House Democrats are likely to hold a vote later this week on a tax plan that would allow the Bush tax cuts for high-income earners to expire at the end of the year, according to multiple aides.
Nothing’s final, and the timing could change, as it often does. But Dem leaders will attempt to settle on a date at a private meeting on the Hill tonight.
Keep in mind, there’s still a great deal of uncertainty about Dems’ tax cut strategy. Through last week’s congressional recess, neither House nor Senate Dem leaders had the votes to pass a plan like this, and leaders in both chambers were signaling pretty clearly that the coming vote will be both a symbolic political statement about GOP priorities, and a starting point for a negotiated compromise with Republicans and conservative members of their own party.
The main options under consideration include: a new tax bracket for millionaires (more on this later), a temporary extension of the top-bracket cuts, and a temporary extension of all the 2001 Bush tax cuts: this is the Dems’ surrender option.
On a somewhat related note, unemployment benefits are scheduled to expire tomorrow for about two million out of work Americans.
Brian Beutler
Brian Beutler is TPM's senior congressional reporter. Since 2009, he's led coverage of health care reform, Wall Street reform, taxes, the GOP budget, the government shutdown fight, and the debt limit fight. He can be reached at brian@talkingpointsmemo.com.
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