No Compromise: Pelosi Digs In, Tells Obama Congressional Democrats Demand Tax Increases
Nov 18, 2010 7 Comments ›› Pat Dollard
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told President Barack Obama that House Democrats remain firmly committed to allowing Bush-era tax cuts expire for earners making more than $250,000 — a move that could complicate the administration’s efforts to reach a compromise with Republicans.
After joining Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and other Democratic congressional leaders at the White House this morning, Pelosi told a closed-door meeting of House Democrats that she informed Obama “our caucus feels strongly about the $250,000 tax cut threshhold…and the president is very much aware of the Democratic caucus’s position,” according to a person who attended the caucus meeting.
In turn, Obama told Reid — whose conference is much more open to expanding the cuts to wealthy taxpayers — that he is willing to let them pursue their own compromise ideas, provided they secure enough votes to pass, according to sources familiar with the meeting.
Pelosi’s comments come as House Majority Steny Hoyer told colleagues he would push for a vote on only extending the middle class tax cuts, according to an unnamed legislative aide quoted by the Washington Post’s Plum Line blog.
During the hour-long session in the White House, Reid and Pelosi, whose position as Democratic leader was reaffirmed in a vote by House Democrats Wednesday, both pressed Obama, as they did on a conference call Monday, to adopt a tough bargaining stance with the GOP and avoid the muddled messaging that has characterized some administration pronouncements.
Obama, flanked by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and National Economic Council chairman Larry Summers, responded by reminding the leaders that they bore the burden of passing any compromise – and gave them homework – a compromise plan that would garner the support of their respective caucuses, according to an aide briefed on the meeting.
“The president and the leaders were in agreement that this is an issue that has to be dealt with,” said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, who described the meeting, the first conclave of top party leaders since the Nov. 3 midterm elections, as upbeat.
“There was a discussion of the full range of issues,” Gibbs said. “He looks forward to discussing about moving forward and seeing what’s next” at a bipartisan meeting scheduled for November 30th with GOP leaders.
Among the issues discussed at the Democrats’ first big meeting since the party’s stunning midterm debacle was the START treaty and deficit reduction.
Obama was also scheduled to meet with another group of Hill Democrats later to discuss free trade issues.
