{"id":24352,"date":"2010-12-15T11:52:45","date_gmt":"2010-12-15T18:52:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=24352"},"modified":"2010-12-16T08:31:01","modified_gmt":"2010-12-16T15:31:01","slug":"udall-votes-against-obama-gop-tax-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2010\/12\/udall-votes-against-obama-gop-tax-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Udall votes against Obama-GOP tax bill"},"content":{"rendered":"
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U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M. (Photo by Heath Haussamen)<\/p><\/div>\n

U.S. Sen. Tom Udall<\/a>, D-N.M., was in the minority today in voting against President Barack Obama\u2019s tax compromise with Republicans.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile I understand the value of a compromise, the literal cost of this deal to future generations of Americans is too much to concede,\u201d Udall said in a prepared statement.<\/p>\n

New Mexico\u2019s other senator, Democrat Jeff Bingaman<\/a>, also voted against the bill, but he had previously announced his opposition<\/a>. Udall had not.<\/p>\n

The Senate approved the bill today on a vote of 81-19. It now heads to the House for consideration.<\/p>\n

Two of three House members from New Mexico have expressed serious concerns<\/a> about GOP-sought provisions that would extend the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and change the estate tax.<\/p>\n

Udall had also expressed concerns<\/a> about those provisions, but said earlier this week that he hadn\u2019t decided how to vote. In explaining his vote, Udall said today that the bill \u201cwill drive our national deficit upwards another $900 billion without any evidence that the deal struck would help our economy in the long-term.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith a depressed economy and high unemployment, we should be finding ways to create jobs, pull America\u2019s middle class from the edge and bolster our economy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of stimulating the economy, tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires is not an effective strategy,\u201d Udall said. \u201cAnd a compromise that significantly increases our already unsustainable debt while failing to spark job growth and the economy isn\u2019t much of a compromise at all, and certainly not one I can support.\u201d<\/p>\n

White House touts bill\u2019s \u2018New Mexico impact\u2019<\/h3>\n

<\/p>\n

The president was quick to push members of the House to support the legislation. A news release from the White House highlighted the \u201cNew Mexico impact\u201d of the bill:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe stakes are significant for New Mexico. If approved, 900,000 New Mexico residents will receive more money in their paychecks as a result of the payroll tax cut \u2013 something nearly every mainstream economist agrees is one of the most powerful things that can be done to boost economic growth.\u00a0New Mexico residents also would benefit from the continued\u00a0American Opportunity Tax Credit\u00a0that helped 41,000 families across the state last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdditional tax cuts in the legislation also geared at middle-class families include the Earned Income Tax Credit, that helps families to climb out of poverty, and the\u00a0Child Tax Credit extension, that will make sure families don\u2019t see their taxes jump by up to $1,000 for every child.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdditionally, this bipartisan legislation would strengthen the safety net for 32,861 residents who are at risk of having their unemployment insurance (UI) benefits evaporate without Congressional action.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Responding to the criticism expressed by Udall and others, the White House news release states that the bill includes \u201cresponsible, temporary measures to support our economy that will not add costs by the middle of the decade. The president does not believe it is affordable to make the high-income tax cuts permanent and will continue to make his case for why we cannot extend these measures beyond 2012.\u201d<\/p>\n

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