The Senate rumbled toward a campaign-season showdown over
taxes Wednesday, with Democrats expressing confidence that they would
push a yearlong extension of tax cuts through the chamber for all but
the highest-income Americans.
Approval of the Democratic bill would have limited real-world impact because the measure was sure to die in the Republican-led House. But it would put the Senate on record behind a package that closely followed President Barack Obama's vision for tax reductions and avert a significant embarrassment for Democrats and the White House should the measure be rejected.
Also on tap was a vote on a GOP alternative, a one-year renewal of tax cuts for everyone, including the nation's top earners. In a chamber that Democrats control by 53-47 — including two independents who usually back them — the $405 billion Republican measure seemed to face certain defeat.
Democrats had only a razor-thin margin of error. Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said he would vote against the Democratic bill because he would prefer an effort to reduce the federal debt. And Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., also seemed to indicate he'd vote "no" because he opposes raising taxes on people's salaries.
Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-07-25/senate-ready-for-symbolic-showdown-on-tax-cuts
Approval of the Democratic bill would have limited real-world impact because the measure was sure to die in the Republican-led House. But it would put the Senate on record behind a package that closely followed President Barack Obama's vision for tax reductions and avert a significant embarrassment for Democrats and the White House should the measure be rejected.
Also on tap was a vote on a GOP alternative, a one-year renewal of tax cuts for everyone, including the nation's top earners. In a chamber that Democrats control by 53-47 — including two independents who usually back them — the $405 billion Republican measure seemed to face certain defeat.
Democrats had only a razor-thin margin of error. Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., said he would vote against the Democratic bill because he would prefer an effort to reduce the federal debt. And Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., also seemed to indicate he'd vote "no" because he opposes raising taxes on people's salaries.
Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-07-25/senate-ready-for-symbolic-showdown-on-tax-cuts
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