Cantor predicts passage of Plan B, unveils companion bill on spending cuts - Basketball Forum : Professional and College Basketball Forums

**Prince** · 12-20-2012, 10:18 AM

Quote:

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) confidently predicted Thursday that Republicans have the votes to pass a plan to extend tax cuts on income up to $1 million — known as Plan B — as well as a companion bill dealing with major automatic spending cuts set to take effect next month.

On the Senate side, Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) pledged that the Democratic-controlled chamber would not vote on Plan B even if House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) could muster the Republican votes necessary to send the measure to the Senate late Thursday.

Cantor and Reid made the statements as House GOP leaders scrambled to rally their members for a vote expected by early evening on Plan B, defying Obama’s veto threat and setting up a showdown that could send Washington over the year-end “fiscal cliff.”

Republican leaders came up with the separate measure on spending cuts to woo support from conservatives wary that simply voting to address the looming fiscal cliff tax hikes does nothing to reduce federal spending or protect the military from large budget cuts. The second bill would shift defense cuts onto domestic programs, which already face a $50 billion cut next month.

Cantor told reporters late Thursday morning that the House would not adjourn after passing its plan. Instead he is insisting that Republicans remain in Washington to continue to seek a compromise with President Obama. However, he accused Obama of not putting forward a plan that Republicans consider balanced — a charge strongly disputed by Obama and congressional Democrats — and he said that once the House passes its own measure, responsibility for avoiding the fiscal cliff will fall to Obama and Senate Democrats.

“We House Republicans are taking concrete actions to avoid the fiscal cliff,” Cantor said. “The president has a decision to make: He can support these measures or be responsible for supporting reckless spending and the largest tax increase in American history.”

Reid said Boehner’s Plan B proposal does not address the nation’s deficit and would provide a tax break for the nation’s ultra-wealthy while allowing tax provisions that specifically benefit the middle class to lapse. He said Boehner’s only option to avoid the cliff is to craft a deal with Obama that can earn votes from both parties.

“Let me be absolutely clear,” Reid said. Plan B “is not going to pass the Senate.”

Reid said earlier Thursday that the Senate would return to work Dec. 27 after a break for Christmas, in part to deal with any cliff-related legislation.

Some House Republicans have predicted that if they send their tax bill to the Senate, public pressure to avoid the cliff would force the Senate to pick up the bill, potentially amend it and send it back to the House for consideration, propelling the legislative process forward.

But Reid and other Senate Democratic leaders said the current proposal is a “political stunt” that has wasted time as Boehner has scrounged for votes among his most conservative members — most of them opposed to raising taxes. They said Boehner’s only path forward now is to resume discussions with the White House over a broad deficit-reduction package that could win bipartisan support, talks that have been virtually halted as Boehner has worked to get support for his GOP-only idea.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politi...y.html?hpid=z3

**Diable** · 12-20-2012, 10:25 AM

It's all just a ploy though. The entire thing is just some cheap stunt to try to shift the blame. They know perfectly well that it's a completely useless and futile act, but rather than do their jobs they want to play games. If they had any spine at all the deal is there to be made, but they have to make a deal that gives themselves tax breaks I guess.

kbdullah · 12-20-2012, 11:29 AM

I'm beginning to think we are going to go over it, and that both sides are OK with going over and then fixing it later. The Democrats will have more leverage after all the tax breaks lapse, to just argue on reinstating breaks for the middle class. Republicans can let current breaks lapse w/o breaking any pledges, and argue for bigger breaks than Democrats afterwards. The people that will lose out are those who sell low on stock dips in b/w the day the breaks lapse and when the parties agree to partially reinstate them.

12-20-2012, 10:25 AM	#2 (permalink)
Diable Limehouse Blues Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: North Carolina Posts: 22,127 Rep Power: 14577544	Re: Cantor predicts passage of Plan B, unveils companion bill on spending cuts It's all just a ploy though. The entire thing is just some cheap stunt to try to shift the blame. They know perfectly well that it's a completely useless and futile act, but rather than do their jobs they want to play games. If they had any spine at all the deal is there to be made, but they have to make a deal that gives themselves tax breaks I guess. __________________

12-20-2012, 11:29 AM	#3 (permalink)
kbdullah Star Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 3,402 Rep Power: 1266257	Re: Cantor predicts passage of Plan B, unveils companion bill on spending cuts I'm beginning to think we are going to go over it, and that both sides are OK with going over and then fixing it later. The Democrats will have more leverage after all the tax breaks lapse, to just argue on reinstating breaks for the middle class. Republicans can let current breaks lapse w/o breaking any pledges, and argue for bigger breaks than Democrats afterwards. The people that will lose out are those who sell low on stock dips in b/w the day the breaks lapse and when the parties agree to partially reinstate them.

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