Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will delay a vote on extending the Bush-era tax cuts until after the November midterm elections, a spokesman confirmed Thursday.
“Democrats believe we must permanently extend tax cuts for the middle-class before they expire at the end of the year, and we will,” said Reid spokesman Jim Manley in a statement. “Unfortunately, to this point we have received no cooperation from Republicans to do so. Democrats will not allow families in Nevada and across the country to suffer or be held hostage by Republicans who would rather give tax giveaways to millionaires and corporations that ship jobs overseas. We will come back in November and stay in session as long as it takes to get this done.”
Congress will reconvene for a “lame duck” session shortly after the Nov. 2 elections, where there is sure to be a renewed debate on expanding the tax cuts, which former President George W. Bush introduced in 2001 and 2003.
Most Democrats have stated publicly that taxes should stay at their current levels only for households earning less than $250,000 per year, while taxes on Americans making more should be reset to pre-Bush levels. Republicans resoundingly say the cuts should be extended for everyone.