Updated 9:41 p.m. ET -- After
a cancelled vote on a contingency bill and a dramatic defeat for
Republican leadership, United States House members will head home for
the Christmas holiday without legislative action to halt a mix of
automatic spending cuts and tax increases set to take effect in just 11
days.
Lacking enough support to pass a backup proposal to avert
the so-called fiscal cliff, House Republican leaders on Thursday night
were forced to pull from the floor a vote on 'Plan B' legislation that
would have preserved Bush-era tax rates for all earners making less than
$1 million but raised rates on the country's top earners.
At the end of a week that began with high hopes for compromise on a
bargain to correct the nation's fiscal course, Washington now appears
further apart than ever.
House Speaker John Boehner intended
that his last-ditch tax effort, coupled with revised spending
reductions, would give the GOP-dominated House continued leverage in its
negotiations with the White House and the Senate, both controlled by
Democrats. But it was ultimately brought down by conservative
Republicans reluctant to raise tax rates on any Americans, even the
nation's top earners.
The House will now recess for the Christmas holiday, leaders said.
Members have been advised that the House will return "when needed"
before the end of the year.
"The House did not take up the tax
measure today because it did not have sufficient support from our
members to pass," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a
statement. "Now it is up to the president to work with Senator Reid on
legislation to avert the fiscal cliff. The House has already passed
legislation to stop all of the January 1 tax rate increases and replace
the sequester with responsible spending cuts that will begin to address
our nation's crippling debt. The Senate must now act."
The Senate is expected to return to session after the Christmas holiday on December 27.
In a statement, the White House promised continued work with Congress.
"The
President’s main priority is to ensure that taxes don’t go up on 98
percent of Americans and 97 percent of small businesses in just a few
short days. The President will work with Congress to get this done and
we are hopeful that we will be able to find a bipartisan solution
quickly that protects the middle class and our economy."
Boehner
proposed the "Plan B" legislation Tuesday, saying that it would provide a
backstop to prevent middle class tax rates from jumping if a larger
deal was not reached by the cliff's deadline at the end of the year.
But
the measure was panned from both sides, with the White House calling it
a political ploy that would be subject to a presidential veto and
Senate Democrats pledging that it would not even be taken up for a vote
in the upper chamber.
Tax watchdog Club for Growth also urged
Republicans to vote "no" on the measure, as did conservative group
Freedomworks -- which originally supported the Plan B effort before
abruptly switching to opposition on Thursday afternoon. The socially
conservative Family Research Council also scolded that "Congress should
know better" before the vote.
Boehner and other GOP leaders had
firmly indicated earlier Thursday that they had sufficient support to
pass the Plan B legislation, along with another package of spending
cuts. "We're going to have the votes to pass both the permanent tax
relief bill as well as the spending reduction bill," House Majority
Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., told reporters at a press conference at the
Capitol."
But a breakdown became evident after the GOP-dominated
House only narrowly passed the package of spending reductions, which was
intended to replace automatic defense cuts, or "sequestration." That
measure, meant to encourage possible conservative dissenters to support
the tax proposal, squeaked to victory by a margin of 215-209, with
twenty-one Republicans voting against the bill.
The House then
immediately went into an unexpected recess, with members huddled behind
closed doors before announcing the end of votes for the evening.
A
source in the room tells NBC News that Boehner made an impassioned plea
for his members to support the bill, saying they would lose their
negotiating power if they didn't pass it. But his pleas - and urging
from an emotional Mike Kelly, R-Penn., were not enough to muster the
needed votes.
Freshman lawmaker and public Boehner critic Rep. Tim
Huelskamp, R-Kansas, called the measure's defeat “a victory for
Republican principles,” saying the GOP should not have to vote for "a
show bill."
But fellow Republican Rep. Steve LaTourette of Ohio struck a mournful tune after the vote was abandoned.
"It's
unbelievable, this is horrible," he said. "I'm angry, I'm sad for my
friend the Speaker, and I'm sorry for the country. We deserve better."
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