Today the House will vote on two bills designed to avert both components of the fiscal cliff. It's a smart play by Speaker Boehner and his caucus to pass this legislation and then head home for the holidays as it looks increasingly likely that President Obama has no intention of negotiating.
The first bill, the Spending Reduction Act of 2012 (PDF: H.R. 6684), replaces the automatic sequestration cuts with alternative spending cuts and reforms, mainly to avoid the nasty defense cuts in the original sequester. It also cuts the Obamacare slush fund, the failed HAMP mortgage reform effort, and reforms food stamps and the child refundable tax credit. The bill reduces the deficit by an additional $242 billion over the original sequester.
The second bill, the Permanent Tax Relief for Families and Small Businesses Act of 2012 (PDF: H.J. Res. 66), is what we've been calling 'Plan B.' It permanently extends current tax rates for everyone making less than $1 million, so no more of having to re-fight the same battles over and over every time the tax rates expire. It has a permanent AMT fix, which conservative have been seeking since time out of mind. The Joint Committee on Taxation says that Plan B amounts to about a $3.9 trillion tax cut.
The House GOP should pass these bills and go home. We're not going to get anything from President Obama, despite a good-faith effort to avert economic disaster. Let him own a decision to raise taxes on 99.81% of Americans.
Quote: Eglman wrote in post #1Today the House will vote on two bills designed to avert both components of the fiscal cliff. It's a smart play by Speaker Boehner and his caucus to pass this legislation and then head home for the holidays as it looks increasingly likely that President Obama has no intention of negotiating.
The first bill, the Spending Reduction Act of 2012 (PDF: H.R. 6684), replaces the automatic sequestration cuts with alternative spending cuts and reforms, mainly to avoid the nasty defense cuts in the original sequester. It also cuts the Obamacare slush fund, the failed HAMP mortgage reform effort, and reforms food stamps and the child refundable tax credit. The bill reduces the deficit by an additional $242 billion over the original sequester.
The second bill, the Permanent Tax Relief for Families and Small Businesses Act of 2012 (PDF: H.J. Res. 66), is what we've been calling 'Plan B.' It permanently extends current tax rates for everyone making less than $1 million, so no more of having to re-fight the same battles over and over every time the tax rates expire. It has a permanent AMT fix, which conservative have been seeking since time out of mind. The Joint Committee on Taxation says that Plan B amounts to about a $3.9 trillion tax cut.
The House GOP should pass these bills and go home. We're not going to get anything from President Obama, despite a good-faith effort to avert economic disaster. Let him own a decision to raise taxes on 99.81% of Americans.
A permanent AMT fix is good, but I need to read about how it is "fixed." If this bill (H.J. Res. 66) fails, I wonder if they will at least pass a bill with an AMT "fix" for 2012 before they leave (and what its fate would be in Senate and Executive).
For the altered state of our current "reality" file: A permanent extension of "current tax rates for everyone making less than $1 million" now equates to "about a $3.9 trillion tax cut." If the current rates are extended for ALL taxpayers (as they minimally should be) there is no rational way to describe that as a "cut" of any sort, unless of course you hail from DC.
Oh, and I'd love to believe that Boehner will close the House down and head home, regardless of the outcome of these votes. But I don't think that he will; I hope that I'm wrong.
Thanks for the info. I knew about "Plan B", but didn't know about the spending cut bill. Pubs are going to have to keep bringing it up in the media, or even better run ads explaining what they've done and why.
I think Boehner is doing about as well as you can expect with the hand he's been dealt. I'm glad the debt limit is off the table for now that will give him another opportunity down the road. After the House passes both of these bills the Pubs can negotiate by saying "here's what we have done give us a real response in writing if you don't like it". IOW, make the socialists pass something in the Senate.
RIGHT'S RIGHT 
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Thu Dec 20, 2012 10:09 am
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