Free Market Carnivore's Blog

Last post, we updated you on the huge Omnibus appropriations bill the Congressional leadership dropped on members’ desks this week in lieu of a simple Continuing Resolution to keep the government running.

But at midday Thursday in Washington, D.C., the tax rate extension “compromise” bill hit a stumbling block in the House of Representatives. While the bill sailed through the Senate Wednesday with over 80 votes, in the House both conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats have opposed the bill. The House had begun work on the rules that would govern the debate on the bill in the House but the leadership suddenly pulled the rules debate off the floor. Observers at Fox News indicated that pulling the rules discussion most likely means the leadership knows they do not have the votes to pass the full bill.

Conservative Republicans oppose the deal agreed among Republican and Democratic leadership and President Obama based on the unfunded new spending and reimposing the death tax. Some House conservative Democrats may agree and the liberal Democrats are opposed to what they see as tax “cuts” to the rich on tax rates and too low rates on the death tax. While the Senate passed it as is, voter expressions of disfavor on the bill may have eroded enough support among both Republicans and Democrats that there are not enough votes to pass it.

At this point, it is not clear what will happen but there is not a lot of wiggle room with the calendar dwindling. We dealt with this bill in detail in our last AFF Sentinel, expressing our opposition to the bill and favoring allowing the next Congress, more reflective of the national voting sentiment, to handle the tax rates and additional spending. Tax rates could easily then be made retroactive to Jan. 1.

Keep the pressure on and stay tuned.