Hoyer: ‘Compromise’ On Tax Cuts ‘Inevitable’

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
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After all the progressive huffing and puffing, President Obama’s tax cut deal — or most of it — will pass the House this week, according to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. Addressing a crowd at the National Press Club in Washington this morning, Hoyer expressed confidence that the general outline of the deal to extend the Bush tax cuts Obama cut with Republicans will make its way through the House.

The Senate is expected move its version of the bill in the next couple days, leaving House to take up the compromise plan after that. Despite his caucus’ anger at the compromise — which would leave all the Bush tax cuts in place for the next two years — Hoyer said the House will hold a vote on the plan this week.

“I think we’re going to have a vote on the Senate bill, with possible changes,” he said, according to multiple reports.

Those “changes” could include raising the Senate deal’s 35 percent tax on wealthy estates to 45 percent, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“We don’t think that the proposal dealing with upper income or the estate tax are useful in trying to get a handle on our debt. Having said that, taking a hit, everybody in the legislative process takes a hit,” Hoyer said.

Any changes the House makes to the Senate budget deal would have to be sent back to the Senate to be hammered out — extending the tax cut legislative process deeper into the lame duck session. Even if it drags out, Hoyer said he expects Congress will do something about the cuts before they expire on Jan. 1 — even if that means backing off on some of the demands that House Democrats made last week.

“I believe that action is necessary and compromise inevitable,” Hoyer said.

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