As Greg Sargent first reported in the Washington Post, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told Democrats in a closed-door meeting today that there would “definitely” be a vote on extending just the middle class tax cuts before the end of the year.
A Dem lawmaker confirms to TPM that the House will hold a middle-class only vote.
As we reported earlier this week, the Republicans’ top tax guy in the House threatened that he and the rest of the GOP would vote to block any tax cut for the middle class during the lame duck session unless tax cuts for the wealthy are extended for the same period of time.
Hoyer’s pledge to hold a vote on just the middle class cuts suggests Dems might be getting more willing to try and force Republicans into a politically tricky vote.
Full coverage of the tax cuts issue here.
Late Update: Hoyer released the following statement:
The House will vote on an extension of middle class tax cuts before they expire. Democrats are firmly committed to continuing tax cuts for middle class families on income up to $250,000. We cannot afford to add $700 billion to the deficit to benefit the wealthiest Americans with almost no economic benefit as Republicans want to do.
