Pelosi Gets Win on Energy Tax Credit (Tax Deal)

[Clio the Leo]

PELOSI GETS WIN ON ENERGY TAX CREDIT, per a little bird: At a House Caucus meeting this week, Vice President Biden and members of the Obama economic team (Jack Lew and Gene Sperling) got an earful from Speaker Pelosi and some of her colleagues about the fact that despite a big push from the V.P., the Republicans had not agreed to put 1603 -- a popular tax credit for renewable energy and green jobs -- into the tax framework. Pelosi called it a “must change.” The administration urgently got the message to Senators Baucus and Reid that if there was one thing to add to the tax extenders for the House, it was 1603. Baucus and Reid -- who had also gotten a earful on 1603 from Senators Cantwell, Feinstein and Boxer -- were able to get Republicans to agree to 1603 at the last minute, giving Pelosi a big victory on green jobs -- and tangible proof that she had improved at least part of the tax framework that the administration had initially presented the House.

http://www.politico.com/playbook/

[Zenlitened]

1. How dare she criticize the President's agreement with Republicans.

[bluestateguy]

2. Very positive

nt

[WCGreen]

3. Cool Beans!!!

[alcibiades_mystery]

4. This is how it's supposed to work

Good for Pelosi, Biden, Reid, Baucus, and Obama.

The pushback on the tax deal is as good as the tax deal itself for Democrats (that includes the Sanders pseudo-filibuster). For close to a solid week, all we've heard about is Democratic wants on this thing. Again, this is good.

You put it out there and get the pushback. For some reason, this is seen as evil, when in fact it's precisely what we should be doing. The GOP has added jack squat to this debate, and has come off, rather, as the ones insisting on unpopular provisions. You could do a lot worse than that, politically, and policy-wise.

[stopbush]

5. Big effing deal.

IIRC, this amounts to about $3.5B a year.

Compared to the $140b over two years for rich people and the $300-b in middle class tax cuts, it's pretty small fry.

Apparently, this is what passes for a legislative "victory" among D purists these days. "Pelosi strong arms tax credit equal to 2% of tax cut for the rich" isn't exactly a great headline, even if it's truthful.

Sad.

And I say that as a big fan of Nancy Pelosi.

[Skittles]

9. they're into bone-tossing, sb

takes the place of real change

[Clio the Leo]

10. Not the point....

.... the point is that she's trying to improve the package ... not stop it.

[CakeGrrl]

6. k/r

A constructive development.

[Phx_Dem]

7. I hope she's not referring to the corn, ethanol subsidies. n/t

[Occam Bandage]

8. Increasing corn ethanol subsidies is neither green nor a victory for anyone but agribusiness.

[DCKit]

11. +1 n/t