OMB Watch - Senate Finance Committee Struggles with Tax Cuts, Addresses Charitable Giving

OMB Watch - Senate Finance Committee Struggles with Tax Cuts, Addresses Charitable Giving: "Senate Finance Committee Struggles with Tax Cuts, Addresses Charitable Giving

After postponing the markup three times and significantly modifying the contents of the bill, the Senate Finance Committee finally approved its version of the tax cut reconciliation bill Tuesday evening, 14-6. The bill would increase the deficit by a net of $60.2 billion over the next five years. The committee was originally scheduled to markup the bill last Thursday morning, but ran into opposition from Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) to provisions to extend cuts to capital gains and dividend taxes, the heart of the Bush tax cut plan. As recently as this morning, Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) was unable to compile a package that would win the support of all Republicans on the committee but eventually convinced conservatives on the panel that removing the tax cuts for wealthy Americans would not put the issue to rest."