Dems attack GOP over Bush tax cuts

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is attacking House Republicans over their plans to extend the Bush-era tax cuts without paying for them with budget cuts.

In a statement Wednesday, the DCCC pointed out that House Republicans pushed to offset the extension of a payroll tax cut earlier this year. Democrats have labeled the payroll tax cut a break for the middle class but argue that extending the full slate of Bush tax rates would disproportionately benefit the wealthy.

{mosads}“It’s clear House Republicans have one set of rules for millionaires and another set of rules for everybody else,” DCCC spokesman Jesse Ferguson said. “When it comes to giving more tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires, House Republicans don’t want to pay for it, but when it comes to middle-income families, Republicans demand that middle-income Americans sacrifice to pay for it. The hypocrisy is stunning and this is just the latest reminder of House Republicans’ wrong priorities that help millionaires at the expense of the middle class.”

The DCCC statement follows a report in The Hill on Tuesday that Republicans have no plans to pay for extending the tax cuts, which expire at the end of the year.

An extension of the Bush-era tax rates could add trillions to the deficit if they are not offset, according to the Congressional Budget Office. GOP officials have highlighted the fact that Democrats also want a budget-busting extension of many of the Bush tax cuts without offsets, but only for middle-income Americans. President Obama and congressional Democrats also agreed to a two-year extension of the tax cuts in 2010 without paying for them.