Larson, Murphy and other House Dems Say "Not So Fast" on the Tax Deal

WASHINGTON--In a surprising bit of brinksmanship, House Democrats moved Thursday to block consideration of the sweeping tax cut agreement brokered earlier this week by the White House and top congressional Republicans.

"There's a strong desire among the members of the House of Representatives to put their own imprimatur on this very important piece of legislation," said Rep. John Larson, D-1st District and chairman of the Democratic Caucus. "We are going to put together our improvements."

The decision to forgo a House vote on the White House-GOP deal, a $900 billion proposal to temporarily extend all the Bush-era tax cuts, came during an emotional, drawn-out meeting of House Democrats in their basement caucus room in the Capitol on Thursday morning. During the lame-duck session, Democrats still control a majority in the House, which means they determine what bills come to the floor for a vote.

The tax cut agreement, hammered out between the White House and Senate Republicans, also includes a 13-month extension of unemployment benefits and a bevy of other tax breaks for individuals, families, and businesses

The proposal had already left Democrats, including those in the Connecticut congressional delegation, deeply divided. This latest move also revealed some fissures on strategy, not just substance.

The move to thwart the bill represents a remarkable confrontation between House Democrats and their erstwhile allies in the White House, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, who served as a lead negotiator of the deal.

"He pretty much said take it or leave it," said Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore, describing Biden's message to congressional Democrats. "Well, we've left it."

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