viewed as President Obama’s capitulation to GOP demands to preserve Tax Cuts for the wealthiest Americans, particularly a deal to exempt estates worth ...

Top tea party group rallies opposition to tax cut deal
TPM's Evan McMorris-Santoro: Tea Party Patriots Reject Tax Cut Deal, Call For It To Be Destroyed It seems President Obama's deal with Republicans on tax cuts has done something few may have thought possible: united the most progressive wing of the Democratic party with the most conservative of the Republicans. In an email dispatched just minutes ago, the national office of Tea Party Patriots -- the largest umbrella for Grassroots tea party groups in the country -- is calling on its millions of...

Dems Reject Obama & His Bi-Partisan Tax Extension Deal
Yesterday the Obama Administration warned Wednesday that if Congress rejected a Compromise tax deal they risk plunging the US economy back into Recession. Today the Pelosi Democrats rejected the deal. They don’t trust his economic judgement, either. House Democrats have passed a resolution saying they’ll reject President Obama’s tax deal with Republicans. Vice President Biden went to Capitol Hill today to sell the plan to restive Democrats, especially Liberals who are angry th...

Obama is the Reincarnated Jimmy Carter
We’ve heard that quote a lot from the right; that Obama’s sheer incompetence is rivaling that of our 39th President. However, the source of my most recent encounter with this idea will come as a bit of a shock; a liberal academic. I was talking today with one of my history Professors. He is an admitted liberal, who has a pretty good grasp of what is going on, and I respect his opinions and he respects mine. Anyways, we were talking about the tax-cuts for Unemployment Benefits de...

GOP Senators Block Aid Bill For Sick Ground Zero Workers
Caring only about Tax Breaks for the rich this holiday season, Republican senators have stopped Legislation to give Ground Zero workers Health Care. The bill calls for providing $3.2 billion over the next eight years to monitor and treat injuries stemming from exposure to toxic dust and debris at ground zero. New York City would pay 10 percent of those health costs. The bill would also set aside $4.2 billion to reopen the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund to provide payments for job and ...

House Democrats Defy Obama- For the Moment
By Proof Remember John Kerry's most famous flip flop? In October 2003, the year after voting to support the use of force in Iraq, Kerry voted against a supplemental funding bill for U.S. Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. “I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it.” It looks like House Democrats now are going to take an "I voted for it before I voted against it" stance on the extension of the Bush Tax Cuts. (CNN) - Defying President Obama, House Democrats vote...

House Democrats defy Obama, refuse to take up tax cut bill
Defying President Obama, House Democrats voted Thursday not to bring up the tax package that he negotiated with Republicans in its current form. "This message today is very simple: That in the form that it was negotiated, it is not acceptable to the House Democratic Caucus. It's as simple as that," said Democratic Congressman Chris Van Hollen. "We will continue to try and work with the White House and our Republican colleagues to try and make sure we do something right for The Economy and right ...