At his weekly press conference this morning, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer was at the center of a fusillade of questions about middle class tax cuts: Why haven’t House Democrats held a vote? Is a vote before the midterm elections still possible? Why not put Republicans on the spot?
His response suggests that Democrats are still undecided about whether to force a tax cut vote this week. But though they may still surprise everybody and push ahead tomorrow or Thursday, they’re running out of time to decide.
“If we thought we could get it through the Senate absolutely we would act,” Hoyer told reporters, “and we may well act anyhow.”
This Sunday, Hoyer exposed a rift diving House Democratic leaders when he contradicted DCCC chairman Chris Van Hollen, and called into doubt whether Dems would force a vote on middle-income tax cuts before adjourning for election season.
We asked Hoyer to square his Sunday statement with his admission today that a vote might still be in the offing this week. He claimed his was not the final word on the matter.
“That’s not saying that we’re not going to do it. It’s saying I doubt we’re going to do it,” he said. “It is certainly under consideration.”
