Thursday, August 2, 2012
8:59 AM
Wis. delegation holds party lines on Bush tax cut extension
Wisconsin’s House delegation split along party lines on a vote to extend all of the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts through 2013.
The bill passed 256-171 largely along party lines, but stands no chance in the Senate, where Dems pushed through their bill to extend the tax cuts for individuals making $200,000 or less and married couples earning $250,000 or less.
Dem U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, who’s running for the U.S. Senate, said Republicans blocked passage of legislation to extend the tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small businesses.
“At a time when middle class Wisconsinites are struggling to pay the mortgage, send their kids to college, and save for retirement, the last thing they need is a tax hike,” Baldwin said. “The only thing standing in the way of tax cuts for the middle class is House Republicans.”
GOP U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, chair of the House Budget Committee, said the Congressional Budget Office warned the Dems’ plan to allow the tax cuts to expire for top earners would push the country into another recession.
“The results are unmistakable: the President’s insistence on taking more from hardworking taxpayers to fuel ever-higher Washington spending is not working,” Ryan said.
“There is bipartisan opposition to this failed approach, and to provide certainty and confidence for job creators, the time to act is now.”
DC Wrap site feed