Tax deal clears key Senate hurdle

Tax deal clears key hurdle - next up is Senate vote
Final Senate approval could come as early as Tuesday on the hotly contested tax deal negotiated by President Barack Obama and Republican leaders. The deal cleared a key procedural hurdle Monday, with an 83-15 vote to end Senate debate on the measure, which includes a two-year extension of the Bush-era Tax Cuts set to expire December 31. The plan would also extend Unemployment Benefits for 13 months, cut the Payroll Tax by 2 percentage points for a year and continue a series of other Tax Breaks....

Tax-cut deal clears Senate hurdle in test vote
Reporting from Washington — The Senate overwhelmingly advanced President Obama's $858-billion tax-cut package Monday in a vote that heightened pressure on reluctant House Democrats and enhanced the likelihood of congressional approval for the Compromise. The Senate could send the package to the House by midweek and then turn to remaining legislative priorities, including a nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia, a Repeal of the ban on Openly Gay Military personnel and a youth immigra...

Tributes to Holbrooke, Assange in court, possible tax deal vote in Senate
Reaction to diplomat's death - Richard Holbrooke, 69, who spearheaded the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords that ended the Bosnian war, died three days after surgery to repair a torn aorta. We take a look at reaction from those who knew Holbrooke (pictured above), his legacy overseas, the view that he was an archetype of U.S. Diplomacy and specifically his legacy in Bosnia. Assange in court - Wikileaks founder Julian Assange will reapply for bail at a court hearing Tuesd...

Obama tax deal gets nod from Senate. Will House risk making changes?
Senators vote to end debate on GOP-Obama tax deal, clearing the way for its passage. Attention now shifts to the House, where Liberal Democrats are expected to discuss revisions. President Barack Obama speaks at the White House on Monday, in Washington. The Obama tax deal has been approved by the Senate, but Liberal Democrats in the House have to decide if they want to revise the bill. In a break with gridlock, the Senate voted 83 to 15 Monday to move ahead with a Bipartisan deal ­- f...

Al Franken Holds His Nose And Votes For Obama's 'Bad Policy'
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) voted to end debate on the Bush Tax Cut Compromise yesterday, but he's not happy about it. In a strongly-worded statement sent to his supporters today, Franken pokes at President Obama for negotiating the deal, which he called "bad policy." "A lot of people are unhappy that the President punted on first down, and I'm one of them," Franken wrote in the message to supporters. "Extending the Bush Tax Breaks for the super-wealthy will explode our Deficit over the next two ye...

Senate gets cloture on unemployment extension
The Senate voted to override a Filibuster by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and close debate on the $858 billion package that includes extensions of the Bush Tax Cuts for the wealthy, federal Unemployment Benefits and a number of other Tax Cuts and provisions as well. The vote is still open as some senators are still trying to get back to Washington from their home states, but they already have more than 60 votes necessary to invoke Cloture. An actual vote on the bill, which is expected to pass...

Tax-cut deal clears big hurdle in Senate
In an overwhelming Bipartisan vote, the Senate on Monday cleared a path for the tax-cut deal President Obama struck with congressional Republicans last week, with even former staunch opponents of the Bush-era Tax Cuts voting for their extension. The 83-15 vote ends a Filibuster attempt by Liberal Democrats and gives a boost to the deal ahead of an expected showdown in the House this week, where Democratic leaders have said they will try to alter the $857 billion package. "This proves that both p...

Deficit Fraud Romney: Jobless Benefits Are Too Expensive, But The Bush Tax Cuts Increase Revenue
Yesterday, the Senate approved the tax deal that President Obama negotiated with Congressional Republicans by an 83-15 vote. The Legislation now moves to the House, where Democrats are saying that they might tinker with the Estate Tax cut that Republicans are insisting upon. But it isn’t only on the left that opposition to the deal exists. A few House Republicans have disparaged the deal for including too few Tax Cuts and too much help for the jobless. In a USA Today op-ed today, former ...

Franken, Klobuchar back unemployment extension/tax-cut compromise
Supporters of President Obama’s Tax Cut Compromise with GOP Senate leadership defeated a threatened Filibuster by mostly Liberal Democrats through the use of Cloture Monday evening. Minnesota Democratic Sens. Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar were among those voting for cloture. The bill could see an Up or Down vote as soon as today. Klobuchar said she voted to advance the bill because of the middle-class tax cuts contained in it. Franken said he supports the measure reluctantly, citing an exte...

Poll: Strong support for unemployment extension
A new Washington Post/ABC News poll found strong public support for most of the elements of President Obama’s Compromise deal with Republicans that would extend the Bush Tax Cuts and federal Unemployment Benefits — particularly the Unemployment extension, which was favored by more than 2/1 margin. Nearly 70 percent of those asked in a recent poll back a Bipartisan tax Compromise that is set for its first vote Monday afternoon on the Senate floor. Of the four major elements in the pa...

Romney opposes tax deal, with care
Mitt Romney, in an op-ed whose delay -- the tax deal has been out for a few days now -- reflects the exquisite care he's taken with his position, opposes it: The deal has several key features. It reduces Payroll taxes, extends Unemployment Benefits and keeps current Tax Rates intact. So far, so good. But intermixed with the benefits are considerable costs of consequence. Given the unambiguous...

Alabama state senators split votes on tax cut package
WASHINGTON -- Alabama's two Republican senators divided their votes Monday on the package of Tax Cuts and additional Unemployment Insurance negotiated by President Barack Obama and the GOP. The U.S. Senate voted 83-15 to cut off debate and proceed to a final vote, possibly today, on extending Income Tax cuts for all income levels. The cuts were due to expire at the end of the year. ...

