Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
Stumble
J. Scott Applewhite / AP
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio leaves his office and walks to the House floor to deliver remarks about negotiations with President Obama on the fiscal cliff, Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Published Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012 | 5:30 p.m.
Updated Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012 | 6:30 p.m.
WASHINGTON — Confronted with a revolt among the rank and file, House Republicans abruptly scrapped a vote Thursday night on legislation allowing tax rates to rise for households earning $1 million and up, complicating attempts to avoid a year-end "fiscal cliff" that threatens to send the economy into recession.
In a brief statement, Speaker John Boehner conceded the bill "did not have sufficient support from our members to pass." At the same time he challenged President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to work on legislation to avoid across-the-board tax increases and deep spending cuts due to take effect in less than two weeks.
"The Senate must now act," the Ohio Republican said.
In a statement released a short while later, the White House said the president's "main priority is to ensure that taxes don't go up on 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small businesses in just a few short days. The president will work with Congress to get this done and we are hopeful that we will be able to find a bipartisan solution quickly that protects the middle class and our economy."
Emerging from a hurriedly-called evening meeting of House Republicans, Ohio Rep. Steve LaTourette said Boehner had told lawmakers he's "going to call the president and he's going to go down and talk to him and maybe they can hammer something out."
The turn of events marked a personal setback for Boehner, and yet another indication of the power of tea party-backed lawmakers who helped Republicans gain a majority in the 2010 elections.
One first-termer, Rep. Tim Huelskamp, said the developments were "a victory for Republican principles." The Kansas Republican is one of three lawmakers recently stripped of favored committee assignments for bucking the leadership.
The legislation was crafted to prevent tax increases set to kick in on Jan. 1, 2013, on tens of millions of Americans. But another provision that would have let rates rise for those at the upper income range — a violation of long-standing Republican orthodoxy — triggered the opposition of anti-tax lawmakers inside the party.
The abrupt turn of events left precious little time for divided government to prevent across-the-board tax increases and deep spending cuts from taking effect with the new year. Economists say the combination threatened a return to recession for an economy that has been recovering slowly from the last one.
The House will not meet again until after Christmas, if then, and the Senate is expected to meet briefly on Friday, then not reconvene until next Thursday.
In his written statement, Boehner said the House has previously passed legislation to prevent all the tax increases from taking effect, and noted that earlier in the evening it had approved a measure to replace across-the-board spending cuts with "responsible" reductions.
Hours earlier, Boehner said Thursday night's legislation — he'd dubbed it Plan B — marked a move to "protect as many American families and small businesses as possible from the tax hikes that are already scheduled to occur" with the new year.
Referring to one of the core themes of Obama's re-election campaign, he said the president has called for legislation to protect 98 percent of the American people from a tax hike. "Well, today we're going to do better than that," he said of the measure that raises total taxes by slightly more than $300 billion over a decade. "Our bill would protect 99.81 percent of the American people from an increase in taxes."
Democrats said that by keeping tax rates unchanged below $1 million — Obama wants the level to be $400,000 — Republicans had turned the bill into a tax break for the wealthy. They also accused Republicans of crafting their measure to impose a tax increase on 11 million middle class families.
"This is a ploy, not a plan," said Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich. He accused Republicans of being "deeply cynical," saying the legislation would scale back some education and child tax credits.
A companion bill on the evening's House agenda, meant to build GOP support for the tax bill, called for elimination of an estimated $97 billion in cuts to the Pentagon and certain domestic programs over a decade. It cleared the House on a partisan vote of 215-209 and is an updated version of legislation that passed a little more than six months ago.
Those cuts would be replaced with savings totaling $314 billion, achieved through increases in the amount federal employees contribute toward their pensions and through cuts in social programs such as food stamps and the health care law that Obama signed earlier in his term.
Ironically, the votes were set in motion earlier in the week, after Boehner and Obama had significantly narrowed their differences on a compromise to avoid the fiscal cliff.
Republican officials said that members of the GOP leadership had balked at the terms that were emerging. Democrats said Boehner's abrupt decision to shift to his Plan B — legislation drafted unilaterally by Republicans — reflected a calculation that he lacked support from his own rank and file to win the votes needed for the type of agreement he was negotiating with the president.
Asked at a news conference a few hours before the scheduled vote if that were so, Boehner avoided a direct answer. "Listen, the president knows that I've been able to keep my word on every agreement we've ever made," he said.
At the same time, Boehner hinted broadly that however Democrats end up responding to the legislation he placed before the House, it will not be the end of the attempt to keep the economy from reaching the fiscal cliff.
