US Congress passes Obama tax deal

Obama signs tax-cut bill, hails the compromise as progress
WASHINGTON — President Obama signed into law a huge tax package extending cuts for all Americans yesterday, saluting a new spirit of political Compromise as Republicans applauded and liberals seethed. The benefits range from Tax Cuts for Millionaires and the Middle Class to longer-term help for the jobless. The most significant tax Legislation in nearly a decade will avert big increases that would have hit millions of people two weeks after New Year’s Day. “We are here with so...

What the Tax Deal Means to Your Wallet
The pressure is off -- at least for now. With the Bush-era Tax Cuts extended for all Americans for at least the next two years under the law signed today by President Obama, government leaders have managed to postpone some tough decisions to be made surrounding the U.S. tax code until 2012. The law has been labeled “Compromise” Legislation, and for good reason. In exchange for the tax-cuts extension, Republicans agreed to extend jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed. They als...

Obama salutes spirit of compromise, signs tax bill
WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama signed into law a huge, holiday-season tax bill extending cuts for all Americans on Friday, saluting a new spirit of political Compromise as Republicans applauded and liberals seethed. The benefits range from Tax Cuts for Millionaires and the Middle Class to longer-term help for the jobless. The most significant tax Legislation in nearly a decade will avert big increases that would have hit millions of people starting in two weeks on New Year's Day. Decla...

Positive move
By passing a Bipartisan tax package late Thursday, Congress has taken the better course for Working Families, The Economy and business. The Compromise deal negotiated by President Obama and Senate Republicans will extend for two years Tax Cuts enacted when George W. Bush was president — measures that were due to expire Jan. 1. And it expands long-term jobless benefits that otherwise would have been lost. Although the bill passed the Senate by a large margin and the House 277-148, many De...

The tax deal's biggest losers
It's easy to declare the winners in the new tax bill, but let's not forget the unluckiest of them all -- those who have been jobless for 99 weeks. Now is just not the time for higher taxes. That's the message delivered by President Obama's tax deal, an $858 billion package that will extend Tax Breaks enacted under former president George W. Bush. The bill will prevent taxes from rising on New Year's Day for virtually every American household. What's more, it will create major incentives for bus...

Controversial tax measure signed
WASHINGTON — President Obama signed into law a huge, holiday-season tax measure extending cuts for most Americans on Friday, saluting a new spirit of political Compromise as Republicans applauded and liberals seethed. The benefits range from Tax Cuts for Millionaires and the Middle Class to longer-term help for the jobless. The most significant tax Legislation in nearly a decade will avert big increases that would have hit millions of people starting New Year's Day. "We are here with som...

Obama applauds bipartisan cooperation as he signs tax cut deal
• Extends Bush-era Tax Cuts on income, capital gains and dividends for all Americans for two years. • Extends Unemployment Benefits for 13 months for the long-term unemployed. • Cuts Social Security Payroll taxes 2 percentage points for a year. • Caps the top Estate Tax rate at 35 percent for next year, after an exemption of $5 million per person. WASHINGTON • With an end-of-year deadline bearing down on them both, President Barack Obama and Senate Republican Leader...

Nancy Pelosi: A Ruler of Fools
Nancy Pelosi doesn't have much longer as Speaker of the House. But if there's one constant in our ever-changing world, it's that Pelosi will remain unconscionable until the gavel is wrested from her hand. During a recent Speech on the House floor, she expressed opinions about Unemployment Insurance and tax policy that seem irrational even for her. Pelosi supports extending Unemployment Insurance beyond the current 99-week limit. To substantiate her position, she touted Unemployment Benefits as a...

Spinning the tax deal
Could the tax deal help President Obama bounce back from a self-described electoral shellacking? This Story West Wing Briefing: Spinning the tax deal Bush-era Tax Cuts extended Wonkbook: What went right and what went wrong in Congress U.S. tax policy's future: Key players in the showdown View All Items in This Story View Only Top Items in This Story Six weeks after his party took a drubbing at the polls that seemed to portend trouble for Obama in 2012, the agreement that was approved in Congr...

US tax deal, budget feud set stage for 2011 cuts
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own. To nations suffering Austerity, it must seem as if Washington has gone mad. First, the U.S. Congress fails to agree on a 2011 Budget. Then lawmakers overwhelmingly pass another giant stimulus. But both events actually hint at some chance of more disciplined fiscal action next year. President Barack Obama will quickly sign the $858 billion stimulus/Tax Cut bill that funds Unemployment Benefits for 13 months and...

Obama keeps Bush's vast tax cuts for wealthy
President Barack Obama last night signed into law a sweeping $858bn (£554bn) tax bill that ensures tax-rate cuts introduced by former President George Bush nearly a decade ago will remain in place for another two years, offering a potentially powerful fillip to the flat US economy. The passage of the law on Capitol Hill was the most dramatic evidence yet that Bipartisan Compromise has been unexpectedly resurrected in the weeks after November's Midterm Elections. The deal was largely the one s...

Obama invokes Reagan to push START treaty
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fresh from a shared victory on an $858 billion tax-cut package, President Barack Obama pushed on Saturday for congressional approval of the new START nuclear arms treaty with Russia. Obama invoked the late Republican President Ronald Reagan as he used his weekly radio address to urge Bipartisan support for the treaty. Obama said it was crucial to put a new treaty into place so inspections of Russia's nuclear facilities could resume after a lapse that began when the old STA...

Obama invokes Reagan to push START treaty
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fresh from a shared victory on an $858 billion tax-cut package, President Barack Obama pushed on Saturday for congressional approval of the new START nuclear arms treaty with Russia. Obama invoked the late Republican President Ronald Reagan as he used his weekly radio address to urge Bipartisan support for the treaty. Obama said it was crucial to put a new treaty into place so inspections of Russia's nuclear facilities could resume after a lapse that began when the old ST...

