Editorial: Trying to catch a break

Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2006 | 7:11 a.m.

Congress has less than a week to revive a package of tax breaks that would benefit millions of teachers, parents with children in college and taxpayers in states that don't have state income taxes, such as Nevada. The breaks expired in January but still could apply to this year's earnings if Congress passes them before wrapping up its work for the year.

The breaks allowed parents to deduct some of what they paid in tuition and fees for children attending college and allowed teachers to be reimbursed up to $250 for classroom supplies and books that they bought with their own money. It also allowed residents who live in states without state income taxes, such as Nevada, to deduct some state and local sales taxes, and it gave a 20 percent tax credit to businesses for research and development activities.

Even though these measures have broad bipartisan support, they haven't been passed because they keep getting attached to other, more contentious, legislation. For example, Republicans tried to tack them onto a bill that would have reduced the estate tax for the wealthiest Americans and raised the federal minimum wage for the nation's lowest-paid workers.

Democrats didn't support the break on estate taxes, and Republicans opposed the minimum wage increase. The bill failed and, as a result, so did the tax breaks for parents of college kids, teachers who buy their own classroom supplies and businesses that try to invest in the future through research and development.

With only a few days left in this Congress' "lame-duck" session, the only hope of these measures passing now is if they are considered without being tacked onto other legislation. Republicans, who will lose control of the House and Senate when Congress resumes in January, are trying this week to expedite approval of legislation that they suspect won't be embraced by the new Democratic leadership.

So passing tax breaks that affect millions of rank-and-file Americans may not rate as high on the Republicans' priority list as passing a controversial offshore drilling measure. That has been the problem all along with the Republicans who led this Congress. Their priorities were out of touch with what the American people wanted - and needed.