US House Approves Extension of All Bush-Era Tax Cuts

 WASHINGTON, D.C. —The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives has approved legislation that will preserve tax cuts for all Americans regardless of income, setting up an election-year standoff with President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats¹.

The measure approved Wednesday by a vote of 256-171 would extend the breaks passed during the tenure² of former President George W. Bush. The vote was split largely along party lines, with only 19 Democrats voting for the bill, and one Republican voting against it. 

An alternative plan backed by House Democrats that would extend the tax cuts for everyone except couples making over $250,000 and individuals making over $200,000 was rejected by a similar margin³. The plan is similar to one passed last week by the Democratic-controlled Senate. 

Lawmakers are facing the prospect⁴ of a so-called "fiscal⁵ cliff" next January, when all the Bush-era tax cuts expire and automatic spending cuts for the military and domestic programs take effect, which economists⁶ say could push the struggling U.S. economy back into recession.

The issue of taxes has become a major issue between President Obama and his presumptive opponent in the November presidential election, former Massachusetts governor Mitt⁷ Romney.

Following Wednesday's vote in the House of Representatives, Obama said in a written statement that House Republicans had voted to "shower millionaires and billionaires with a $1 trillion tax cut that will inevitably⁸ be paid for by gutting⁹ investments in critical programs needed to create jobs and strengthen the economy."

The independent Tax Policy Center said in a report released Wednesday that under Romney's tax reform plan, taxpayers¹⁰ earning more than $1 million a year could save about $87,000 in taxes annually¹¹, while those earning less than $200,000 a year would see their taxes effectively increase by $500 per household.

The Republican presidential candidate is calling for a 20 percent cut in income tax rates for all American taxpayers.

The Romney campaign criticized the Tax Policy Center study, saying it ignores other elements of the candidate's tax program, including "reforms that would make America’s corporations more competitive by moving from the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world to one that is comparable to our trading partners"

1 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

3 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

4 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

5 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

6 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

8 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

9 gutting   

n.去内脏v.毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的现在分词 )；取出…的内脏

参考例句：

10 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。

11 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。