Pelosi to Try to Force Vote on Bush Tax Cuts

Nancy Pelosi will file a motion today to force a vote on Bush-era tax cuts, her office says. The House minority leader's "discharge petition" would aim for a vote this month on extending the cuts for those earning less than $250,000, while ending them for those earning more, the Washington Post reports. The measure passed the Senate this summer. Such petitions, which rarely work, are a minority party attempt to get a vote on a bill the House Speaker won't bring up. To prompt a vote, Pelosi would need 218 signatures.

With all Democrats signing, "twenty-five Republicans is all it would take," Harry Reid says. Meanwhile, with President Obama taking his tax case to the public, John Boehner is seeking to do the same. The Speaker held a press conference Friday, appeared on Fox News Sunday, and met with reporters yesterday regarding a GOP plan to avoid the "fiscal cliff," the Hill reports. But conservatives are already criticizing his offer—including Sen. Jim DeMint, who labeled it an "$800 billion tax hike" that won't cut the deficit, Politico notes. If a deal isn't reached, it's Boehner's party the public will blame, a Washington Post-Pew Research Center poll finds: Some 53% say Republicans would deserve the blame for a failure, compared to 27% who'd blame Obama. (More Nancy Pelosi stories.)