In an op-ed in USA Today Wednesday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi calls on John Boehner to hold a vote to extend tax cuts for middle-class Americans that are currently part of the larger Bush tax cuts. Democrats want to extend the cuts for all but top-earning Americans when the cuts expire at the end of the year; Republicans want to extend the entire tax-cut package.
If Democrats and Republicans agree that we should not raise taxes on the middle class, then the question Republicans must answer is: Will they support middle-class tax relief now, or will they continue to insist that it be coupled with tax breaks for the wealthy that increase the deficit and do not grow the economy or create jobs?
Democrats have always opposed the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Since President Obama’s election, we have repeatedly called for an end to tax cuts for those making more than $250,000 a year. Republicans have rejected this effort, holding tax relief for the middle class and small businesses hostage to permanent tax breaks for millionaires, Big Oil, and corporations that ship jobs overseas.