The Congressional Black Caucus joined a growing chorus of Democrats who are unconvinced that President Barack Obama’s tax-cut compromise is a good deal for their constituents.
Vice President Joe Biden was dispatched to the House Democratic Caucus to try to sell the tax deal. According to Politico, Biden got an earful:
Democrats in the House of Representatives complained to Vice President Joe Biden for two hours Wednesday evening about the White House’s deal with Republicans to preserve expiring tax cuts in exchange for extended jobless aid and a payroll tax holiday.“One year of unemployment benefits for two years of tax breaks for the rich? What kind of deal is that?” said Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), describing the gripes of “plenty of people” during a meeting between Biden and House Democrats.
CBC Chairwoman, Rep. Barbara Lee, released the following statement after the meeting with Biden:
During the meeting, I informed Vice President Biden that the overwhelming majority of Congressional Black Caucus members are opposed to the current tax plan. We will have a specific proposal we would like to discuss with the administration. Congressman Bobby Scott and our taskforce are putting this together.We are opposed to the estate tax provision and extending the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent of Americans. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus support extending unemployment benefits and provisions to create jobs, and we want to support something responsible.
We understand there are tough choices that will need to be made next year and are extremely concerned that the cuts that could be made should this package pass will disproportionately hurt the poor and low-income communities, and may further erode the safety net.
With time running out on the lame-duck session, it remains an open question whether Obama will be able to close the deal.
