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Republican whip seeks vote on Bush-era tax cuts

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WASHINGTON | Mon Sep 13, 2010 11:28am EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House Republican Whip Eric Cantor called on Monday for a vote on legislation to extend all Bush-era tax cuts, including those for the rich that President Barack Obama wants to see expire at year's end.

Cantor took the action a day after House of Representatives Republican Leader John Boehner appeared to open the door for a possible compromise on taxes.

Boehner said on Sunday that if given no other choice, he would support extending tax cuts for the middle class -- even if cuts for the wealthy are allowed to expire, effectively raising their taxes.

Unlike Boehner, Cantor, the number two House Republican, showed no sign of backing away from a full renewal of the Bush-era tax cuts in advance of the November 2 congressional elections in which Republicans are seeking to wrest control of Congress from Obama's Democrats.

"Raising taxes in this environment is a non-starter for me," Cantor said in a statement.

"I am calling on (Democratic House) Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi and President Obama to allow all members of the House -- Republican and Democrat -- to vote on legislation that would prevent tax increases for every American," Cantor said.

Opinion polls show a majority of Americans support letting the tax cuts for the wealthy expire, but the issue has made some Democrats nervous ahead of the hotly contested elections.

Boehner, appearing on CBC's "Face the Nation" on Sunday, said Obama's proposal to renew lower tax rates for families making less than $250,000 but allow the lower rates for wealthier Americans to expire was "bad policy" -- but he will support it if he must.

"If the only option I have is to vote for some of those tax reductions, I'll vote for it," Boehner said. "But I'm going to do everything I can to fight to make sure that we extend the current tax rates for all Americans."

Obama has pressured Republicans to quickly agree to a permanent extension of the middle-class cuts but cites a Congressional Budget Office estimate that extending cuts for the wealthy would increase the budget deficit by $700 billion over a decade.

(Reporting by Thomas Ferraro, editing by Vicki Allen)
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Comments (3)
fromthecenter wrote:
Well well, so Bohnor and his sidekick finally have realized that this ‘just say no’ answer was going to cost them big time.
95 percent of Americans see this as a no-brainer to put the tax cuts back to pre-bush levels for the richest 2 percent
of America. Good for you boys!

Sep 13, 2010 11:07am EDT  --  Report as abuse
awayneramsey wrote:
There is no economic model, neither function to prove that 2% of America’s most affluent care enough, even with a tax holiday, to invest and create living wage jobs for 10-plus% of unemployed and underemployed Americans. There is a Republican lie that promulgates that the almost 2% of Americans earning $200,000-plus annually–who have received a 3% tax holiday for the last nine-years due to the Bush tax holiday- invest the most to create jobs. A second Republican lie is that the current Administration spends on things the nation does not need. Republicans do not speak for those Americans who have been disfranchised for many years due to Bush-wack -anomics. Hence, the Obama Administration must borrow until the Bush tax holiday expires, hopefully later this year. Those complaining about the tax holidays have one legitimate complaint. Their tax holiday expires later this year. America should never be dependent on private citizens for the greater good.

Sep 13, 2010 2:16pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
BushPoverty wrote:
Boooo hiss! two thumbs down for the Republicans. They have proven Obama absolutely correct. They only care about preserving their own wealth and the huge Bush tax cuts they greedily scarf up like pigs at a trough. They do not care about the American people at all. If you are among the the middle or lower class, making less than 250,000.00 a year Obama will extend your tax cuts and you should realize the wealthy among us do not care about you. It is up to YOU to care about you and support our President. Obama is not perfect, but he is right and doing all he can to help America up on it’s feet. More Republican greed will not solve the problems we face. Wealthy Republicans have had their tax cuts for nearly 10 years now and they CUT American jobs and sent them overseas while taking their huge tax cuts and giving themselves bonuses! Don’t drink the Koolaid, the Republicans want you to be POOR.

Sep 13, 2010 5:40pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
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