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Thursday, January 17, 2008
Election Year a Stimulus for Bipartisanship?
The signs are growing that Congress will approach design and enactment of a stimulus package on a bipartisan basis -- a departure from the rancorous debate, veto threats, obstruction, and delay that characterized congressional discourse on almost every tax and budget issue during 2007.
In an indication of the changed dynamics in Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has made a tacit promise to House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) not to issue a stimulus package legislative proposal unilaterally, but instead to wait until biparisan agreement in principle on the components of such a package has been reached.
An article in today's Los Angeles Times, Parties Suggest They'd Yield for Stimulus Pact reported that Pelosi and Boehner yesterday "emerged from a rare meeting promising to develop legislation that would both provide a boost to the economy and pass with little controversy."
Each side is backing away from components that would be deal breakers for the other side.
Republicans have acknowledged that the emerging shape of the stimulus legislation made it more likely that President Bush would not get his tax cuts extended before he left office. "It's impossible for me to believe that [permanent tax cuts] would be part of the agreement, as much as I would like to see that happen," Boehner said. "If they don't get it in the stimulus package, they are not likely to get the Bush tax extension this year," said Bill Frenzel, a former Republican congressman from Minnesota.
Democratic leaders, including House Majority Leader and PAYGO stalwart Steny Hoyer (D-MD), have signaled that in this case they will most likely waive the pay-as-you-go rule, which requires tax cuts and new spending to be offset.
Why the bipartisan cooperation on the Hill regarding the stimulus and the jettisoning of the Bush wish to extend his 2001/2003 tax cuts? Maybe because Democrats and Republicans in Congress have something in common with each other and in contrast with the President: they are up for re-election; he isn't.
Posted by Dana Chasin
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