Thread: Eric Cantor, Marco Rubio opposes bill-to avert the fiscal cliff

No. 2 House Republican Eric Cantor says he opposes Senate bill to avert the "fiscal cliff"


Rubio breaks with party to oppose deal on 'fiscal cliff'

By Ledyard King, Gannett Washington Bureau12:44p.m. EST January 1, 2013


U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said the deal would raise "job-killing taxes."(Photo: Charlie Neibergall, AP)

WASHINGTON – Republican Sen. Marco Rubio broke with his party Tuesday and voted against a bipartisan compromise to avoid the "fiscal cliff" of tax hikes and spending cuts.

Rubio was one of only eight senators who voted against the deal, which passed with 89 votes and had the support of many staunch fiscal conservatives. Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson voted for it.

The measure passed around 2 a.m., two hours past the fiscal cliff deadline. Three senators did not vote.

The House could vote on the legislation today.

MORE: Senate OKs fiscal cliff deal; bill heads to House today
FULL COVERAGE: The Fiscal Cliff

Democratic and Republican leaders described the compromise as an imperfect but necessary agreement to prevent serious economic harm to families, businesses and the economy.

But Rubio, R-West Miami, said the deal would raise "job-killing taxes" and would do little to rein in the nation's spiraling debt, now above $16 trillion.

"Rapid economic growth and spending reforms are the only way out of the real fiscal cliff our nation is facing," he said in a statement issued after the vote. "But rapid economic growth and job creation will be made more difficult under the deal reached here in Washington."

Under the deal, tax rates would remain unchanged for the middle class and rise at incomes over $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples.

Those thresholds are higher than the ones President Barack Obama had campaigned on his way to winning re-election.

It's unclear how many people in Florida would be affected by the new thresholds because the IRS web site does not break down taxpayers that way. It does show Florida residents filed more than 52,000 tax returns in 2010 reporting an income of $500,000 or more.

The deal also would defer $24 billion in spending cuts aimed at the Pentagon and domestic programs. That would allow the White House and lawmakers to regroup before plunging quickly into a new round of budget brinkmanship. Republicans are certain to demand action to rein in the cost of Medicare and other government benefit programs.

Rubio said the compromise measure's tax increases would saddle thousands of small businesses with higher taxes.

"(They'll) be forced to decide how they'll pay this new tax and, chances are, they'll do it by firing employees, cutting back their hours and benefits, or postponing the new hire they were looking to make."

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky had a different take.
"Each of us could spend the rest of the week discussing what a perfect solution would have looked like, but the end result would have been the largest tax increase in American history," McConnell said on the Senate floor. "It took an imperfect solution to prevent our constituents from (experiencing) very real financial pain. But in my view, it was worth the effort."

As negotiations on the deal neared a conclusion Monday, Nelson, D-Orlando, spoke on the House floor on the need for compromise.

"People want us to come together and stop this bickering and the excessive partisanship," he said. "I think ideological rigidity and excessive partisanship are impediments to getting people to come together with common-sense decisions for solutions."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/01/01/rubio-fiscal-cliff/1802441/

http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/no-2-house-republican-eric-cantor-says-he-opposes-senate-bill-to-avert-the-fiscal-cliff-1.4395666

January 1st, 2013 09:20 AM ET

Latest updates: Will the House vote?


Posted by
CNN Political Unit

(CNN) - Two hours after their midnight deadline, the Senate overwhelmingly passed a last-minute deal Tuesday to avert the feared fiscal cliff on a 89-8 vote.

The Senate package (PDF) would put off budget cuts for two months and preserve Bush-era income tax cuts for individuals earning less than $400,000 or couples earning less than $450,000. For a timeline of yesterday's action, click here.

The measure now goes to the House where it faces an uncertain future in the Republican-controlled body. Check back on this page for the latest updates throughout the day.

4:49 p.m. ET - Vice President Joe Biden briefly commented on the prospects for the deal he negotiated with Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell after stopping for a sandwich. He was questioned by CNN's Lesa Jansen.


4:50 p.m. ET - From CNN's Dana Bash and Deirdre Walsh: A GOP source says all House Republicans are meeting again –at 5:15 p.m. ET.

Deirdre Walsh@deirdrewalshcnn

House GOP conf mtg again at 515p on fiscal cliff
1 Jan 13

4:49 p.m. ET – What happens if House Republicans amend the bill passed by the Senate? CNN's Tom Foreman explains:


4:46 p.m. ET - House GOP members expressed sharp discontent Tuesday over the Senate bill, saying the measure lacks spending cuts and adds to the federal debt.

"I know the president won his election but I also won my election," Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama told reporters on Capitol Hill. "If we are going to increase taxes, we need to cut spending and this package doesn't do that."

Meanwhile, Rep. John Fleming of Louisiana said the bill raises "taxes to give the president more money to spend. We think that's a bad idea."

Others discredited the Senate bill based on the chamber's late-hour voting time of 2 a.m. ET.

"I know it was way past those senators' bedtime and they were bleary eyed when they were reading it, so we are trying to fill in the gaps where they may have missed a few things," said Rep. Jack Kingston of Georgia.

4:41 p.m. ET - How will markets react to revelations the House may not vote on the Senate-passed fiscal cliff measure? We'll get the first signs tonight:

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/01/01/latest-updates-house-readies-for-fiscal-cliff-vote/?eref=googletoolbar