They came, they saw, they concurred.
Yes, I meant concurred. And here’s what they agreed on: they should do something about the budget.
Sadly, I’m not kidding. At the meeting at the White House today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) managed to hammer out an understanding that they really ought to put together a budget. The meeting lasted about an hour.
Reportedly, the Senate believes they might have a deal by Sunday.
What’s likely to be in the deal? Nobody is saying. But here’s what seems to be the consensus:
- President Obama didn’t offer anything new. He stuck to his recent proposal to extend the tax cuts for all taxpayers except those at the top. The Republicans may reluctantly embrace a variation on this plan in exchange for other relief (such as federal estate tax relief).
- There will be alternative minimum tax (AMT) tax relief. The threshold hasn’t been set but I would expect the patch to come in somewhere around $77,000 for married taxpayers and $50,000 for individual taxpayers.
- Unemployment benefits will be extended.
- Cuts in Medicare reimbursements will be tempered.
There was no specific word on what will happen to capital gains, dividends, and interest. There was also no discussion on what will happen with payroll taxes (despite the IRS practically begging Congress to do something).
Obama appears to be in the driver’s seat on this one, calling for a vote by Sunday. If there’s no alternative deal, he will insist on an “up or down” vote on his proposal.
As for the Senate, they didn’t have much to say when they appeared on the Senate floor after the talks. I’m guessing they didn’t have much to say. One thing they could agree on: they’re incapable of making a perfect deal. Reid told reporters: “Whatever we come up with, it’s going to be imperfect.”
Well, that’s, er, encouraging?
