Pelosi And Hoyer Split On Tax Vote Before November Elections

Pelosi has pushed for the House to act on the middle-income tax cuts extension before lawmakers bolt for the campaign trail.

A split has opened between Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) over whether to hold a vote before the midterm elections on extending the George W. Bush-era tax cuts for the middle class.

In closed-door leadership meetings this week, Pelosi has pushed for the House to act on the middle-income tax cuts before lawmakers bolt Washington for the campaign trail, while Hoyer wants the House to wait for the Senate to act first, according to Democratic aides.

The disagreement between the two party leaders reflects a broader divide in the Democratic Caucus. Centrist and vulnerable Democrats want to push a vote on the tax cuts until after the election, and many want a temporary extension on rates for the wealthy in addition to a permanent extension of the current rates for the middle class. Liberal Democrats want an immediate vote on extending the middle-class cuts, arguing that the move would give incumbents an act to tout on the campaign trail and would force Republicans into a political corner.

Hoyer indicated his preference at his weekly briefing with reporters on Tuesday. “I want to see what the Senate can do,” he said. “I think that will have a great effect on what members believe ought to be done or can be done.”

Pressed on whether the House should vote on it even if the Senate did not, Hoyer replied: “We want to see what the Senate can get done. Let me reiterate that and leave it at that.”

Pelosi has not said publicly whether she wants to hold a vote before or after the election. At a press conference last week, she pledged only that the tax cuts for the middle class ultimately would be extended.

“What I believe the American people deserve is a tax cut for the middle class, and without getting into procedure and timing and process, what we’re going to do is to say, at the end of the day, the extension of the Obama middle-income tax cuts will take place,” she said.

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[You like that? The 'Obama' middle-income tax cuts. I guess we won't Blame Bush this time.-- Editor]