This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/02/us/politics/house-takes-on-fiscal-cliff.html

The article has changed 15 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 9 Version 10
Amid Pressure, House Passes Fiscal Deal Amid Pressure, House Passes Fiscal Deal
(35 minutes later)
WASHINGTON — House Republicans, fearful of blame and political recrimination for looming tax increases on most Americans, reversed course on Tuesday and cleared the way for House approval of a measure that would avert most of the increases as well as large cuts in spending for the Pentagon and other government programs. WASHINGTON — Ending a climactic fiscal showdown in the final hours of the 112th Congress, the House late Tuesday passed and sent to President Obama legislation to avert big income tax increases on most Americans and prevent large cuts in spending for the Pentagon and other government programs.
The decision to allow the vote came despite widespread scorn among House Republicans for the bill — passed overwhelmingly by the Senate in the early hours of New Year’s Day — because it does not include significant spending cuts in health and social programs. They say cuts are essential to any long-term solution to the nation’s debt. The measure, brought to the House floor less than 24 hours after its passage in the Senate, passed 257 to 167 with 85 Republicans joining 172 Democrats in voting to allow income taxes to rise for the first time in two decades, in this case for the highest-earning Americans. Voting no were 151 Republicans and 16 Democrats.
But with options shrinking just two days before the beginning of a new Congress, House leaders made one of the biggest concessions of the party’s rebellious past two years and let the measure move forward. They wanted to avoid being seen as the chief obstacle to legislation that President Obama and a bipartisan Senate majority say is necessary to prevent the nation from slipping back into a recession. The bill is expected to be signed quickly by Mr. Obama, who won re-election on a promise to increase taxes on the wealthiest Americans to force them to pay a larger share of the government budget.
The measure, while less reflective of Mr. Obama’s fiscal agenda than Senate Democrats had wished, provided fewer concessions than the president initially offered in a tentative agreement with Speaker John A. Boehner last month, and it was a far cry from what was on the table last year when negotiators were trying to reach what they called a grand bargain. Mr. Obama strode into the White House briefing room shortly after the vote to hail the end of the fiscal crisis but to lay out a marker for the next one.
Still, many Republicans, in light of the broad support for the bill in the Senate and in the face of unwavering, rare party discipline among Democrats, concluded they had little room to maneuver. They decided they would save their fire for the coming rounds of the fight — the effort to increase the nation’s debt ceiling again in a month or two and an expiring governmentwide spending bill. “The one thing that I think hopefully the new year will focus on is seeing if we can put a package like this together with a little bit less drama, a little less brinkmanship, and not scare the heck out of folks quite as much,” he said.
“We are ensuring that taxes are not increasing on 99 percent of our fellow Americans,” Representative David Dreier, Republican of California and chairman of the House Rules Committee, said in support of the bill as the House began debate on Tuesday. Aides to House leaders in both parties expressed confidence in its passage. But he warned Republicans against trying to use a forthcoming vote on raising the debt ceiling to extract spending concessions.
The dynamic with the House was a near replay of a fight at the end of 2011 over a payroll tax break extension. In that showdown, Senate Democrats and Republicans passed legislation and House Republicans fulminated, but they were eventually forced to swallow it. “While I will negotiate over many things, I will not have another debate with this Congress over whether or not they should pay the bills they’ve already racked up through the laws they have passed,” he said. “Let me repeat, we can’t not pay bills that we’ve already incurred.”
Much of Tuesday was spent exploring the possibility of adding spending cuts to the measure and returning it to the Senate, but the leadership suddenly abandoned that approach Tuesday evening. In approving the measure after days of legislative intrigue, Congress concluded its final and most pitched fight over fiscal policy, the culmination of two years of battles over taxes, the federal debt, spending and what to do to slow the growth in popular social programs like Medicare.
Several Republicans said the growing realization that the Senate would not take up their amended bill made an up-or-down vote all but inevitable at some point if they wanted to avoid blame falling on the House. “That puts us in a tough spot if they don’t take it up,” said Rich Nugent, Republican of Florida. “You can be right and you can be dead right.” The decision by the Republican leadership to allow the vote came despite widespread scorn among House Republicans for the bill — passed overwhelmingly by the Senate in the early hours of New Year’s Day — because it did not include significant spending cuts in health and other social programs. They say cuts are essential to any long-term solution to the nation’s debt.
