Posted on 12/02/2012 2:26:23 PM PST by Libloather
Pelosi warns ‘clock is ticking,’ threatens House vote on tax rates
By Molly K. Hooper - 12/02/12 12:37 PM ET
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) on Sunday repeated threats to file a “discharge petition” and force a House vote to extend current tax rates for households making under $250,000 a year.
The Senate has already approved extending those rates, but the House GOP objects to the measure, instead calling for all of the expiring Bush-era tax rates to be extended across-the-board.
In order to bypass the House majority party's right to schedule floor votes, the California Democrat would need to garner 218 signatures, including more than 20 Republicans, to overcome the legislative hurdle.
In a statement released Sunday morning, Pelosi threatened to do just that: “If Speaker Boehner refuses to schedule this widely-supported bill for a vote, Democrats will introduce a discharge petition to automatically bring to the floor the Senate-passed middle class tax cuts."
The Democratic leader warned that time was running out for Boehner to act. “We must find a bold, balanced and fair agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff. The clock is ticking and stalemates are a luxury we cannot afford,” she said.
Pelosi first suggested the discharge-petition maneuver on Friday as Democrats looked to increase pressure on Republicans to allow tax rates on the wealthy to rise in a deficit-reduction deal.
Many Republicans believe that they will lose their leverage in negotiations with the Democratic-controlled Senate and President Obama to cut spending and enact an overhaul of the tax code, if they give in on the demand to support a bill extending tax cuts only for the middle class.
Last week, Boehner shot down an idea proffered by his colleague Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) to extend the current tax rates for all but the top two percent of Americans who make more than $250,000 and negotiate on higher-income tax brackets later.
Lawmakers hope to agree to a deficit deal to avoid the automatic spending cuts and tax hikes set to take place on January 1st and Republicans see their tax stance as providing key leverage to push for steeper spending cuts and entitlement reforms.
On Thursday, Treasury Secretary Geithner presented lawmakers with the initial administration offer, which included $1.6 trillion in tax increases and $400 billion in cuts to entitlement spending.
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) quickly rejected the plan, saying he was “flabbergasted” when he saw the proposal.
Geithner on Sunday, though, defended the White House offer and said the GOP needed to make the next move. “I think right now, the best thing to do is for them to come to us and say, look, here's what we think makes sense,” said Geithner.
I imagine this ditzy bimbo wants another one of those infamous ‘RAT bills that you have to pass before you can find out what is in it. A Box of Cracker Jack Bill, if you will.
Pass the Ryan bill again and shove it down their throats...
I believe that the botox injections have finally settled in her brain.
The only thing crazier than Nancy is the constituants that have re-elected her.
She’s coming up 73 and looks all of it. Her brain is likely failing and she should let someone younger run for her seat.
Hopefully the public, even in SF, doesn’t want or need a 75 or 77 year old representing the people. She’s OLD!
Why would Nancy Pelosi care one bit about the middle class? She doesn’t. This is just theater to try and scare the Republicans. The Republicans should just say that the tax increases were demanded by the Democrats and while they hate going along with the Democrats, it’s obvious that the President and the Democrats truly want them. I’d even get all the Republicans out on the lawn and have them hold hands and sing WE ARE THE WORLD.
The Democrats are like 8 year old kids threatening to run away. Just look sad at them and say, “We’re going to miss you.”
The Democrat leaders know that all those Democrat government workers are middle class and they have screwed up and raised taxes on them coming into an election cycle where more Democrat Senators are up for re-election than Republican Senators.
Now, it's unfortunate that it exists, but it does, so we have to NOT use it as a weapon in class warfare, or allow the Democrats to do that.
What unrelated bill did the Senate commandeer in order to pass a revenue bill, in contradiction of the constitutional mandate that all such bills originate in the house.
And how did they get this senate bill past without a filibuster — which republicans went along with this extra-constitutional manuever?
“The clock is ticking” and Botox has its limits.
Talk about a long game. The republicans essentially screwed themselves when they passed a bill in 2001 that expired.
Which it did because they were trying to show how they would be good stewards, unlike the democrats.
If they had simply passed a bill that didn’t pay for itself, like the democrats do all the time, we wouldn’t be in this mess.
Remember, this was a bill that was supported by all the anti-tax groups back in 2001. So frankly, I don’t see how anybody should be upset, this is what the bill they passed was designed to do.
We have two choices, in my opinion. Either we put our own proposal together, pass it, and then say “it is either this or the cliff”, and see what happens, or we completely give in, and pass exactly what the president has proposed, and then spend the next two years clearly articulating exactly what the negatives were in that bill, and how it is ALL THE DEMOCRATS FAULT.
Hey Nancy (aka wicked witch of the west),
Do you realize that you are not in charge of the House? Did that little fact pass you by? Remember 2010? Remember handing over the gavel?
And how did they get this senate bill past without a filibuster — which republicans went along with this extra-constitutional manuever?
It was HR 3590, the Service Members Home Ownership Tax Bill of 2009. This was not a new technique by the way -- it's not uncommon for a bill passed by the House to be commandeered to be commandeered by the Senate in this manner.
As to the filibuster, recall that Scott Brown -- "the 41st vote against Obamaqcare" -- had been elected, but not seated. The GOP only had 40 Senators at the time and was unable to mount a filibuster.
Indeed, the only Republican legislator to ever vote for Obamacare was Olympia Snowe -- who voted for it in Committee, because "an important piece of legislation like this needs to reach the floor and be debated". She voted against it on the floor -- but it was her vote that got it out of committee.
Watching the distracting dog and pony show that is our Congress creating and then solving this fiscal crisis would be most-amusing were it not real.
Please help the naive - an obamanation such as ObamaCare was literally shoved down the throats of the American people through Congressional procedural loopholes. How is it that the Democrats are not able to do exactly the same thing with these tax increases? Why are they not able to do anything that they please using the same procedures?
Tin foil hat alert - I am postulating that most of these debates center around job justification for politicians, along with a run out the clock strategy designed to keep the ignorant population lost and confused. Things that are major that both parties want, but have to maintain appearances on, such as ObamaCare, are rammed through the system against the rules/law/Constitution. Things that are important, but not so major, such as the fiscal cliff, get debated ad naseum drawing people’s minds to mush before a compromise is reached that further removes freedom from the people.
My concern for our Nation is at an all-time high. The heart of Freedom is barely breathing.
Communist Obamanation File.
Ding ding ding ding......We have a winner!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.