House Republican leaders, concerned with President Obama’s improving re-election polling, are considering shifting strategies and calling for a summer vote to extend the Bush tax cuts instead of waiting for the December lame duck session.
Secrets learns that talks about moving the vote up by four months come as some in the GOP worry that Mitt Romney might not beat Obama and that an Obama reelection would give the White House a huge mandate to kill the Bush tax cuts it doesn’t like, change capital gains tax rates and force the GOP’s hand on raising the debt ceiling.
Some suggest a tax vote could occur before the summer recess in August. Republicans hope to they will be able to push skittish, pre-election Democrats into voting to extend all the tax cuts. But others added that no decision has been made and no votes are envisioned yet.
“There’s been definite pressure from some rank-and-file to step out front on tax reform before the election,” said an insider. “People want to have a concrete proposal in hand to show the voters. Staking out a good, clear policy now also improves the odds of getting good, clear policy enacted into law down the road. Plus it increases the odds that Romney comes out for something conservatives can stand behind.”
Over the last two weeks, House Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich, and GOP leaders have been hosting “tax planning sessions” to brief members on what’s set to expire and what the options are.
One idea under study is extending current tax policy instead of broader tax reform, which many members favor but could get bogged down as the election heats up. Another is just issuing a tax platform for lawmakers to use in their campaigns.