"Our country faces serious challenges. The president and I in our respective roles have a responsibility to work together to get them resolved. I expect that we'll continue to work together."
Obama made it clear on Wednesday that he, too, is prepared for further negotiations, and numerous officials in both parties in the Senate predicted that might happen quickly after the votes in the House.
The tax bill would prevent scheduled increases from taking effect on Jan. 1 on all income under $1 million. Above that, the current rate of 35 percent would rise to 39.6 percent, the level in effect more than a decade ago when then-President George W. Bush signed tax cuts into law that now are expiring.
The top rates also would rise on capital gains and dividends from 15 percent to 20 percent.
By any measure, the two bills in the House were far removed from the latest offers that officials said Obama and Boehner had tendered.
Obama is now seeking $1.2 trillion in higher tax revenue, down from the $1.6 trillion he initially sought. He also has softened his demand for higher tax rates on household incomes so they would apply to incomes over $400,000 instead of the $250,000 he cited during his successful campaign for a new term.
He also has offered more than $800 billion in spending cuts over a decade, half of it from Medicare and Medicaid, $200 billion from farm and other benefit programs, $100 billion from defense and $100 billion from a broad swath of government accounts ranging from parks to transportation to education.
In a key concession to Republicans, the president also has agreed to slow the rise in cost-of-living increases in Social Security and other benefit programs, at a savings estimated at about $130 billion over a decade.
By contrast, Boehner's most recent offer allowed for about $940 billion in higher taxes over a decade, with higher rates for annual incomes over $1 million.
His latest offer seeks about $1.2 trillion in spending cuts, not counting the change in the cost-of-living adjustment that Obama has said he can accept. He is seeking $600 billion in savings from Medicare and Medicaid, $200 billion from other benefit programs and $300 billion from a range of government accounts.
The TeaPublicans are going to ensure their party fades in oblivion. If Boehner can't get his own party to agree to a plan, he might as well resign.
The drama-queens roll on.
If we are playing chess, Obama just said:
Check Mate
From TownHall.com
"No action in the House until after Christmas, I'm told. A win for the GOP right flank, but even more so for Democrats. Why? Boehner and Cantor just got embarrassed by their own rank-and-file. They couldn't afford to lose any more than 24 defectors, and apparently that number was going to upwards of 35. Boehner held a last-ditch caucus meeting tonight to make a desperate pitch; no sale. So rather than vote and lose -- the ultimate black eye -- Boehner pulled the bill...
...Let's face it: the Republican Party is in utter disarray at the moment. "Let it burn" adherents may get their wish after all, and John Boehner may have to contend with a leadership insurrection within his own ranks. Meanwhile, the cliff awaits. Tick tock, guys. Anyone have a plan that is better than Boehner's and would put conservatives in a stronger position both strategically and substantively? Wishful thinking doesn't count."
Merry Christmas America. Better days are ahead.
If they are going to carry it this far and haven't solved the issue yet then I see no way the cliff can be averted unless one side does an about face. If you're holding to your guns this long then nothing should change that.
Boehner can't even get his own party together on HIS plan. That says a lot. The republicans will again get another black eye as 401K's and IRA's take a big hit.
And the beat goes on!
Elected leaders living the life of Riley and bickering like children playing marbles " Bonehead Boehner thinks he is more powerful than the President and just got his Willy stomped on!
Maybe we should select Congress as we select citizens for jury duty? Maybe, and just maybe, we can get something accomplished?
This isn't funny anymore and might explain why firearms are flying off the shelves!!!!!!!!
Wow... just Wow!!! The "sane" Republicans, yes there are a lot of them, have got to get control of the party. The Tea-baggers are using this to attempt to show their "in-charge".
This minority CAN NOT be allowed to exert this veto "power"... how embarrassing for the Speaker! He threw down the gauntlet on the President the other day and now has major egg on his face.
Hilarious to watch Sean Hannity tonight spin this as a "win" for the conservative movement. The Republicans are making themselves irrelevant, while they think they're running the show.
The awful truth, however, is that we're all paying the price while this obsolete party crashes and burns!
No! No! No Compromise! We TeaPublicans said NO to that guy obama his first four years of office and we WILL say NO his second four years! We TeaPublicans WILL take back America in 2014 and 2016".THEN you WILL see America move forward! Merry Christmas obama, hope you enjoy your lump of coal! Bahahahaha!
If I remember you were saying Romney would be president in 2013. Lotta credibility you have there with more predictions.
America cannot spend and borrow this kind of money without taxes going up. By voting no on the Speakers plan Republicans are doing the right thing, making government pay for the spending and programs. The problem is President Obama is laughing all the way to the next election. He will get the taxes he wanted with no program cuts and the chump Republicans will get the blame. So much for doing the right thing. No good deed goes unpunished...
