Sen. passes $140B tax extenders bill
"U.S. Senate"03/11/2010
By: Meredith Shiner
POLITICO
March 10, 2010 04:24 PM EST
The Senate passed its $140 billion tax extenders bill Wednesday afternoon by a 62-36 margin, but getting a final bill to President Obama's desk might prove more challenging than Democrats in the upper chamber anticipated.
The Senate's version of the legislation—which extends several tax provisions, farm disaster assistance, unemployment insurance benefits and COBRA benefits for laid off workers—includes nearly $40 billion in offsets that the Obama administration had set aside for health care reform. And newly ascended Ways and Means Chairman Sander Levin (D-Mich.) said Tuesday night he "wouldn't be surprised" if the House forced a conference committee on the extenders bill to iron out the major pay-for qualms.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday he would not have an issue with a conference committee—a rare occurrence for tax bills in recent Congresses—but fears the GOP might try to stall progress on the package.
"I can't tell you how a conference would turn out,” Schumer said. “But everything the House put on is on the table. I think there is a desire on both sides of the aisle... of trying to do a conference committee. The question is, will going to a conference committee take weeks and weeks? Will [the Republicans] do a motion to proceed, block the motion to proceed, block the conferees, and all of that, if that doesn't happen, I think we prefer conference."
Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said he didn’t know how a formal conference might affect Congress's ability to get a bill to the president's desk.
"I haven't taken a position yet," Durbin said following the vote.
Both Schumer and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) talked Wednesday about using funds from the Troubled Asset Relief fund to pay for the recently passed tax bill. But reaching into the TARP coffers is something the GOP has resisted at almost every legislative turn, from small business proposals to other pieces of the Democrats' jobs agenda—and it could inspire Republicans to dig in their heels.