'Buffett rule' fails, but it will be back

The Buffett rule “gets at the core issue, which is this pledge that’s been signed by the overwhelming number of Republicans, saying that they refuse to ask millionaires and the wealthiest americans to contribute one penny to deficit reduction,” said Congressman Van Hollen on a conference call with reporters Monday. “And as a result, everybody else is going to get hit by their budget."

Republicans are sensitive to such critiques: The House Budget Committee is hosting a hearing on Tuesday entitled, “Strengthening the Safety Net.”

But as Democrats press their argument, Republicans, too, see ways to bend the Buffett rule to their advantage. It shows, they say, how Obama favors political games over hard decisions, and how he isn’t focused on jobs and energy prices.

Republicans say the Buffet rule, which would raise $47 billion over 10 years (if the Bush tax cuts currently set to expire at year’s end do, in fact, expire) accomplishes little. The federal deficit this coming fiscal year alone is expected to be more than $1 trillion.

“Well, President Obama looked at the options in front of him, sat down with his political advisers, and he said, ‘You know what, let’s go with the poll-tested tax increase on investment and job creation that won’t fix anything and won’t pass anyway, instead of actually doing something about the debt and the deficit,’ ” Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R) of Kentucky said on the Senate floor Monday.

House Republicans' immediate rejoinder to the Buffett rule is House minority leader Eric Cantor’s proposal to cut taxes for small businesses by 20 percent. That measure is slated to hit the House Thursday.

In addition, a pair of Republican energy bills are intended to knock the administration on gas prices. One would tie releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to increased energy production on federal lands; the second links new Environmental Protection Agency rules to their impact on gas and diesel prices.

“In fact, the ‘Buffett Tax’ hike touted by President Obama has been called everything from a ‘sham’ to a ‘hoax’ to ‘total gimmickry,’ ” wrote House Speaker John Boehner (R) of Ohio in a Facebook post Monday morning. “Why? Because it won’t do a single thing to create jobs, address our debt, or lower gas prices.”

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