3rd December 2012, 11:19 AM
The clock is a-tickin' for the lame duck Congress to take action.
The Senate passed a bill to extend Bush-era tax cuts for 98% of families while raising taxes on families with incomes over $250k/yr. Obama said that he will sign it once it is passed by the House.
Speaker Boehner is outraged, but some House Republicans are softening up to the measure. Assuming all House Democrats vote the bill up, they will require at least 26 Republicans to defect in order for the bill to pass. I think they might be able to accomplish that. It's all a matter of bringing the Senate-passed bill to a vote in the House. If passed, the bill is projected to reduce the federal deficit by $1 trillion over the next decade.
Boehner does not believe in raising taxes on anyone, even the upper 2%. He feels that we should instead cut government entitlement programs such as medicare and medicaid for the disabled, the elderly, and the poor. 56% of Americans support the Democrats' proposal. Obama has expressed a willingness to put even his 2010 healthcare law on the table for budget cuts.
Open your eyes, Boner. Your approval rating is abysmal, whereas the president's approval rating is at its highest point in over three years. You cannot pretend to be the voice of the American people when the only people you're looking out for are the wealthiest 2%, all while trying to cut off benefits to those who really need them: the disabled, the elderly, and the poor.
So... what will the House do? The ball is in their court.
The Senate passed a bill to extend Bush-era tax cuts for 98% of families while raising taxes on families with incomes over $250k/yr. Obama said that he will sign it once it is passed by the House.
Speaker Boehner is outraged, but some House Republicans are softening up to the measure. Assuming all House Democrats vote the bill up, they will require at least 26 Republicans to defect in order for the bill to pass. I think they might be able to accomplish that. It's all a matter of bringing the Senate-passed bill to a vote in the House. If passed, the bill is projected to reduce the federal deficit by $1 trillion over the next decade.
Boehner does not believe in raising taxes on anyone, even the upper 2%. He feels that we should instead cut government entitlement programs such as medicare and medicaid for the disabled, the elderly, and the poor. 56% of Americans support the Democrats' proposal. Obama has expressed a willingness to put even his 2010 healthcare law on the table for budget cuts.
Open your eyes, Boner. Your approval rating is abysmal, whereas the president's approval rating is at its highest point in over three years. You cannot pretend to be the voice of the American people when the only people you're looking out for are the wealthiest 2%, all while trying to cut off benefits to those who really need them: the disabled, the elderly, and the poor.
So... what will the House do? The ball is in their court.