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After Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid ran out of enticements to offer Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican turned to Vice President Biden, and the two invested several hours trying to work something out.
At this point, they appear to have the framework for a deal they can live with. Whether anyone else can live with it remains to be seen, but we're getting a look this afternoon at some of the details.
The top tax rate rises to 39.6 percent for individuals making more than $400,000 and families making more than $450,000. Capital gains and dividends will be taxed at 20 percent with the same income thresholds. The Personal Exemption Phaseout (PEP) is set at $250,000 and the itemized deduction limitation (Pease) kicks in at $300,000. The AMT is patched permanently. The estate tax would exempt estates up to $10 million and tax them at 40 percent above that.
The various business tax credits -- R&D, wind, etc -- would be extended through 2013, as would unemployment insurance. The stimulus tax credits -- namely, the expansions of the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, and the college credit -- would be extended for five years, which is hugely important to the White House. The scheduled cuts to doctors in Medicare would be averted through spending offsets that neither side considers injurious.
And, of course, extended unemployment benefits would, as part of the deal, continue until 2013. The package would not include a debt ceiling increase. [Update: In case this wasn't obvious, the payroll tax break would also expire tonight, as scheduled.]
It's worth emphasizing that this isn't the official blueprint, released publicly by negotiators, but rather, leaked details, some of which vary slightly from other reports based on other leaked details. In other words, nothing is written in stone just yet.
One of the key sticking points -- if not the key sticking point -- continues to be the sequestration cuts. McConnell has suggested a three-month suspension, setting up a March showdown over spending and offsetting cuts (followed by a February showdown over the debt limit), but Senate Democrats have said this is entirely unacceptable.
Indeed, it's worth noting that a variety of progressive Senate Dems are increasingly making their voices heard, letting Reid know they believe this deal is too heavily tilted in the GOP's favor. Among those raising concerns are Sens. Tom Harkin, Al Franken, Bernie Sanders, Jeff Merkley, and Jay Rockefeller.
President Obama is scheduled to deliver some public remarks in just a few minutes.
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The real problem here is NOT the President or even Boehner.
The problem is these radical, careless, and sometimes idiotic Tea Party House members. Have you heard any of their interviews lately? Joe Scarborough had one right after the Speaker had to pull his own bill. You would've thought that they had won the election and elected their idol Sarah Palin!
I don't know if they just play dumb, or, that they are that idialogically radical. They appear to have tunnel vision and by God, cost what it may, they will sink with the ship preaching their idea of Democracy. I don't know that any other President in history other than Lincoln, has had to deal with such an "in your face" bunch of radicals. They are willing to sink the country and even lose any future chance of ever being taken seriously for their beliefs and money contributors. Heck even Mr. Tea Party himself, "Dick Army" has abandoned ship in apparent disagreement.
Sad state of affairs indeed. Not surprising however. I've had the unpleasant privilege of personally debating some of these idealogs within my own circle of friends and family. Most of them have tunnel vision just like the House member that managed upset even Joe Scarborough.
Well I would say that many Democrats also have a kind of tunnel vision - tax increases ONLY with no real spending cuts. Polar opposite from the Tea Partiers, but just as tunnel - like.
Screw you skip , only a partisan hack could defend what the gop are doing in DC at this point , stop pretending your not just another gop hack , it got old 4 months ago , you say you are against this and that gop policy , then you turn around and defend every one of them , this is all your kind ever do , pretend you are reasonable , then vote for the extreme every chance you get , YOU ARE THE PROBLEM , SO PISS OFF
The tea party, though small in numbers, are the key to this whole mess. The Democrats hate them and the Republicans fear them, as well they should. The tea Republicans give their party the majority they need to control the House and nothing can pass without them, hence gridlock. By the way, this is just the tip of the iceberg. When the debt ceiling comes up, the Democrats better be prepared to make some MAJOR concessions on budget cuts or I guarantee you that the tea Republicans will take us into default, which isn't necessarily bad. This will force both both parties to sit down and address our spending problems and make some major adjustments to Social Security, Medicare and Defense. The only way I can see that they can be persuaded to call of the dogs is to agree to a Balanced Budget Amendment. As I have said in previous postings, business as usual in our nation's capital is over, at least for the foreseeable future. The tea party members will stick to their guns and vote in accordance with what their constituency elected them to do, bring about meaningful change.
What a wonderful government we have elected. One party is willing to crash our economy and our currency. I buy seeds from overseas dealers for my nursery (with the necessary permits). I was just notified by my Brazilian supplier that from now on, I will have to arrange payment in euros because they think the US dollar is subject to hyperinflation... If the Dollar is not good for anything in Brazil, do people seriously think our credit rating can be far behind? I think the republicans may be pushing us into a hole with no bottom.