Camp backs Boehner in calling to extend Bush tax cuts

“[The] Democrats’ $3.8 trillion tax hike is the last thing American families and employers need right now,” Camp said in prepared remarks. “We simply cannot raise taxes when the unemployment rate is stuck above 9 percent and families are struggling to make ends meet.”

The minority leader made the announcement on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” He also called to pare government spending back to 2008 levels.

Democratic leaders have repeatedly stated that Bush tax cuts benefiting the middle class would be extended while tax cuts for the wealthy would expire on schedule at the end of the year.

But the weakened economic recovery has a growing number of rank-and-file Democrats calling for the extension of all the Bush tax cuts, at least for one year.

If those calls continue to grow, Democratic leaders might have to agree to a compromise, several sources have told The Hill.

One possible compromise would be to extend the Bush tax cuts for anyone earning less than $1 million a year.

Several sources have said this proposal has been discussed, but it is unclear how much backing it has received.

Still, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs on Tuesday reaffirmed that the administration supports a tax hike on individuals earning over $200,000 and couples who make at least $250,000 because the increase will not affect their purchasing decisions.

“I think that if you make $250,000 a year in this country, you’re probably not putting off the purchase of a big-screen TV,” he told reporters. “If you made $40,000 a year, I think you’re putting off a lot of purchases based on the fact that you don’t have it, and that impacts consumer demand.”