Durbin says Boehner 'endangers' economy if no vote on middle-class tax rates

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) would “endanger” the economy if he doesn’t hold a vote on the Senate-passed middle-class tax bill.

“The failure of Speaker John Boehner to call this bill for a vote before Dec. 31 will endanger our economy because we’re in the midst of a recovering economy,” Durbin said on the floor Wednesday.

Democrats are calling for Boehner to hold a vote on the Middle Class Tax Cut Act, which passed in the Senate this summer. The bill would extend Bush-era tax rates on all incomes below $250,000 a year.

Lawmakers are working on a deficit-reduction plan to avoid the "fiscal cliff," which is set to take place at the beginning of next year when Bush-era tax rates expire and sequestration takes effect.

Boehner proposed a plan earlier this week, but it did not include tax increase on the wealthiest people, something Democrats are demanding be part of the deal. Republicans say tax increases on any income level harm small businesses and job growth.

“If that’s going to happen then Speaker Boehner and the House Republican leadership have to take this seriously and take it up quickly,” Durbin said. “I say to Speaker Boehner, if you step up and do the right thing for working families across America and do what’s right for this country then Democrats will stand with you in a bipartisan way.”

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