The bill was going to pass only with a mix of Republican and Democratic votes, given the depth of opposition in the Republican ranks. Failure would mean the nation would move closer to the tax increases that technically went into effect on New Year’s Day. Backers of the measure hoped a quick resolution in the House would limit any economic harm. Democrats, while hardly placated by the compromise bill, celebrated Mr. Obama’s nominal victory in his final showdown with House Republicans in the 112th Congress, who began their term emboldened by scores of new, conservative members whose reach to the right ultimately tipped them over.
Earlier in the day, as they got a detailed look at the Senate fiscal legislation passed in the early-morning hours, House Republicans ranging from Midwest pragmatists to Tea Party-blessed conservatives voiced serious reservations about the measure, which would allow taxes to go up on household income over $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples. “The American people are the real winners tonight,” Representative Bill Pascrell Jr., Democrat of New Jersey, said on the House floor, “not anyone who navigates these halls.”
They emerged from a lunchtime New Year’s Day meeting with their leaders, eyes flashing and faces grim, and said they would not accept a bill with tax increases for wealthy Americans without substantial savings from cuts. Not a single leader among House Republicans came to the floor to speak in favor of the bill though Speaker John A. Boehner, who does not take part in every roll call, voted in favor. Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the majority leader, and Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the No. 3 Republican, voted no. Representative Paul D. Ryan, the budget chairman who was the Republican vice-presidential candidate, supported the bill.
The unrest reached to the highest levels as Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House majority leader, told members in a closed-door meeting in the basement of the Capitol that he could not support the legislation in its current form. Speaker John A. Boehner, who faces a re-election vote on his post on Thursday when the 113th Congress convenes, had grave reservations as well, though he had earlier pledged to allow the House to consider any legislation that cleared the Senate. Mr. Boehner, though, was not eager to have such a major piece of legislation pass with mainly opposition votes, an outcome that could undermine his authority. Despite the party divisions, many other Republicans in their remarks characterized the measure, which allows taxes to go up on household income over $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples but makes permanent tax cuts for income below that level, a victory of sorts, even as so many of them declined to vote for it.
Adding to the pressure on the House, the fiscal agreement was reached by Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate Republican leader, and had deep Republican support in the Senate, isolating the House Republicans in their opposition. Some of the Senate Republicans who backed the bill are staunch conservatives with deep credibility among House Republicans. “After more than a decade of criticizing these tax cuts,” said Representative Dave Camp of Michigan, “Democrats are finally joining Republicans in making them permanent. Republicans and the American people are getting something really important, permanent tax relief.”
The options before the House Republicans were fraught with risks. Senate Democrats said they would not brook any serious amendments to their bill — one that was hard fought and passed in the dark of night with many clenched teeth on either side of the aisle. Senate Democratic leaders planned no more votes before the new Congress convenes Thursday afternoon. The dynamic with the House was a near replay of a fight at the end of 2011 over a payroll tax break extension. In that showdown, Senate Democrats and Republicans passed legislation, House Republicans fulminated, but they were eventually forced to swallow it.
An up-or-down House vote on the Senate measure would present many Republicans with a nearly impossible choice: to vote against legislation to end the standoff that most Americans wish to see cease, or to vote to allow taxes to go up on wealthy Americans without any of the changes to spending and entitlement programs they have fought for vigorously for the better part of two years. On Tuesday, as they got a detailed look at the Senate’s fiscal legislation, House Republicans ranging from Midwest pragmatists to Tea Party-blessed conservatives voiced serious reservations about the measure, emerging from a lunchtime New Year’s Day meeting with their leaders, eyes flashing and faces grim, insisting they would not accept a bill without substantial savings from cuts.
