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Vice President Joe Biden arrived at the Senate this evening and word comes that Congressional leaders have reached a deal on the fiscal cliff negotiations.
Vice President Joe Biden traveled to Capitol Hill to brief Senate Democrats on the details of the deal; both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., have signed off on the agreement, White House and congressional sources told CBS News’ Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett.
Technically we still go over the so-called cliff because the House will not vote until tomorrow, even if the Senate votes tonight.
Here are the known details of the deal:
- Tax rates: current tax rates will be extended for all wage earners making below $400,000 and couples making below $450,000.This was a key concession for both Republicans and Democrats. Democrats wanted the threshold for tax increases to rest at $250,000 and Republicans didn’t want marginal tax rates to increase for anyone.
- The automatic spending cuts under the sequester will be delayed for two months. The cost of continuing current federal spending levels will be offset by revenue increases and some spending cuts. The spending cuts will come half from defense and half non-defense accounts.The two-month window is to allow Congress and the White House to come up with a larger deal on spending cuts, leading to another (though smaller) “fiscal cliff.” Democrats see this deal as a victory because Republicans had objected to using any new tax revenue to offset the loss of sequester spending cuts, reports Garrett.
- The estate tax: it was set to increase from rom 35 percent to 55 percent in 2013. Instead, the compromise sets the new rate at 40 percent with the first $5 million worth of property exempt from being taxed.
- Capital gains tax: Capital gains and dividend tax rates will increase from 15 to 20 percent.
- Alternative Minimum Tax: a permanent fix to the tax that would hit middle class families
- “Doc Fix”: doctors will be shielded from a massive reimbursement gap for treating Medicare patients.
- Unemployment benefits: unemployed workers will receive their benefits which expired over the weekend.
- Renewable energy tax credit: the tax credit for renewable energy companies will be extended for another year.
As KagroX says “Worst. Cliff. Ever.”
UPDATE: C-SPAN reports the Senate will vote tonight.
UPDATE 2: Senate passed the legislation 89-8 wee early morning January 1st 2013
29 Comments
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You did say a “larger deal on spending cuts”. Yeah, well that comes from SSMM.
Ellie! Nice summary. I guess I can live with this – nothing relating to SSA or Medicare. Hate to think what will happen at the debt ceiling deadline, though. Can’t relax at all.
Why did he have to do anything at all until sometime next week?
How else to preserve the fiction of “Omigod the fiscal cliff!”
President Obama has boxed the Democrats into a corner. With the threshold for upper income tax increases set so high, the giveaway on the estate tax, and the still low dividend and capital gains rates, any new revenues will come from cutting deductions for the middle class, cuts in discretionary spending, or cuts to programs that help the elderly and the poor (as bluedot said, SSMM). And certainly there will be no money to address burgeoning student loan debt, our crumbling infrastructure, increasing poverty, loss of homes and any kind of a progressive agenda. This is a terrible deal imho.
Because he’s the center of the universe and has to show that he can get a deal regardless what the deal actually is. I almost puked at his press conference a week ago when he was talking about Republicans wouldn’t come to an agreement with him because they don’t like him personally. What a narcissist.
Gotta say, O is looking out for the working men and women of America,
who otherwise would have no one looking out for their interests.
What crap. Gives away the store so he can crow about being all bipartisany and able to work with the Crazy Fucks. Doesn’t matter how lousy the deal is, because in his mind, any deal is a good deal.
To paraphrase Sen. Levin as he was grilling some crooked banker, “This shitty deal that you peddled . . . “
C-SPAN reports the Senate will vote tonight
Yup. And now that Obama has separated out and “settled” taxes.. he has no leverage against spending cuts to OUR programs for the next session? And Democrats are once again confounded? Just more sell-out.. not fairness.
That’s a meaningless vote since it has to start in the House, but, it should be a great barometer to determine who needs to be targeted for extra-special ‘treatment’…!
Hooray, we avoided going over the fiscal cliff. Whew (wipes brow).
Oh, wait, the Bush era tax cuts (without House action) will expire at midnight, meaning we are going over the fiscal cliff.
And since, apparently, the Senate is about to lock-in terms, then this will be the starting point next year for “negotiations” with Tea Party House Republicans. And what about any conference committee “negotiations”?
