Dem Leadership Exposes Rift On Middle Class Tax Cuts

House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-SC), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), President Barack Obama, and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
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We should know as early as today (or possibly tomorrow) whether House Democrats will do as many predict and kick the fight over middle-class tax cuts past the midterm elections in November.

Many signs point to yes — the Senate already punted, a number of House Democrats want at least a temporary extension of tax cuts for wealthy Americans, and all of that is reflected in a split within Democratic leadership over what the party should do.

That split was reflected this weekend when, within minutes of each other, two members of the Dems’ leadership team — DCCC chair Chris Van Hollen and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer — gave opposing answers to a simple question: will Democrats hold this vote before the election.

“We are absolutely going to get this done before the end of the year,” Van Hollen said on “Meet the Press.” “We may well take it up before the midterms.”

On “Fox News Sunday,” meanwhile, Hoyer was much less optimistic. “I doubt that we will, and let me tell you why. The Senate has refused to move forward on that issue. As you know, we have some 400 bills pending in the Senate, 75 percent of which have gotten 50 Republican votes or more, but they can’t move through the Senate, so it would be an specious act.”

The issue will finally be resolved early this week. Democratic staff will address tax cuts in meetings today, as will House leadership in a meeting tomorrow. There are already dozens of suspension votes on the calendar that must be dispensed with before the House adjourns on Thursday for the remainder of the election season, and the question still nominally remains whether a package of tax cuts for the middle class will be included among them.

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