Senate to vote on package to extend Bush tax cuts

WASHINGTON (AP) — Staring at a Jan. 1 deadline, the Senate is poised today to pass legislation that would spare taxpayers at every income level from a significant rate increase.

The package will then go to the House, where Democrats are fuming over extended tax breaks for the wealthy that President Barack Obama negotiated with Senate Republicans.

House Democrats are considering possible changes, perhaps holding a vote to enact a higher estate tax than Obama negotiated.

"Let's find out if Republicans really want to jeopardize income tax, payroll tax and estate tax relief for every American in order to provide a budget-busting bonanza to the country's richest estates," Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., wrote in an op-ed in Wednesday's Washington Post. "House Democrats think this trade-off should be debated and voted on in the light of day."

But even critics of the package say they expect it to pass as is.

"There's a political reality here," said Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-N.J. "We can jump up and down all we want about the higher-end estate taxes, and I don't think anything's going to change because the Senate isn't going to change it."