by Chad Newcomb, Senior Policy Analyst
National Women’s Law Center
Can Senate Democrats and Republicans Just Get Along?
The answer is sometimes — but that’s not necessarily a good thing.
Case in point: Last night, the Senate voted 88 to 5 to put aside its budget rules and pass a $50 billion one-year fix to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), without paying for it. Everyone wants a free lunch, and there are certainly reasons to consider reforming the AMT, so what’s the problem? Well, let me just ask three innocent little questions.
First, what kind of message does this send about our nation’s priorities? Blocked by the President and a minority of like-minded extremists in Congress, the government has so far been unable to come up with the money needed for pressing issues such as providing health insurance to children, maintaining food and nutrition services, restoring cuts in funding for child support enforcement , and ensuring that low-income home heating assistance is available to those who need it this winter. But when it comes to tax cuts, money is apparently not a problem.
Second, what was so wrong with the AMT patch passed by the House last month that Republican Senators felt the need to block a vote on it? In addition to providing a temporary fix to the AMT, the House bill also expanded tax assistance to low-income working families — and paid for the changes by requiring hedge fund managers to pay taxes at the same rates as other workers. Is it possible that some people just might be more interested in protecting special treatment for super-rich investment managers than fixing the AMT or helping struggling families?
Third, how come it’s okay to break the rules and increase the deficit in this particular case? While President Bush and congressional Republicans have argued that the AMT shouldn’t be paid for because it was never intended to affect so many taxpayers, the President’s own budget relies on this revenue to return to balance by 2012. That revenue will have to be replaced somehow. As I’ve tried to convince you before, there is no free lunch. Or as our fearless (co) leader here at NWLC put it: “Tax cuts that aren’t paid for aren’t really free. Women and children who aren’t getting services they desperately need today, and children who will have to pay off our ever-growing debt tomorrow, pay the price.”
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