Speaker Nancy Pelosi will not give ground on her opposition to extending the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans, even as the White House and other Democrats have signaled that it might be time to compromise.
“It’s too costly. It’s $700 billion,” Pelosi told NPR this morning. “One year would be around $70 billion. That’s a lot of money to give a tax cut at the high end. And I remind you that those tax cuts have been in effect for a very long time, they did not create jobs.”
Pelosi’s strong stand mimics that of some of her colleagues on the Republican side of the aisle. House Minority Whip Eric Cantor told Fox News earlier this week that he was equally uninterested in compromising on the Bush cuts — he wants them all extended, and that’s that.
Nevertheless, President Obama and the White House are hoping they can hash out some kind of deal on the tax cuts when Congress reconvenes next week.
Some members of Congress signaled to to CNN recently that they might be more willing to compromise than their leaders are.
“An emerging tax cut compromise could be to temporarily extend Bush-era tax cuts for all income levels,” according to CNN. “Republican and Democratic sources say in this scenario - a short term extension across the board - both sides would be giving ground.”
Peolosi would likely not be interested in that, if her appearance on NPR this morning is any indication.
Listen:
(h/t The Hill)
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