Senate Democrats are planning to force a vote on the House’s just-passed middle-income tax cut bill and a second package to let the Bush tax cuts expire above a new, $1 million tax bracket, according to a Democratic aide.
The move is a sign of the leadership’s frustration — though both packages will likely be filibustered by Republicans, Dems are loath to simply wait for negotiations with Republicans and the White House to end on terms they suspect will be much more favorable to the GOP than to their own party.
At his press conference today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was non-committal about whether this would happen. And though the aide emphasizes that the plan isn’t set in stone, it looks like this is the direction Senate Dems are headed. Reid would have to file for cloture tomorrow, resulting in a rare Saturday roll call. Dems would need 60 votes to overcome the filibuster.
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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