All 42 US Senate Republicans wrote Majority Leader Harry Reid yester day, warning that the GOP will fili buster any legislation during Congress’ lame-duck session until the matter of extending the soon-to-expire Bush tax cuts is addressed.
To wit:
“Without . . . action by Dec. 31, all American taxpayers will be hit by an increase in their individual income-tax rates and investment income through the capital gains and dividend rates,” the senators noted.
“If Congress were to adopt the president’s tax proposal to prevent the tax increase for only some Americans, small businesses would be targeted with a job-killing tax increase at the worst possible time.”
Exactly so.
Indeed, letting the cuts expire would extract an estimated $226 billion over the next year from an economy struggling to emerge from a deep recession — with close-to-catastrophic consequences.
Meanwhile, the majority leader has larded the lame-duck agenda with a legislative laundry list that includes:
* The so-called DREAM Act, to grant legal status to illegal immigrants who join the military or attend college.
* The Zadroga Bill, the lush benefits grab-bag for folks asserting injuries from working at Ground Zero after 9/11.
* Ending the Don’t-Ask-Don’t-Tell ban on gays serving openly in the military.
* Extending unemployment benefits.
And so on.
Yes, each item has support among various special interests. And the jobless-benefits measure may actually have some real value on the merits.
But stopping the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts is in everyone’s best interests.
And the 42 signatures on the letter mean that the GOP can prevent Reid’s agenda coming up for a final consideration — until the tax cuts are dealt with.
It’s important that the Senate stick to the basics. If there’s still time before Congress adjourns for the holidays to discuss other issues, fine.
But not before.
Looks like the GOP got the message from an election in which the economy and jobs dominated the voters’ concerns.
The Democrats?
That remains to be seen.