Hoyer: Democrats will oppose ‘Plan B’. Obama ‘not willing to accept’ Boehner’s backup plan on taxes
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters Tuesday that Democratic leaders will urge their members to vote against Boehner’s “Plan B,” meaning Boehner will have to scrounge up enough votes from his own contentious caucus if he wishes to pass the idea through the House.
Hoyer said the “math does not work” in Boehner’s idea, calling the revenue it raises “woefully inadequate” to address debt relief. Hoyer called Boehner’s idea a “political ploy” designed to protect Republicans from a public perception that they are largely concerned with trying to protect the wealthy.
But Hoyer, who was briefed on the status of talks by White House congressional liaison Rob Nabors on Tuesday morning, said he was encouraged that Boehner has indicated that negotiations continue and his plan is not designed as a substitute for a bipartisan deal.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2012/12/18/hoyer-democrats-will-oppose-plan-b/
House Republicans’ Plan B Ploy — And Why Dems Are Rejecting It
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/12/fiscal-cliff-plan-b-boehner.php?ref=fpb
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Leading Democrats — including, notably, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi — have in the recent past proposed setting the threshold for the expiration of the Bush tax cuts at incomes above $1 million. “Plan B” is, in a similar spirit, designed to rob Democrats of their argument that Republicans are holding middle-income tax cuts hostage for millionaires and billionaires.
The plan reflects just how far the ideological pendulum has swing back in Obama’s direction since the election. Republicans are now in effect siding with Schumer in what used to be a fight between top Democrats. But with leverage on their side, Democrats are preemptively rejecting the GOP’s fallback.
“Speaker Boehner’s ‘plan B’ is the farthest thing from a balanced approach,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). “It will not protect middle class families because it cannot pass both Houses of Congress. The Senate bill is the only ‘plan B’ that can be signed into law and prevent taxes from rising by $2,200 on the average middle-class family. Now is the time to show leadership, not kick the can down the road. Speaker Boehner should focus his energy on forging a large-scale deficit reduction agreement. It would be a shame if Republicans abandoned productive negotiations due to pressure from the Tea Party, as they have time and again.”
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) — who controls Democratic votes in the House — said House Dems won’t provide Boehner cover. “The math doesn’t work,” he told reporters Tuesday. “We’re going to urge our members to vote no.”
Obama ‘not willing to accept’ Boehner’s backup plan on taxes
The White House on Tuesday said President Obama "is not willing to accept" Speaker John Boehner’s “Plan B” to avoid the fiscal cliff.
Boehner (R-Ohio) on Tuesday announced the House would vote on legislation to extend tax rates on income below $1 million as a backup plan in case his talks with Obama fail.
The White House rejected Boehner’s proposal, saying it "doesn’t ask enough of the very wealthiest in taxes and instead shifts the burden to the middle class and seniors."
"The Speaker’s ‘Plan B’ approach doesn’t meet this test because it can’t pass the Senate and therefore will not protect middle-class families, and does little to address our fiscal challenges with zero spending cuts," White House press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement Tuesday.
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/273467-obama-not-willing-to-accept-boehners-backup-plan-on-tax-rates
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We're fucked