Last Call
And here's President Obama's reward for working with the Republicans on that Tax Cut deal. The $858 billion tax deal approved by Congress Thursday is "all candy and no spinach," but at least it shows that President Barack Obama and Republicans can cooperate on fiscal issues. But their new detente will be tested early next year when the Budget Deficit looms larger on the political landscape. Analysts are skeptical this week's pact can be leveraged into a broad deficit-cutting program, and fear th...

Obama signs compromise bill extending tax cuts
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has signed an $858 billion tax bill he negotiated with Republicans. The package extends Bush-era Tax Cuts for two years, including Tax Rates for the wealthy that Obama had vowed to let expire. The deal includes a 13-month extension of jobless benefits for the out-of-work, and a nearly one-third cut in Payroll taxes that finance Social Security. Displaying a new style of compromising, the president invited Democrats and Republicans alike to the Whi...

The Weekend Word: A Senate Saturday
From Today’s Times: - Congressional Republicans took credit on Friday for blocking a $1.2 Trillion measure to fund the Federal Government, while some lawmakers on both sides appeared ready for the lame-duck session to end. The Times’s Carl Hulse recaps a chaotic day on Capitol Hill. - And on to Saturday, when the Senate could take up a measure to Repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell.” The Times’s Jennifer Steinhauer reports that Republicans in the...

Obama Tells GOP They've Had Enough Time on START
In his weekly national address, President Barack Obama urged Congress to pass the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, saying Republicans should "show the same spirit of common purpose on our security" they showed in achieving a Compromise on extending Tax Cuts. Not a Subscriber? To continue reading, sign up for a free trial. Heard on the Hill: Who’s the Flake-Out? Ex-Rep. Russo, 12 Employees Out in Cassidy Shake-Up Speaker-designate John Boehner leaves a closed-door meeting of the House Rep...

The Weekend Word: A Senate Saturday
From Today’s Times: - Congressional Republicans took credit on Friday for blocking a $1.2 Trillion measure to fund the Federal Government, while some lawmakers on both sides appeared ready for the lame-duck session to end. The Times’s Carl Hulse recaps a chaotic day on Capitol Hill. - And on to Saturday, when the Senate could take up a measure to Repeal “don’t ask, don’t tell.” The Times’s Jennifer Steinhauer reports that Republicans in the...

Down The Road To Decline
Congress Sends $801 Billion Tax Cut Bill to Obama and he signs it. Well what does the man who sold us Supply Side Economics over 30 years ago think of it? Not Much! You will notice that while he blames the politicians he blames the FED and Wall Street even more. The FED has engineered a serial bubble that has created the illusion of wealth by encouraging the Wall Street casino. He says that the original Bush Tax Cuts were a 10 billion dollar mistake and extending them will make it worth. And ab...

Down The Road To Decline
Commentary By Ron Beasley Congress Sends $801 Billion Tax Cut Bill to Obama and he signs it.  Well what does the man who sold us Supply Side Economics over 30 years ago think of it?  Not Much! You will notice that while he blames the politicians he blames the FED and Wall Street even more.   The FED has engineered a serial bubble that has created the illusion of wealth by encouraging the Wall Street casino.  He says that the original Bush Tax Cuts were a 10 billio...

House Passes Middle-Class Tax Cut Bill and Sends it to President Obama
In a late-night vote, the House of Representatives passed the Bipartisan Compromise brokered by President Obama and Democratic leadership. This deal will extend taxes cuts for the Middle Class, provide help to those looking for work, and accelerate Job Creation and Economic Growth. After the House vote, Chairman Tim Kaine released the following statement praising Congress’ prompt action to help protect American families. I applaud the House for sending this critical Legislation to the Pres...

President Obama signs law that extends jobless checks
Tens of thousands of unemployed workers in Massachusetts won’t have to worry about their jobless benefits being cut on Christmas. President Obama yesterday quickly signed into law a massive tax-compromise bill that includes funds to extend emergency benefits for millions of the nation’s unemployed. As a result, as many as 60,000 Massachusetts residents will get benefits checks this Holiday Season, rather than seeing them cut on Christmas Day, as many had feared might happen due to p...

What the Tax Bill Means to Your Wallet
The pressure is off-- at least for now. With the Bush-era Tax Cuts extended for all Americans for at least the next two years under the bill signed today by President Obama, government leaders have managed to postpone some tough decisions to be made surrounding the U.S. tax code until 2012. The bill has been labeled "Compromise" Legislation, and for good reason. In exchange for the tax-cuts extension, Republicans agreed to extend jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed. They also agreed to...

Dionne: Krauthammer Heart Obama
As someone who savors the ironies of life and politics, I have gotten a kick out of seeing my conservative colleague Charles Krauthammer emerge -- temporarily, no doubt -- as the Obama White House's favorite columnist. For two weeks running, he has argued how brilliant Obama's Tax Cut deal is, how he swindled Republicans in Congress, and how he has immensely strengthened his hand for the 2012 election. "Holding no high cards," Krauthammer wrote today of the president, "he nonet...

Social Security under attack : Opinion Shop
0 Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg President Obama signs an $858 billion bill extending Bush era Tax Cuts for two years and reducing Payroll contributions to the Social Security fund. By Eric Kingson, Nancy Altman and John M. Cornman Washington's policy elites just don't get Social Security. On Thursday, Congress passed the Obama-GOP Compromise tax bill, replacing 15 percent of revenue dedicated to Social Security with borrowed money that will increase the federal Deficit in 2011. On Dec. 3, a majorit...