After months of rhetoric about the Bush-era tax cuts, House Republicans will finally be put to the test on whether they will vote down a measure to extend them for the middle class.
House Democratic leadership will force a vote on extending the tax cuts only for households earning less than $250,000 Thursday, Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer said.
“We have common ground on that issue,” Hoyer said. “I don’t know of anybody in the House of Representatives, Republican, Democrat, conservative, moderate, liberal, who believes that we ought to increase taxes on those folks.”
That may be true, but Republicans have made clear they will only support a measure that extends the current tax structure for all income earners. Aside from one instance in September when Republican Minority Leader John Boehner said he would vote for such a bill if given no other choice, GOP leadership has remained staunchly committed to keeping all tax rates at their current level into the next year.
In response to the announcement, Boehner said that if Democrats do not hold a vote on extending all of the tax cuts, the Republican-led House will take it up in January.
“This vote is a Washington stalling tactic with job-killing implications for employers and entrepreneurs gripped by uncertainty over the looming tax hikes,” Boehner said. “Instead of holding a vote to raise taxes, Congress should vote immediately to cut spending and stop all the tax hikes. If the lame-duck Congress is unwilling to cut spending and permanently stop all the tax hikes, the new House majority will act in January.”
Hoyer said he is “hopeful” that the House will pass the bill, but it is unlikely that Democrats will be able to convince enough members from either side to push it through. More than thirty House Democrats sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi in September voicing their support for extending all of the Bush-era tax cuts.
Hoyer said he expects the House to remain in session until Dec. 17, but could not speak for the Senate, which held a vote on Christmas Eve last year.
This article has been updated.