House Dems to Amend Estate Tax Plan
The Washington Post reports:
As the Senate prepared Tuesday to push through a sweeping tax package negotiated by the White House and congressional Republicans, House leaders were looking to amend the measure to satisfy the concerns of angry liberals without unraveling the deal altogether.
Senate leaders, meanwhile, postponed a vote on the $858 billion package until Wednesday afternoon. Despite the delay, the measure was expected to sail through the Senate with even stronger support than it received in a test vote this week, when 83 senators voted to advance the package in the strongest bipartisan vote on a major initiative since President Obama took office.
The measure would extend for two years an array of tax breaks enacted during the George W. Bush administration that are set to expire Dec. 31, including benefits championed by Republicans for the wealthiest households. In return, Obama secured another year of emergency jobless benefits and fresh incentives to boost the economy, including a two-percentage-point reduction in the payroll tax for all workers in 2011.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said he was leaning toward voting for the package after voting against it Monday "to send a message to the House that there are allies here." Brown, one of the Senate's most liberal members who is up for reelection in 2012, said he changed his mind after speaking with his minister and reading letters from constituents who are struggling to find jobs in his hard-hit home state.
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