Durbin Says Debate In U.S. Congress To Go Beyond Bush Tax Cuts

Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the senate’s No. 2 Democrat, said negotiations over extending the Bush-era tax cuts also will include prolonging emergency unemployment benefits and other tax credits.

“I want to put a couple other things on the table,” Durbin said today on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We do have unemployment running out,” he said, and “I also want to make sure the earned-income tax credit, the childcare tax credit, and the ‘Making Work Pay’ tax credit are part” of the discussion.

At issue are tax cuts passed in 2001 and 2003 that are set to expire Dec. 31. Obama is scheduled to meet with Democratic and Republican congressional leaders Nov. 30 at the White House to discuss the legislative agenda.

Additionally, emergency jobless benefits that kick in after the initial 26-weeks of payments end will expire at the end of this month. Without congressional action, about 2 million Americans will lose the federally funded benefits, according to a Labor Department estimate.

Arizona Senator Jon Kyl, the chamber’s second-ranking Republican, said there is “an opportunity for us to sit down and negotiate a resolution to this that’s good for the economy.” Kyl also repeated a key sticking point for Republicans: “We don’t believe taxes should be increased on anyone.”

Obama has argued the country can’t afford indefinitely extending tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, defined by the president as individuals making more than $200,000 and couples earning more than $250,000.

“I believe it is a mistake for us to borrow $700 billion to make tax cuts permanent for millionaires and billionaires,” Obama told reporters Nov. 14. “It won’t significantly boost the economy and it’s hugely expensive, so we can’t afford it.”                  

[We agree, that would be a mistake. Let's CUT SPENDING by at least $700 billion. That will solve the problem. -- Editor]Read more here