December 08, 2010 01:48 AM UTC

BREAKING: Udall Will Oppose Obama Tax Cut Deal

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• by: Colorado Pols

From The Hill:

A deal between President Obama and congressional Republicans to extend the Bush tax cuts for two years has met with an angry backlash from Senate Democrats.

Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) joined Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in stating his opposition to the deal…

“I’m opposed right now,” said Udall, who added that some provisions in the package make sense, such as extended unemployment benefits, but he questioned whether it does enough to help middle-class families given its cost.

Udall also said he opposed the proposal to set the estate tax at 35 percent for inheritances worth more than $5 million for the next two years. He would prefer a lower exemption.

Full statement from Udall’s office follows: “With our debt out of control, our troops battling two wars, and American families struggling every week in the recession, extending tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires makes no sense.”

We note that Udall is considered one of several key bipartisan negotiators in the Senate, and also has an interest in getting to other items on the lame-duck agenda like the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. In our view, that makes his willingness to throw down over the weakness of this compromise even more significant.

At the same time, Udall and other Democrats need to be careful about framing this debate to be solely about the national debt, because that’s exactly the kind of talking point that Republicans want to hear. Republicans want to use “cutting the national debt” as an excuse to oppose everything, and Democrats would be wise to not play into that trap.

Udall: Extending Tax Cuts for Billionaires is Irresponsible

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Mark Udall issued the following statement in response to the deal struck between President Obama and Republican leaders over extending the Bush-era tax cuts:

“Just last week, a bipartisan group appointed by the President called our national debt a ‘cancer’ that is threatening our country from within.  As I’ve said for many years, our looming debt is perhaps the greatest challenge to our economy and our national security.  Now, exactly four days later, we are being asked by the President to add $900 billion to that debt over the next two years.

“I feel like we are suffering from the worst possible case of collective short-term memory loss.  The cost of extending tax breaks for millionaires alone is $700 billion over the next decade.  As I’ve said many times – I believe there are better ways to strengthen the economy than tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans.

“I agree with the President that we need to make progress on the question of whether to extend the Bush tax cuts – and like him, I believe this is an issue that is critical to our economy.  But that is the extent of our agreement.  While I still want to examine the details, my first response to this proposal is to be opposed.

“With our debt out of control, our troops battling two wars, and American families struggling every week in the recession, extending tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires makes no sense.  And I’m willing to stay here in Washington and work weekends, nights and through the holidays rather than pass a compromise that I believe will weaken our economy for the long term.”

Please contact Tara Trujillo or Jennifer Talhelm at (202) 224-4334.

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