I agree with posts above. President Obama and the Senate Democratic leadership appear to have snatched defeat once again from the jaws of victory. If Bush era tax cuts are set to expire anyway at midnight, then the Democratic negotiating position starting Wednesday would be much stronger, pushing for reinstating tax cuts/tax breaks for income less than $250,000, with the 98 percent, the middle class and many Wall Street investors/businesses pressuring recalcitrant Republicans into signing off on whatever Democrats propose. IOW, Democrats blinked…again. OTOH, they could have forced Republicans into looking like complete assholes or got them to reinstate the middle-class tax cuts, probably along with other goodies, including but not limited to what is in this last minute “deal.” Farm Bill passage by the House? Scrapping the debt ceiling? Reinstating an assault weapons ban? I could go on, but in Senate Democrats (and Obama) rushing through this last minute “deal,” they just ceded to Republicans the advantage in any future “negotiations.” Idiots.
At the same time salaries for congress,senate and federal workers would go up
in the thousands….:):):):)
I’ve already heard lots of the ceremonial “If nobody likes it, that means it’s a good bill.” Now we wait and hope for the Teabaggers in the House to blow up the deal. I’m off to find a solid wall I can bang my head against.
But is totally unwilling to work with progressive crazy fucks.
They’re not idiots. They’re willing servants of the 1%.
Matt Stoller’s Tweets about the latest.
41m Matt Stoller Matt Stoller @matthewstoller
In the last 24 hours, the White House decided it had to undercut Reid’s tough negotiating posture. Reid was willing to go over the cliff.
40m Matt Stoller Matt Stoller @matthewstoller
The WH through Biden offered serious concession to the GOP. Now they are working the phones to blame Reid for the concessions.
38m Matt Stoller Matt Stoller @matthewstoller
The whole Chained CPI trial balloon was the WH attempting to count possible votes to cut entitlements.
37m Matt Stoller Matt Stoller @matthewstoller
Senate Dems are the good guys in this case. Blame Obama, not Congress, for this deal.
Interesting. Shameful, but interesting.
Only if they vote it down and demand a better deal!
Is the social security withholding going back to 6.2%?
And Zaid Jilani confirms:
I haven’t seen news of the Senate convening to vote on this deal yet.
Which means that we went over the cliff. (Such as it is.)
Will folks be scrambling tomorrow or will they pass it off to the new Congress, which gets seated on Thursday?
Amy Klobuchar tweeted 15 min. ago that the Senate was planning to vote on it tonight: https://twitter.com/amyklobuchar/status/285978329889271808
C-SPAN’s been waiting for them to reconvene
Hey oracle#12 ,you’re not a political rookie ,so I assume you have some psychological disorder that makes you believe this is a matter of idiocy as opposed to a party that plays you for a sucker and a square .Both parties are owned by Wall St.,as it should be ,since corporate electoralism underwrites our political system and funds the campaign financing that also re-elects their well-pimped hustlers who make the masses believe they are cave-in artists and ,ah ,idiots ,as opposed to corrupt traitors of US interests .
From what I read, yes.
Well, the Dims And The GOP are both owned and operated by the corporate fascists, as is all of our system, so I don’t get why you comment what you do . . .
Of COURSE we got screwed, of course we WILL get screwed, the Dims didn’t blink, they work for the fascists who own them and help make them rich.
So I don’t get yer comment, by any means, it’s, um, obvious.
Senator Tom Harkin delivered an eloquent speech on C-SPAN2 denouncing the concept that $400,000 a year is somehow “middle class,” when it represents only the top 1 percent. He also pointed out that tax breaks for the rich are made permanent in the bill, while true middle class items like the Earned Income Tax Credit, child tax credit, tuition tax credit and unemployment benefits are only temporary.
Senate vote on passage: 89-8.
Well, Iowans are batting .500 in the slow pitch leagues of Washington, D.C. They have Harkin hitting cleanup and Obama as the automatic out. My uncle always said you couldn’t trust any politician north and east of the Mississippi. It appears, this time, he’s absolutely right. Chicago: City of Big Shoulders? Sorry, Carl. Tonight, you and your ” best and brightest ” look pretty puny.