Senate Passes $70 Billion Tax Bill (Crap!)

[FormerRepublican]

"WASHINGTON - The Senate passed $70 billion in tax cuts Thursday, one step in an effort that Republican leaders hope will preserve President Bush's tax reductions for capital gains and dividends.

Despite the bipartisan 66-31 vote, Republicans and Democrats showed they're ready to lock horns this election year. They spent most of the day wrangling over whether to use the tax bill to debate a long list of politically hot topics, refusing to skip formalities normally ignored by agreement among party leaders.

"This is not a good sign of the times," said Sen. Trent Lott (news, bio, voting record), R-Miss.

The central feature of the tax bill, left over from last year's agenda, holds back the alternative minimum tax, which threatens millions of families with higher taxes this year unless lawmakers stop its growth."

Yahoo link

The Senate is lining more pigs up for the trough. Let's watch the deficit explode.

[LincolnMcGrath]

1. Well Well Well

Which Dems threw us under the bus this time?

[Mass]

2. Rollcall here

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00010

AYE 66

Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Allen (R-VA)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burns (R-MT)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Carper (D-DE)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID)
Dayton (D-MN)
DeMint (R-SC)
DeWine (R-OH)
Dole (R-NC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Frist (R-TN)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Roberts (R-KS)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Santorum (R-PA)
Schumer (D-NY)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Stevens (R-AK)
Sununu (R-NH)
Talent (R-MO)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Warner (R-VA)
NAYs ---31
Akaka (D-HI)
Bayh (D-IN)
Biden (D-DE)
Boxer (D-CA)
Burr (R-NC)
Byrd (D-WV)
Chafee (R-RI)
Coburn (R-OK)
Conrad (D-ND)
Dodd (D-CT)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Jeffords (I-VT)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Kohl (D-WI)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Obama (D-IL)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Wyden (D-OR)

Not Voting - 3
Bingaman (D-NM)
Domenici (R-NM)
Thomas (R-WY)

[hughee99]

3. When election time comes...

and Hillary starts talking about tax cuts for the rich, remember her vote here.

[Yollam]

4. The Coalition of Democrats for Loading Debt on our Kids

Members:

Baucus (D-MT)
Bingaman (D-NM) (Didn't bother to vote)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Carper (D-DE)
Clinton (D-NY)
Dayton (D-MN)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Johnson (D-SD)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Nelson (D-FL)
Nelson (D-NE)
Pryor (D-AR)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Schumer (D-NY)
Stabenow (D-MI)


Repugs & Independents for Fiscal Sanity:

Jeffords (I-VT)
Burr (R-NC)
Chafee (R-RI)
Coburn (R-OK)

All voted NO.

[rwheeler31]

7. Hold on

look at the vote.

[Yollam]

9. What are you talking about?

Sorry, I don't follow.

[papau]

5. Not a bad bill - it does NOT extend the rich folks investment tax cut

We get a small guy alternative minimum tax fix, a business credit for research and development for 2 years, plus deductions for college tuition and teachers' expenses, as well as a credit for low-income savers.

It changes an accounting practice used by oil companies and hits them with $4.3 billion in increased taxes, and gives a tax break for coal companies that spend more on safety equipment and training.

It then spends money for military equipment, veterans health care, disability compensation and hospitals.

In the end the extra spending will be stripped in conference - and the House passed 2 year extension of the investment tax cuts for the rich put in.

But that is what happens when you do not have the votes.

Hillary did a good job getting the GOP on record as not supporting her amendment for an independent commission to study the government's response to Hurricane Katrina.

Now when in the future Hillary talks about tax cuts for the rich, her vote for this version of the bill will hurt her how?

[FormerRepublican]

6. Before or after the US Gov't bankruptcy from massive deficits?

[rwheeler31]

8. Hmmm

Where will the leaders of the gop take us.

[OneBlueSky]

10. on the same day they cut Medicare, Medicaid and student loans . . .

and both of my senators -- Clinton and Schumer -- voted for it . . .

I'm about ready to give up . . .