U.S. lawmakers near agreement on tax, trade bill
Source: Reuters
(Adds progress on negotiations, comments by Frist, Thomas) By Donna Smith WASHINGTON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Republican congressional leaders on Wednesday neared agreement on a package of trade, tax and health care measures that could be enacted in the final days of the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress. As Democrats prepare to take control when the new Congress is seated in January, U.S. House of Representatives and Senate Republican leaders were negotiating an economic package that will extend some popular tax breaks for businesses and individuals, including a research and development tax credit and a deduction for state and local sales taxes. Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said negotiations between the House and Senate on final legislation would continue into the night on Wednesday in hopes of reaching an agreement on a bill that could pass as early as Thursday. "No final agreement, but we had some very constructive discussions," Frist told reporters after a two-hour negotiating session that included outgoing House Speaker Dennis Hastert and the top Senate and House tax writers. Although lawmakers basically agree on the tax package, which would extend a number of tax breaks that expired last year, leaders hope to add other pressing matters, including a bill to open parts of the Gulf of Mexico to new offshore oil and gas drilling. That measure would open 8.3 million acres in the eastern Gulf Of Mexico near Florida. The bill also redistributes billions of dollars in federal royalties to four nearby Gulf Coast states. Negotiators are also trying to reach agreement on putting off a scheduled pay cut for doctors in the Medicare health care program for the elderly. Lawmakers are considering canceling the pay cuts, a move that could cost the federal treasury between $10 billion to $12 billion over five years. Outgoing House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, a California Republican, said negotiators were striving to cover the cost of the doctor provision. Lawmakers aim to to settle remaining differences and wrap up the post-election session by the end of this week. Lawmakers are also negotiating a trade package that would include granting permanent normal trade relations for Vietnam and some new trade benefits for Haiti that raised concern among some lawmakers worried about textile imports. It would be the second attempt by House Republican leaders to approve normal trade relations for Vietnam. The measure failed last month when leaders tried to push it through under a procedure that required more than a simple majority. Congress needs to set aside Cold War trade provisions that require periodic review of Vietnam's record on religious rights and approve permanent normal trade relations. The goal is to allow U.S. farmers, bankers and other businesses to share in the market-opening benefits of Hanoi's entry into the World Trade Organization next month. The House may consider that bill as a separate measure from the tax legislation, but lawmakers said the plan was to bring them before the Senate as a single bill. Another "must-do" measure is legislation to keep the government running into the new year since the current Congress failed to enact nine of 11 spending bills that finance various government programs. A stop-gap spending bill expires on Friday, requiring the extension into the new Congress.(additional reporting by Missy Ryan, Adriana Garcia)
| AlertNet news is provided by |  |