Politics

Democratic Senate campaign chief says party is open to temporary extension of Bush tax cuts for wealthy

Chris Moody Chris Moody is a reporter for The Daily Caller.
Font Size:

New Jersey Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez said Sunday that Democrats are open to temporarily extending the Bush-era tax cuts for Americans earning more than $250,000 per year, which are set to expire at the end of this year.

“I certainly believe that there may be some opportunity for a temporary approval of some of these cuts,” Menendez, who chairs the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week.” “But we’ll have to see what can be worked out.”

Menendez made clear that Democratic leaders were completely closed to the idea that the tax cuts for households earning more than $250,000 be made permanent, citing the $4 trillion impact on the national deficit.

“That’s not going to happen,” he said. “What we will not support, certainly what I will not support is a permanent extension.”

When the dust settles after Tuesday’s election, one of the most pressing concerns that Congress plans to address in the lame-duck session is whether to extend all or some of the tax cuts. Republicans have resoundingly said they will only support an extension for all Americans, while Democrats have argued for extending them to only households earning less than $250,000. The debate over whether to extend the tax cuts erupted before Congress adjourned to campaign for this year’s mid-term elections without putting it to a vote.

Ultimately, the fate of the tax cuts will come down to President Obama. The White House is reportedly considering a plan to de-couple the tax cuts, which would make them permanent for households earning less than $250,000 and extend them temporarily for those who earn more. In the worst-case scenario for taxpayers, neither party will compromise and the new Congress will have to address the issue in January after all the tax cuts expire.

Menendez’s Republican counterpart, Texas Sen. John Cornyn, also appeared on “This Week,” and said he is seeing support on both sides of the aisle for keeping tax rates at their current level, at least for the time being.

“I don’t believe we ought to raise taxes on anyone during a fragile economic recovery,” said Cornyn. “And I think there’s increasing bipartisan support for that position.”

Congress will reconvene on Nov. 15, when the debate over the tax cuts is sure to dominate the congressional schedule.

Email Chris Moody and follow him on Twitter

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel