The Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to advance President Barack Obama's tax package to the House, where the $858 billion bill is expected to receive a final vote Thursday. The Senate vote was 81-19, with 13 Democrats, five Republicans and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) voting no.
Ahead of the vote, Obama made another pitch for the package in remarks Wednesday, mentioning yet again that the deal was not perfect, but that it was necessary to boost the economy. He said middle class Americans “will no longer need to worry about a New Year’s Day tax hike.”
“I know there are different aspects of this plan to which members of Congress on both sides of the aisle object,” Obama said. “That’s the nature of compromise. But we worked hard to negotiate an agreement that’s a win for middle-class families and a win for our economy, and we can’t afford to let it fall victim to either delay or defeat. So I urge members of Congress to pass these tax cuts as swiftly as possible.”
The deal extends the Bush-era tax rates for all Americans for two years and jobless benefits for one year, restores the estate tax at levels advocated by Republicans, and renews dozens of tax breaks, including for businesses, college tuition, mass transit, renewable energy development and child care.
Before the final vote, the Senate rejected three attempts to amend the package, none of which received the two-thirds majority to suspend the rules and consider the amendments.
One by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) would have permanently extended tax cuts, one by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) would have offset the cost of unemployment insurance benefits, and one by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) would have allowed tax rates for high-end earnings to rise.
The bill now heads to the House, where the prospects for the bill looked brighter than a week ago, when the House Democratic caucus cast a nonbinding vote opposing the deal. The bill could be considered as early as Wednesday night, according to the spokesman for Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.).
But Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), a chief deputy whip and member of the House Ways and Means Committee, told reporters at a breakfast Wednesday sponsored by Third Way that “in all likelihood, we probably will bring the (tax) bill up tomorrow.”
House Democrats appear to be leaning toward structuring debate to allow a vote on changing the estate tax provision – a measure that would likely render the compromise dead if passed. But even staunch supporters of that change insist it has little chance in the House.
"The likelihood of it passing is not good," Ways and Means Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell (N.J.) said of the estate-tax change.
Separately, 31 Blue Dog Democrats gave the current deal a boost, sending House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a letter indicating their support for the bill.
Most House Democrats emerging from the caucus meeting in the basement of the Capitol said that the gathering is largely an airing of grievances.
On the Republican side, the past few days have exposed a fissure in the conservative ranks, with activists and pundits outside Congress railing against the deal and congressional Republicans on board. Monday’s Senate vote underscored that contrast, as only five Republican senators voted against the bill while opposition mounted on talk radio among the 2012 presidential hopefuls and with tea party groups.
But GOP leaders expect only 15 to 20 conservatives to vote against the compromise, which would mean that only 60 out of 255 Democrats would have to vote for the legislation to secure passage — not a heavy lift, the majority says. The White House Tuesday said Obama and his economic team was making calls to House lawmakers to line up support for the plan.