Poll: Broad bipartisan backing for tax package
WASHINGTON — About seven in 10 Americans back the tax deal negotiated last week by President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. The high Bipartisan support for the package masks more tepid public approval for some of the main components of the deal that came before a key Senate vote Monday afternoon. A slender 11 percent of those polled back all four of the deal's primary tax provisions: an across-the-board extension of Bush-era ta...

Obama applauds Senate test vote on tax cut plan
President Barack Obama is praising a test vote in the Senate supporting the Compromise tax plan he negotiated with Republicans. He says it proves both parties can work together. The president spoke at the White House on Monday after the Senate surpassed the 60-vote threshold it needed to advance the Legislation toward final passage. A vote that would send the proposal to the House is expected Tuesday. Obama says the plan would help create jobs by providing 13 months of jobless benefits to the un...

Weekly Audit: Sanders Filibusters Tax Cuts, Electrifies the Left
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), a self-described Socialist who caucuses with the Democrats, became a folk hero to Progressives when he took to the floor of the Senate for nearly nine hours on Friday to speak against the plan to extend Tax Cuts for the wealthy in exchange for extending Unemployment Benefits for millions of workers and extending Tax Breaks for the Middle Class. On the Senate floor, Sanders accused his Republican colleagues of wanting to roll back the New Deal: And that is, they want...

Senate Now Voting to Cut Off Debate on Tax Deal
The Senate is now voting to end to debate on the Tax Cut package negotiated by the White House and Republicans and the roll call is expected to last a while. Senators returning to Washington from the West Coast typically do not reach the Capitol until the later afternoon or early evening, and the Majority Leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, agreed to hold the vote open until everyone gets back. Although this is not the vote on final passage of the bill, attendance is crucial. To cut off debate and ...

New Mexico senators split as tax-cut deal passes Senate test
The Tax Cut deal which includes extending tax cuts for Americans making more than $250,000 a year is still going on right now due to inclement weather across the country but it already has more than enough votes to pass. The deal passed the Senate 83-15. Among those who voted against invoking Cloture, or ending debate and allowing a final up-and-down vote on the bill, is New Mexico’s senior senator, Jeff Bingaman. Sen. Tom Udall voted to invoke cloture on the deal made between the White Ho...

On tax plan, Dems coming around, GOP turning back
The 83-15 vote the Senate took to move the tax bill Monday was huge news — when has something this consequential in the two years since President Obama took office passed with this much support from both parties? Reluctant Democrats are coming around, finally seeing they have little choice but to climb aboard or risk the public blaming any further economic deterioration on them. After Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) led the charge against the compromise in a House Democratic Caucus meeting la...

The Senate cloture vote on the tax deal | Michael Tomasky
So the Senate voted overwhelmingly last night to close debate on the tax deal, by 83-15 with two not voting. Lots of people are remarking on how surprising it is that most liberal opposition melted away at the last minute, as only nine Democrats voted no. But I'm somewhat more surprised that only five Republicans voted against. One of those five, George Voinovich of Ohio, opposed it for his own reasons, that he didn't think the Tax Cuts were defensible. But only four voted no from a conservativ...

Pence Wont Vote for Tax Compromise
Rep. Mike Pence (R., Indiana) just announced that he will not vote for the tax Compromise. Saying that “the American People did not vote for more stimulus,”  and higher Deficits and Debt, Pence told Sean Hannity, “I will not vote for this tax deal.” “I’ve no doubt in my mind that the first order of business for the new Congress [if the compromise does not pass] … will be to enact a bill that extends all the current Tax Rates on a permanent basis,&r...;

May I Sell Out, Please?
Here's a shocker: Fearless progressive blogger Kevin Drum can't buy into Barack Obama's tax sell-out fast enough. Why? Well, because it's popular: Support for the overall package was extremely high: 68% among Democrats and Independents and 75% among Republicans. But the breakdown in the chart above ought to give all of us lefties pause. It's great to see that extending Unemployment Benefits polled higher than any other element of the plan, but not so great that Bonus ta...

Group urges Congress to pass tax bill
Published: Dec. 13, 2010 at 5:45 PM Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks to reporters after a Republican Caucus meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington on December 7, 2010. The Republicans met to discuss the current tax bill going through Congress. UPI/Kevin Dietsch WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Since the U.S Senate agreed to advance a bill that would keep lower Tax Rates and extend jobless benefits, a jobs-focused group urged Congress to pass the bill. The National Employment Law P...

Moodys Swings
Can someone tell me why the same guy, at the same Ratings agency, does a 180 in less than one week, when the deal hasn’t changed an iota? December 7, 2010: Moody’s Says Tax Rates Won’t Lead to U.S. Downgrade By Susanne Walker - Dec 7, 2010 3:15 PM ET Tue Dec 07 20:15:11 GMT 2010 Moody’s Investors Service Inc. said an extension of the Bush-era Tax Cuts agreed upon by President Barack Obama won’t lead to a downgrade of the nation’s Aaa Credit Rating. “The ext

CNN Reports That Senate Has 60 Votes For Obama Tax Deal
As important as the Bush Tax Cuts are, this bill has become a pork-laden monstrosity. The House should kill it and push this debate into the new Congress....

Sam Seder: I don't trust Obama with my retirement insurance, do you?
Contemplate what this statement means: "Most of our long term Debt and Deficit has to do with Social Security". It's a pretty banal falsehood. Social Security has never contributed a dime to any Deficit or debt. It's fully self-funding and has been for the past 70-plus years. Even in the worst-case scenario, where we don't lift the cap on Payroll taxes, Social Security won't contribute to the Debt or Deficit - it will merely pay 75% of due benefits after the year 2037. What's truly stunning, a...