The GOP is digging themselves a hole so deep that they'll be lucky if they win another election in the next 25 years.
And plan B stinks to high heaven.
YES, the crazy teabaggers destroyed the republican
party.
Thank God.
Tea party is out dated and destructive to the Future of this country.. They don't understand compromise and how to get things done in a Representative government where the represented have voted and chosen their path! They represent a dictatorship that imposes its will on the people with the idea that they know what is best for the country regardless of the votes of the citizens. Does that sound familiar in any way?
Its time to vote out every republican that signed the anti tax pledge and has not renounced it and all the tea party candidates... Seriously! what have they done for this country besides reduce our credit rating one notch and point this country toward the financial cliff over and over and now are doing the same thing again? They can do more damage to this countries economy than terrorists attacking us!
We now have a political party that is being extorted by third parties that do not have a vote! I would like the Justice department to look into this! Threatening an elected official whether it is with his job or otherwise is extortion! We have letters from these groups threatening these officials with their jobs from groups that actually do not have a vote.. extorting our elected officials to influence their vote! I believe the MOB used this same tactic! We now have a new right wing MOB exerting undue influence on elected officials to influence their vote.. the RICO statutes cover this activity and should be used against these groups! Does it matter if your name is Grover or Gambini?
The only way we can get back to moving this country forward and creating employment for people is to get the obstructionists out of the way! Let's make that our mid term goal! These people are already being threatened by the far right of their party to be challenged at election with even more radical people.. so lets just replace them with Independents and Democrats and remove the leverage and blackmail that these groups hold over these officials!
It will be amazing how fast bills can be passed and jobs created! Each job represents tax revenue.. also reducing the deficit...it represents spending power that creates demand for businesses and services.. It won't happen as long as these tea party and pledge signing people are holding this country hostage!
I for one am growing tired of being held hostage over and over.. The Republicans have offered only obstruction and privatization of government services.. this was rejected in the last election.. so lets do what we the actual voters need to do and remove these people that are hostages and cannot do what is needed to move us FORWARD! ( and yes that was a pun)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h59mDlBSt...
Schadenfreude. Pure, grade-A schadenfreude.
This is GOP leadership, folks!
Obama needs to roll back his offer now, give Congress until Dec 31 to accept, and if the Republicans don't accept, we go off the fiscal cliff. Negotiations are at an end in my book.
We had dysfunction between parties, dysfunction between the two houses of Congress, and now dysfunction in the Republican party.
Sum total=DYSFUNCTION!
Great benefit for the $812 million per year total costs per member of Congress.
Our taxes for dysfunction. I would start cutting there.
bimmerdude,
What you describe is called fascism without the ultimate power, yet!
Don't forget the economic conditions that brought one of the most famous fascists into power, Hitler. People do stupid things when they are suffering very bad economic times.
It is up to the voters in 2014 to stop their lock step march to full power.
OOPS!
"Tomorrow the House will pass legislation to make permanent tax relief for nearly every American," Boehner said in a short on-camera statement. "Then the president will have a decision to make. He can call on the Senate Democrats to pass that bill, or he can be responsible for the largest tax increase in American history."
And it wasn't just Boehner... it was tea party darling Eric Cantor: "We're going to have the votes to pass both the permanent tax relief bill as well as the spending reduction bill!"
Or, OOPS!
I think the GOP clown car just went off the cliff.
Bimmerdude, I, for one, enjoyed watching FreedomWorks and Club for Growth throw Grover Norquist under the bus. And then back up over him.
This is a GOP civil war.
So this is what is going to happen:
1) Taxes will go up on about $2k for people that pay income taxes
2) sequestration cuts will kick in (cuts to defense, education, Medicare, and othe governments programs)
3) Unemployment extensions will stop
4) Republicans will refuse to raise the debt ceiling unless Obama agrees to entitlement reform
I agree the GOP has not come 1/2 way, they seem pretty stuck. As I have posted Bill Clinton said in his commerials endorsing Obama things were so much better under him and the mess caused by the Bush tax cuts was so bad, so I say let the fiscal cliff happen, it seems it kills tax cuts and spending without any one getting in the way. Done deal, and we all will be much better off. If it was good for Clinton it will be good for Obama, not sure why he is trying to single out certain income groups, that is not what Clinton did. Everyone all in!
EXPOSED!
After this how can anyone retain the fantasy that the GOP gives a rat's patoot about the middle class, our jobs, or the economy?
Get out your parachutes!
The republican party is a house divided.