The unrest reached to the highest levels as Mr. Cantor told members in a closed-door meeting in the basement of the Capitol that he could not support the legislation in its current form. Mr. Boehner, who faces a re-election vote on his post on Thursday when the 113th Congress convenes, had grave concerns as well, though he had earlier pledged to allow the House to consider any legislation that cleared the Senate. Mr. Boehner, though, was not eager to have such a major piece of legislation pass with mainly opposition votes, and the outcome could be seen as undermining his authority.
Adding to the pressure on the House, the fiscal agreement was reached by Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate Republican leader, and had deep Republican support in the Senate, isolating the House Republicans in their opposition. Some of the Senate Republicans who backed the bill are staunch conservatives, like Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, with deep credibility among House Republicans.
The options before the House Republicans were fraught with risks. Senate Democrats said they would not brook any serious amendments to their bill — one that was hard fought and passed in the dark of night with many clenched teeth on each side of the aisle. Senate Democratic leaders planned no more votes before the new Congress convenes Thursday afternoon.
An up-or-down House vote on the Senate measure presented many Republicans with a nearly impossible choice: to end the standoff that most Americans wish to see cease, or to vote to allow taxes to go up on wealthy Americans without any of the changes to spending and entitlement programs they have fought for vigorously for the better part of two years.
“I have read the bill and can’t find the spending cuts — even with an electron magnifying glass,” said Representative Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, who generally votes against budget bills. “It’s part medicinal, part placebo, and part treating the symptoms but not the underlying pathology.”“I have read the bill and can’t find the spending cuts — even with an electron magnifying glass,” said Representative Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, who generally votes against budget bills. “It’s part medicinal, part placebo, and part treating the symptoms but not the underlying pathology.”
A failure to pass any measure before the 112th Congress ends would require the process to start over in the new Congress. This means the Senate would have to vote again with a changed membership, given the departure of several veteran lawmakers and the arrival of newcomers from both parties elected in November. But with their options shrinking just two days before the beginning of a new Congress, the House leadership made one of the largest concessions of their rebellious two years and let the measure move forward to avoid being seen as the chief obstacle to legislation that Mr. Obama and a bipartisan Senate majority said was necessary to prevent the nation from slipping back into a recession.
Democrats had their own problems with the measure but they emerged from their own closed-door meeting, with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who had negotiated the pact, resigned to the deal if not ecstatic about it. As he did with Senate Democrats the night before, Mr. Biden walked House members step-by-step through the negotiations, the legislation and the path forward on future deficit confrontations. The measure, while less reflective of Mr. Obama’s fiscal agenda than Senate Democrats had wished, still provided fewer concessions than the president initially offered in an earlier, tentative agreement with Mr. Boehner last month, and it was a far cry what had been on the table last year in an attempt to reach a so-called grand bargain. “I thank all of you who will vote for it,” said Representative Darrell Issa of California. “I cannot bring myself to vote for it.”
“It is clear that the vice president and the president are convinced that they have done the right thing,” said Representative Elijah E. Cummings, Democrat of Maryland. “They don’t see it as a perfect deal though, and nobody else does.” Still, many Republicans, in light of the broad party support for the bill in the Senate and facing an unwavering, rare discipline among Democrats to stand together, concluded they had little room to maneuver. They decided they would save their fire for the coming rounds — the effort to increase the nation’s debt ceiling again in another month or two and an expiring governmentwide spending bill. “We can and will pursue comprehensive tax reform,” Representative Camp said.
Democrats urged Republicans to bring the bill to the floor.
“The only responsible path forward is for House Republicans to immediately hold an up-or-down vote on the bipartisan Senate legislation,” said Representative Sander M. Levin, Democrat of Michigan.
The last time the House voted on New Year’s Day, according to Congressional staff members on the Rules Committee, was in 1951, on a measure concerning money for the Korean War.
Mr. Dreier, the Rules Committee chairman, supported the bill, though he had wanted to see more savings in entitlement programs. “Under the circumstances,” he said, “it’s the very best that can be done. I don’t like it. But, as one of my predecessors once said, if everybody hates the legislation, it’s probably a pretty good bill.”

Robert Pear contributed reporting.

Robert Pear contributed reporting.